According to Denton, Chase's Local Government Law Center does "an excellent job serving as a repository for the information needed to assist local governments with solving problems, avoiding problems, fulfilling responsibilities and improving communities throughout Kentucky.

"I have used it to obtain templates and research for ordinances and fiscal court orders and for the review of local government issues," he explains.

Denton cited the Local Government Law Center's newsletter as perhaps the best example of its impact on the state and its various regions.

"Good and great ideas are frequently copied after you hear how another local government has done something," he points out. "When the Chase Local Government Law Center spreads the word on any given issue, solution or pitfall, it is making a difference throughout Kentucky for local governments of every kind."

Meeting the people involved in local government at every level is what Denton regards as the most gratifying aspect of his job.

"Public officials take great pride in their city or county or board," he says. "They are constantly trying to figure out how to improve or better something. This outlook frequently filters down to managers, administrators, department heads and employees. It is rewarding to see individuals collectively working toward positive goals forthe benefit of a community, or even more frequently now, for an entire region."

In advising future or new practitioners entering the arena of local government law, Denton says they need to know and understand who their client is.

"You do not work for anyone mayor, judge-executive, commissioner or member. You work for the local government entity. Elected officials come and go. Cities, counties, boards remain. The hardest concept for a new practitioner is to provide honest, ethical, straightforward legal advice and representation that is in the best interest of the entity, not anyone person."

Denton is a partner with the Paducah law firm of Denton & Keuler and is married to Heather Hallmark Denton, also a 1995 Chase graduate. They have two children, Will and Grace.