"I'm really lucky. A lot of lawyers tolerate what they do. I love what I do."

Mark Grueskin has been fascinated by politics since his feet dangled from his fourth grade classroom chair.

"It was 1964 and we had a presidential election in my class. There were 24 votes for Goldwater and one for Johnson. Everyone knew that I was the 'one', and I didn't care. I liked the fact that I was, even then, kicking shins."

Mark says his family talked politics around the dinner table, which is where he got the bug that has taken him to Washington, D.C., and back. He represented clients before the United States Congress and various federal agencies. Mark also served as Legal Counsel to Colorado's Governor Lamm, and the Governor's Deputy Legislative Director.

Today, Mark chairs Isaacson Rosenbaum's Public Law and Policy Practice Group. In 2005, he was named by his colleagues in the bar and the Denver Business Journal as the region's outstanding Elections, Campaign, and Political practitioner. According to the Rocky Mountain News, he is "one of the state's premier election law attorneys," and for Mark's prominent role in crafting and challenging statewide initiatives, the Denver Post named the firm among Colorado's twenty "unelected lawmakers." 

Mark currently serves as lead Colorado counsel for the Obama for President campaign.  The Democratic National Convention Committee -- the entity that ran the 2008 Democratic National Convention held in Denver -- named Mark and the firm as its local counsel.  And over the last several years, Mark has been asked to act as special counsel to the Governor of Colorado, the Colorado General Assembly, and the City and County of Denver in litigation that raised challenging constitutional issues.

Mark notes that Isaacson Rosenbaum may have a particular political profile in town, but clients hire the firm for one reason: trust.

"People know that we will absolutely be their advocate," he says. "In the government realm, that means more than writing the longest brief or taking the most tortuous deposition. What it really means is knowing how the process works, being aware that there are pitfalls arising out of certain tactics, and guiding clients past those pitfalls so that we get the right result."

He adds, laughing, "When we dig in, we dig in like nobody else."

Mark has handled regulatory matters at all levels of government on a variety of different topics. He is well know for his work before the Colorado Limited Gaming Control Commission, the Colorado General Assembly, and the state's appellate courts, among other public bodies.

Mark has been recognized by his peers for the breadth and depth of his experience.  In 2007 and 2008, he was included on the national "Best Lawyers in America" list for his work in the governmental relations, administrative law, and gaming law fields.  He was nominated by attorneys in his field and named as one of Colorado's Super Lawyers in 2006, 2007, and as one of the state's Top 50 Lawyers in 2008.

At one point, Mark flirted a bit with improvisational comedy… no, not watching it, but performing it!

"Improv is great training to be a lawyer," he says. "It teaches you that talking is not nearly as important as listening. When you do speak, you can't be tied to a script. You always need to be ready to throw yourself into the fray with self-confidence and with your own way of saying things."