Joanne Underhill

Joanne Underhill

We were exceptionally pleased with the work Joanne Underhill did for us. She analyzed the FAA regulations our business was accused of violating and helped us develop our evidence and defend ourselves. . . . Joanne … took a personal interest in our case and became our advocate.  The FAA ended up agreeing we had not done anything wrong and voluntarily dismissed its case against our company. Joanne was easy to work with and talk to. And we enjoyed working with her. Joanne works with a sense of partnership and has become a trusted legal advisor. – Rick Gulick

Joanne Underhill, the founder of Underhill Law, P.C., focuses her current practice on business transactions, tax problems, real estate issues, and governance issues, including disputes among the owners of a business.

For over two decades, she has advised hundreds of small businesses and their owners and has represented clients in a wide variety of lawsuits and administrative agency proceedings.

Ms. Underhill has been accredited by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) since 1998 to represent taxpayers to the Service.

A member of the first class at Yale University to include women undergraduates, she has been a leader and innovator throughout her life, and she has been recognized within the women’s business community, as well as in the broader community, for her leadership and public service.

Bar Admissions

  • Colorado Supreme Court, 1987
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, 1985
  • U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado, 1991
  • U.S. Temporary Emergency Court of Appeals, 1980
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, 1980
  • U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, 1980

Awards and Recognitions

Ms. Underhill was named a Woman of Distinction by the Girl Scouts Mile Hi Council and is recognized in Who’s Who in American Law. She has also received the National Honor Award from Girl Scouts U.S.A. for her service to Girl Scouting.

Background

Ms. Underhill received her undergraduate degree, cum laude, from Yale University and her law degree from the American University Washington College of Law, where she served on the American University Law Review, received a Dean’s Scholarship, and graduated with honors.

Her early years as an attorney were spent with a large Washington, D. C. national litigation firm and as a trial attorney and assistant general counsel for the Federal Home Loan Bank Board and the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation (FSLIC).

At the federal agency, she represented the government in regulatory lawsuits and in litigation involving the FSLIC as receiver for insolvent federally-insured savings and loan associations. This included lawsuits brought against former directors, officers, and borrowers of failed savings and loan associations. Ms. Underhill also hired and managed outside legal counsel for commercial and residential foreclosures, debtor bankruptcies, and other types of state court litigation for FSLIC receiverships throughout the U.S. and Puerto Rico.

Prior to attending law school, Ms. Underhill spent several years on the staffs of a U.S. Senator and a Congressman on Capitol Hill.

Public Service

Ms. Underhill served for nine years by gubernatorial appointment as a Public Member of the Colorado State Board of Accountancy. She has also served as a delegate to the Statehouse Conference on Small Business.

She chaired the Greenwood Village Parks, Trails and Recreation Commission for three years and served as a Commission member for many more.  Under her leadership, the City of Greenwood Village developed its Open Space Plan, acquired land for open space throughout the City during the 1990s, and developed Silo Park and the award-winning Westlands Park.

Ms. Underhill co-chaired the Colorado Women’s Leadership Coalition from 1996 to 1998 and has served as a board memberof the Colorado Women’s Chamber of Commerce and the Colorado Women’s Bar Association.

She was a troop leader with her husband for her daughter’s Cadette and Senior Girl Scout Troops and was active for many years in her son’s Boy Scout troop.