Rothgerber Johnson & Lyons LLP (RJ&L) is proud to announce that attorney and partner James M. Lyons has been awarded the honor of "Top Point Getter (#1 in Top 10)" statewide for the third consecutive year in the 2008 Colorado "Super Lawyers®" for Business Litigation.

A total of 14 RJ&L attorneys were named in the 2008 Colorado "Super Lawyers," which is based on a scientific survey conducted by Law & Politics, and is published annually in a special advertising section in 5280 magazine. The objective of the Super Lawyers selection process is to create a credible, comprehensive and diverse listing of outstanding attorneys that can be used as a resource to assist attorneys and sophisticated consumers in the search for legal counsel.

James Lyons' area of practice is focused in complex business litigation and arbitration of all types, including corporate, securities and insurance law. Mr. Lyons has more than 35 years of courtroom and jury trial experience in state and federal courts. He also has extensive government relations and international trade and diplomatic experience from his work in Ireland and the United Kingdom as Special Advisor to the President and Secretary of State for economic initiations in Northern Ireland and the Border Counties of the Republic of Ireland.

Mr. Lyons served as the US Observer to the International Fund for Ireland (IFI) from 1993-2001 and, in 1997, he succeeded former Senator George Mitchell as Special Advisor for the President and Secretary of State for Economic Initiatives in Ireland. In this capacity, he served from 1997 to 2001. In these roles, Mr. Lyons worked to promote cross-community cooperation between the religious traditions and communities in the north of Ireland and was responsible for numerous economic initiatives in support of the peace process, including Aspire Micro Loans for Business, the first micro-enterprise loan fund in Western Europe. Mr. Lyons' work for economic development supported the Belfast Agreement signed by the Irish and British Governments in April 1998.

Commonly known as the "Good Friday Agreement," this document was a major political development in the Northern Ireland peace process. The Agreement reaffirmed the Governments’ total and absolute commitment to exclusively democratic and peaceful means of resolving political differences and has led to a restoration of shared government between the two communities. As a private citizen, Mr. Lyons continues to be active in promoting business partnerships and strategic alliances between Colorado and Northern Ireland communities and universities.

Mr. Lyons received an honorary doctorate of laws (LL.D.) from the University of Ulster, Belfast, Northern Ireland in recognition of his service "to the people of Northern Ireland in furtherance of peace and prosperity."