Gerald Caplan: In Memoriam

We are saddened to share news of the passing of our co-founder Gerald (Jerry) Caplan. He passed away on June 26 at the age of 92. Mr. Caplan is survived by his wife Betsy, their daughter Lindsay Smith, her husband, Ford Smith, and their children, Kendall Smith and William “Fordie” Smith. He is also survived by their son Jeffrey Caplan, his wife, Emily Caplan, and their children Lucy Caplan (married to Chase Carpenter) and Laurel Caplan.

Early in his career, Mr. Caplan helped establish education law as a distinct practice area within the legal profession, a practice area that is now taught as a class in law schools across the country. He co-founded Caplan & Earnest in 1969 to focus on representing public school districts across Colorado, and today our firm represents more than half the school districts in Colorado.

Mr. Caplan also served as lead attorney in several cases that established the legal framework for the law surrounding public education, including Lujan v. Colorado State Board of Education, a landmark school finance case that resulted in significant legislative changes to financing of public education in Colorado and established the foundation for local community control.

Mr. Caplan earned his bachelor’s and J.D. degrees from Syracuse University, then served in the Judge Advocate Generals Corps of the Army before starting his law practice in Boulder. He immediately established a reputation as a skillful trial and appellate attorney, earning his first victory in front of the Colorado Supreme Court in 1963. His name appears in more than 50 published judicial decisions.

Mr. Caplan served as chair of the Board of Trustees of the University of Northern Colorado and as adjunct faculty member of the University of Colorado’s School of Journalism, teaching First Amendment Law. He held the offices of president of the Boulder County Bar Association, Boulder County Public Trustee, Boulder municipal judge, and special assistant attorney general of Colorado. Mr. Caplan was the founding president of the Colorado Council of School Attorneys, president of the National School Boards Association Council of School Attorneys, the second recipient of the organization’s Lifetime Achievement Award, a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation, and a Fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers, one of the most selective honors in the legal community.