Holland & Hart is pleased to announce that Desta Asfaw, a partner in the firm’s Denver office, was honored with the 2024 Richard Marden Davis Award on February 20, for her outstanding service to the legal community and her civic and charitable leadership. Presented annually to a Denver attorney 40 years old or younger, the Davis Award recognizes a lawyer’s combination of legal excellence with civic, cultural, educational, and charitable leadership. It is presented in partnership with the Denver Bar Association and the Davis Family.
Desta is a partner in Holland & Hart's Private Client group. She develops sophisticated estate, wealth transfer, and wealth preservation planning solutions for high net worth individuals, families, and closely-held businesses. Desta specializes in complex asset structures involving a variety of wealth transfer, charitable, and business succession planning strategies.
Desta serves on a variety of boards and advisory committees supporting a diverse list of nonprofit organizations that address important issues facing the Denver community. Desta serves as a member of the Sam Cary Bar Association and was a founding member of the Denver Foundation Black Resilience in Colorado Fund Advisory Committee, which supports organizations that address systemic racism and inequality in Colorado. Desta’s experience and passion around these issues has been a life-long pursuit which she has continued as an attorney.
Her work in the Denver community extends to leadership and advisory roles, including an active role in: The Denver Foundation Professional Advisors Council; Denver Zoo Board of Governors; and the University of Colorado Law School Alumni Board.
Within the firm, Desta has also made significant positive impacts. She currently leads Holland & Hart’s Black Lawyers Network, serves as a member of the firm’s Diversity Committee and Talent Recruiting Committee, and supports and mentors other black lawyers and women lawyers across the firm.
The Richard Marden Davis award was created in memory of Richard Davis, who was a skilled and charismatic lawyer devoted to the legal profession and the community. Each honoree best exemplifies the character and promise of Richard Davis at that stage of his career and inspires other young attorneys in the Denver legal community to follow in his footsteps.
Desta’s longtime friend and former Holland & Hart attorney United States Congressman Joe Neguse joined Desta for a fireside chat at the event. Read Desta’s Davis Award feature here, and about past Davis award winners here.