Five Stinson Attorneys Named to 2026 Colorado Super Lawyers and Rising Stars Lists

03.31.2026

Super Lawyers has named Stinson LLP Partners Deborah Bayles, Jared Ertle and Andrew Gillespie, along with attorneys Judith Araujo and Alex Gunning to its 2026 Colorado Super Lawyers and Rising Stars lists.

Bayles is recognized as a Super Lawyer in the real estate practice area. Arajuo, Ertle, Gillespie and Gunning are recognized as Rising Stars in the intellectual property, mergers and acquisitions, banking, and insurance coverage practice areas, respectively.

Super Lawyers recognizes attorneys who have distinguished themselves in their legal practice. Selection is based on third-party validation of each attorney's professional accomplishments.

Bayles advises lenders on a variety of secured loan and lease transactions, including those related to ESOPs and bank holding companies. She also guides business clients through entity formation, acquisitions and succession planning. Her extensive experience in real estate finance and general business operations allows her to effectively assist clients through all stages of a real estate project.

Ertle counsels strategic buyers and sellers, private equity firms, and other investors across a wide range of corporate transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, recapitalizations, venture capital investments, and joint ventures. His clients span a variety of industries, including manufacturing, technology, data analytics, and professional services.

Gillespie focuses his practice on fund finance, fund formation and real estate lending, advising private equity sponsors, fund managers, institutional lenders and real estate investors across a range of strategies and asset classes. He represents lenders and borrowers in subscription credit facilities and other fund-level financing arrangements, as well as acquisition financing transactions. He also counsels clients on the formation and structuring of private equity funds, real estate funds and joint ventures, drawing on his business background to deliver innovative, strategic, and practical advice in complex transactions.

Araujo's practice focuses on intellectual property litigation, including patent, trademark, trade secret, false advertising, and copyright litigation, as well as business and commercial litigation. Her clients come from a variety of industries, including technology, manufacturing, telecommunications, construction, outdoor recreation, aviation, energy, defense, and health care services.

Gunning focuses his practice on complex civil litigation with an emphasis on insurance coverage and bad faith disputes, business litigation, and high-stakes appeals. He represents insurers, banks, corporations and individuals in state and federal courts, handling matters involving commercial disputes, insurance coverage, products liability, trade secrets, commercial landlord-tenant, commercial foreclosure, and catastrophic personal injury.