Charles E. Rounds, Partner

Mr. Rounds is a partner at the law office of Kirch Rounds & Bowman PC in Aurora, Colorado where his primary emphasis of practice has been in estate and trust administration and estate planning, including wills, power of attorneys, and living wills. Other areas of his practice include guardianships, conservatorships, Medicaid planning, use of Family Limited Partnerships and LLCs for planning purposes, preparation of 1041s, 706s, and 709s, real estate, and probate litigation. Mr. Rounds earned his B.A. degree from Georgetown University, College of Arts and Sciences, and his J.D. degree from the University of Denver Sturm College of Law. Mr. Rounds is a member of the Trust and Estate section and the Real Estate section of the Colorado Bar Association and a member of the Denver Bar Association.

​​Mr. Rounds is the Colorado Bar Association Trust and Estate Section Liaison to the Colorado Bar Association Real Estate Section (2019 – Present). He is also currently serving as an Executive Council Member for the Colorado Bar Association Trust and Estate Section. Mr. Rounds is co-editor of Loring and Rounds A Trustee's Handbook (2008 – 2025 Editions). He was listed as a Rising Star in Super Lawyers Magazine under Estate Planning & Probate in 2016. He is listed in The Best Lawyers in America, in the field of Trusts and Estates (Recognized since 2017) and in the field of Elder Law (Recognized since 2018). Mr. Rounds was co-author, with Emily L. Bowman, of Five Common Client Misconceptions about Estate Planning, Vol.47, No. 11, in the December 2018 Colorado Lawyer. He also is the author of "Navigating Colorado's New Abandoned Wills Depository" in the May 2024 Colorado Lawyer. Mr. Rounds has been a faculty member at several programs in the areas of Estate Planning and Estate Administration, including “Introduction to Ethics in Estate Planning”, Sponsored by the Colorado Bar Association Continuing Legal Education, on January 31, 2020 and "The 15-Minute Drill" on Real Estate Trust & Estate Forms at the 2021 Real Estate Symposium, Sponsored by the Colorado Bar Association Continuing Legal Education on July 15, 2021. He has also presented on "Real Estate Issues in Estate Planning" at the Colorado Bar Association's Annual Estate Planning Retreat on June 17, 2022. 

Resume

  • Admitted to Practice: October 2006

    Kirch Rounds & Bowman PC – Partner
    January 2018 – December 2018; February 2024 – Present

    Kirch Rounds Bowman & Deffenbaugh PC – Partner
    January 2019 – February 2024

    Kirch and Rounds, P.C. – Partner
    September 2011 – December 2017

    David W. Kirch, P.C. – Associate Attorney
    October 2006 – August 2011

    Godin & Baity, L.L.C., Denver, CO – Summer Law Clerk
    June 2005 – August 2005

    Olsson, Frank & Weeda, P.C., Washington, D.C. – Paralegal
    January 2001 – May 2003

    U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, D.C. – Intern
    Summer 1997

  • Law Practice:

    • Member, Colorado Bar Association

      • Section Member – Trust and Estate

      • Section Member – Real Estate

    • Member, Denver Bar Association

    • Member, American Bar Association

    • Super Lawyers Magazine (2016) – Rising Star, Estate Planning & Probate

    • Listed in The Best Lawyers in America:

      • Trusts and Estates (2017 – Present)

      • Elder Law (2018 – Present)

    • Named Lawyer of the Year (2022) by Best Lawyers in America

    • Liaison, Colorado Bar Association Real Estate Section to Trust and Estate Section (2019 – Present)

    • Executive Council Member, Colorado Bar Association Trust and Estate Section (2024–2025)

    Law School:

    • Scholastic Excellence Award in Lawyering Process

    • Finalist, Hartje Objective Writing Award

    • Logistics Committee Member, DU Partnership with Community Day (Aug. 2005)

    • Assistant Site Leader, DU Partnership with Community Day (Aug. 2004–2005)

    • Suffolk University Law School – Law Program in Lund, Sweden (Summer 2004)

      • Courses: International/Comparative Intellectual Property Law, Comparative Criminal Procedure

    • Charles E. Rounds, Jr. and Charles E. Rounds, III, Loring and Rounds: A Trustee’s Handbook (2008–2025 editions) (co-editor)

    • Emily L. Bowman & Charles Rounds, Five Common Client Misconceptions about Estate Planning, 47 Colo. Law. 47 (Dec. 2018)

    • Charles Rounds, A Discussion of the Trust and Estate Related Real Estate Practitioner Forms Published in The Green Book, Council Notes, Colo. Bar Ass’n Trust & Estate Section (Fall 2022)

    • Charles Rounds, Navigating Colorado’s New Abandoned Wills Depository, 53 Colo. Law. 53 (Apr. 2024)

  • University of Denver Sturm College of Law – Juris Doctor (May 2006)

    • Scholastic Average: 3.61 (4.0 = A)

    • Class Rank: Top 13%

    Georgetown University, College of Arts and Sciences – Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Government (May 1999)

    • Scholastic Average: 3.66 (4.0 = A)

    • Honors Program

    • The Probate Process from Start to Finish – National Business Institute (Dec. 2007; Dec. 2009; Dec. 2013)

    • Estate Administration Procedures: Why Each Step Is Important – National Business Institute (June 2008; Oct. 2012)

    • Probate Process from A to Z – National Business Institute (Dec. 2011)

    • The Probate Process from Start to Finish – Institute for Paralegal Education (May 2013)

    • Introduction to Ethics in Estate Planning – Colorado Bar Association CLE (Jan. 31, 2020)

    • The 15-Minute Drill: Real Estate Trust & Estate Forms – Real Estate Symposium, Colorado Bar Association CLE (July 15, 2021)

    • Real Estate Issues in Estate Planning: An In-Depth Discussion of the Trust and Estate Related Real Estate Practitioner Forms Published in The Green Book – 42nd Annual Estate Planning Retreat, Colorado Bar Association (June 17, 2022)