EL PASO COUNTY: Legal Training & Panel - ON DEMAND

Timothy J. Eirich is an honors graduate of the Loyola University of Chicago School of Law. At Loyola, Tim was as a Philip H. Corboy Fellow (member of the National Trial Team), a Curt N. Rodin Fellow in advocacy, and a Civitas Childlaw Fellow. Tim was also an associate editor for the Children's Legal Rights Journal. Tim received his undergraduate degree from Santa Clara University where he majored in English and was a captain of the NCAA Division 1 Crew Team. Tim focuses his practice on adoption, child welfare, and guardianship cases. Tim represents prospective adoptive parents, foster parents, relatives, birth parents, and juveniles charged with delinquent acts. Tim is an experienced litigator who has tried over twenty-five jury trials, litigated dozens of contested hearings, and has argued in the front of both the Colorado Supreme Court and Court of Appeals. Tim litigated the ground-breaking case, both at the trial level and before the Colorado Supreme Court, that addressed the rights of foster parents and other caregivers in dependency and neglect cases. Tim has also received a number of awards recognizing his work. In 2012, Tim received the Excellence in Practice Award for a Juvenile Law Attorney at the Colorado Summit for Childen Youth and Families. In 2014, the Colorado State Foster Parent Association honored Tim with the Champion Award for work and efforts on behalf of Colorado’s foster parents. Also, in 2014, the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute awarded Tim the prestigious Angels in Adoption Award for his work in adoption and positive child welfare practices. Tim has handled dozens of private, public, and contested adoptions and has been recognized as a Fellow with the American Academy of Adoption Attorneys. Tim has lectured frequently on the rights of foster parents and the child welfare system and is a regular presenter for the Colorado State Foster Parent Association. In addition to training foster parents and relative caregivers, Tim teaches trial skills to fellow attorneys as an instructor for the National Institute of Trial Advocacy (NITA). Prior to joining the Grob & Eirich, LLC, Tim was the Deputy Director of the Rocky Mountain Children's Law Center where he litigated some of the center's highest profile cases; represented foster parents, prospective adoptive parents, relative caregivers and juveniles; and supervised a multi-disciplinary staff of attorneys and social workers who served as guardians ad litem for abused and neglected children in Denver Juvenile Court. Prior to his time with the Children's Law Center, Tim was a trial attorney with the Office of the Colorado Public Defender where he represented adults and juveniles charged with felony offenses.

Nicole’s passion for legal advocacy on behalf of children and youth began during a law school internship with the presiding juvenile judge of the 4th Judicial District. It was in this setting she first began to comprehend the enormous power that the courts can have to influence the lives of young people, in ways both good and bad. Following law school, she started her career at the Colorado Springs Office of the Colorado State Public Defender where she spent most of her tenure handling juvenile delinquency matters. Upon leaving the public defender’s office, she started her own solo practice, where she handled both juvenile delinquency matters as defense counsel and dependency and neglect matters as GAL. She began as the managing attorney in the El Paso County Office of the Guardian ad Litem in March of 2022. She is extremely grateful to be in a role which combines her passions for child and youth legal advocacy and strengthening the community she has come to love as home during her legal career.

Nicole received her Bachelor of Arts in Communication Studies from Gustavus Adolphus College in Saint Peter Minnesota in 2008 and her Juris Doctorate from the University of Denver in 2011.

John Percell is an Assistant County Attorney for El Paso County, Colorado.  He is a Colorado native with over fourteen years litigation experience in civil, criminal, and appellate fields.  He holds degrees from the University of Denver and Baylor University.  He and his wife have three children and two dogs.