Martha L. Ridgeway

Martha L. Ridgway graduated magna cum laude from Washburn University in Topeka, Kansas with departmental honors in history and German, and from the University of Kansas School of Law in 1981.  As a co-founder and the first co-chairperson of the Colorado Bar Association’s Elder Law Committee, Martha is considered one of the pioneers of elder law in Colorado.  She has practiced law in the Boulder area since 1988, always with an emphasis on elder and disability law.  Her current practice is Martha L. Ridgway, P.C.

Martha is a frequent lecturer at continuing legal education programs on issues affecting the elderly and disabled.  She has published articles in The Colorado Lawyer, the official publication of the Colorado Bar Association, including "Advance Medical Directives and the Authority to Compel Medical Treatment," and “Will Preparation for Individuals Lacking Testamentary Capacity.”  She also was a contributing author to The Colorado Handbook of Elder Law and the Lawyers’ Professional Liability in Colorado:  Preventing Legal Malpractice and Disciplinary Actions, both published by Continuing Legal Education in Colorado, Inc.   

In 1992, Martha was selected by the Boulder County Bar Association for its Lawyer for All Seasons Award, which recognized a bar member “who has exhibited exceptional dedication to the profession and the community, whose contributions may have gone unnoticed, and who merits special recognition by colleagues in the legal profession.”  In 1997, she received the Boulder County Bar Association’s highest award, the John Robert Marshall Award, for “commitment and dedication in undertaking volunteer legal services to the elderly and less fortunate of Boulder County.”  She also received a special award from Boulder County Legal Services for the most hours ever committed to a single pro bono case.  Martha is a member of The National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, the Colorado Bar Association, the Colorado Women’s Bar Association, and the Boulder County Bar Association.   

Martha also has served on the boards of three non-profit agencies assisting the elderly and disabled and remains active in the community.

Martha L. Rigeway, a distinctive and specialized law practice addressing in a unique manner the legal problems of the elderly, the disabled, and their families. Rather than pursuing a typical litigation approach, I consider the many problems and issues underlying a dispute. I utilize a perspective that takes into account all aspects of the parties’ life situations, including familial, intergenerational and other relationships, financial considerations, autonomy and capacity issues. I seek to work with the family members and others involved to reach a consensus, common ground and resolution of their dispute. Harmony – not discord – is the goal of my practice, along with focusing on the positive and restorative aspects of the law rather than on the negative and the contested

357 S. McCaslin Boulevard
Louisville, CO 80027

P: 303-827-2474
E: [email protected]