Top Company 2022: Professional Services

The outpouring of applications for this year’s Top Company awards is a testament to the resilience and adaptability of enterprises that do business in the state. Applications for the 35th annual awards numbered in the hundreds, and it was particularly encouraging to see so many companies rebounding from two years of COVID restrictions, with most posting revenue and employee gains approaching—and in some cases, exceeding—pre-pandemic numbers.

This year’s Top Company winners and finalists represent 13 industry categories, plus a startup category for companies in business less than four years. Entrants were judged on three criteria: outstanding achievement, financial performance and community involvement. The judging panel was made up of ColoradoBiz magazine’s editorial board and two representatives from the business community.

Winner — National Valuation Consultants

Centennial

National Valuation Consultants provides a broad range of appraisal, consultation and real estate advisory services. In 2021, NVC served nearly 600 clients and completed valuation and advisory assignments on commercial properties with an aggregate value exceeding $500 billion.  

To retain its top talent, NVC offers opportunities for personal and professional growth, such as having staff mentor and review other appraisers. For those demonstrating strong managerial skills, there is the prospect of leading a practice group or regional office.  

NVC’s motto is “Thinking Big to Better Our Community.” Employees held a fundraiser for Marshall Fire victims and, with the help of NVC’s corporate match, raised more than $12,000 to help the cause. Employees are also involved with Food for Thought, and helped to pack PowerSacks filled with nonperishable food to help fill the weekend hunger gap for school children and their families in the Denver area. In 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic caused the cancellation of the X-Drive Classic golf tournament fundraiser for Joshua School and Treeline Pass, NVC employees created an in-office, socially distanced miniature golf tournament with holes designed and sponsored by employees, raising $10,000.   

To simplify many business processes and procedures, NVC has invested in technological solutions that enable employees to perform their jobs more efficiently and with greater accuracy. Among the solutions are Keystone, a web-based valuation data management system, and Velocity, a cloud-based proprietary appraisal management tool. NVC also developed appraisal report templates that reduce the time required for data entry.

Finalist — GavinHeath

Centennial

Named for founder Holly Steele’s late brother Gavin Heath Whitrock, GavinHeath is a search and solutions firm. It is dual-certified as a Woman-Owned Small Business (WOSB) and a Women Business Enterprise (WBE) through the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council.  The firm has a mission to provide unparalleled and inclusive staffing solutions, connecting people, businesses and communities, while equally fulfilling the diverse needs of its customers. 

In 2019 the company adapted quickly to market changes. GavinHeath shifted from primarily supporting contract, IT-related staffing solutions in specific business verticals to expanding the company’s offerings outside of IT, placing more permanent candidates and offering fee flexibility. 

GavinHeath has a commitment to expanding Diversity, Equity, Inclusion (DEI) initiatives within staffing. The firm strives to deliver exceptional professionals who can diversify and grow their clients’ ecosystems while simultaneously providing new opportunity to nurture and broaden one’s own career. In 2021, the firm initiated a DEI Committee to develop an overall DEI strategy for the company, accelerate DEI initiatives with dedicated focus, create accountability for results, and set key milestones.   

Holly and her husband, COO Dan Steele, are actively involved in charitable work such as helping at Project C.U.R.E. To support employees’ volunteer activities, leadership established a Volunteer Time Off (VTO) program. In lieu of traditional holiday gifts for clients, GavinHeath reallocates those funds to selected charities, which in 2021 represented local (Denver Kids), statewide (Food Bank of the Rockies), national (SHIFTai) and global (Solar Buddy) communities.    

Finalist — Buehler Companies

Aurora

Buehler Companies specializes in household goods moving, office moving, warehousing and storage. The company offers installation services and offers customers a “One-Stop Shop” to serve all their moving needs. From packing, to moving, to unpacking and putting it all away, the company handles every move big or small. Over the years, Buehler Companies has diversified its business model and purchased additional equipment to cover different types of jobs, including flatbed services, hazardous materials, hotel projects, libraries and larger exhibits.  

For community work, Buehler Companies makes good use of its trucks and warehouse space.  

The mover picks up food from Food Bank of the Rockies each week and delivers to local schools in need. For Fill The Mayflower, it stages a truck outside a Safeway to gather non-perishable items for troops at Buckley AFB, for families of service members serving overseas. With Cops Fighting Cancer, police officers from all over the state gather in the warehouse and hold a donut eating contest, host a silent auction, and gather donations for Children’s Hospital Colorado.  

Buehler Companies’ core values are, “We’re in this together,” “Be part of the solution,” “Do the right thing,” and “Attitude is everything.” These are written on a wall and on cards for employees. Leadership speaks about the core values at company meetings and at training at Buehler University, which was established to help educate the incoming staff to find and create career paths so they can grow professionally and personally within the company. 

Finalist — Griffiths Law

Lone Tree

Griffiths Law is a mid-size, full-service family law and civil litigation firm. The team of attorneys can assist with any aspect of family law, including divorce, child custody, child support, and maintenance. The civil litigation attorneys handle cases involving construction defects, insurance, real estate corporate and partnership matters. The attorneys have earned numerous awards and recognitions for achievements in law as well as business management.  

In 2021–2022, the firm and its attorneys prevailed at the Colorado Court of Appeals and Colorado Supreme Court, several times changing the law and advancing their clients’ interests in cases that involved nonparent rights, property division, maintenance, and child support.  

Attorneys actively take part in legal education, author legal scholarship and articles, teach legal education courses, and serve on boards. The firm is involved in pro bono commitments and volunteer work, and employees are engaged in everything from fighting breast cancer to providing pro bono legal services to human trafficking survivors to ensuring that programs like CASA (court-appointed special advocates) are funded and thriving. 

Griffiths Law provides training to up and coming legal professionals. The Pathfinders Program, which pairs aspiring attorneys with mentors, contributes toward tuition for those Pathfinders who continue working at the firm while attending law school. The firm also has a culture that who empowers women. Over 70% of the firm’s attorneys at present are women, in roles varying from president (Suzanne Griffiths) to legal assistants starting their careers, and leadership structured the firm to encourage women to grow through the ranks.  

Finalist — Davis Graham & Stubbs LLP

Denver

For more than 100 years, Davis Graham & Stubbs LLP has served clients nationally and internationally, with a strong focus on corporate finance and governance, mergers and acquisitions, natural resources, environmental law, real estate, intellectual property, and complex litigation. The lawyers, who operate out of a single office in Denver, have extensive experience working with companies in the energy, mining, technology, hospitality, private equity, and asset management industries. 

DGS is the exclusive Colorado member firm for Lex Mundi, a network of top-tier independent law firms across the U.S. and in more than 125 countries. With 145 attorneys and a 1:1 partner-to-associate ratio, the firm represents both Fortune 500 companies and startups. 

As a firm, DGS has been consistently recognized for its commitment to fostering a culture that empowers diversity, equity, and inclusion. Half of the firm’s executive committee members are women, and in 2021, DGS ranked 12th in Law360’s 2021 Glass Ceiling Report. In partnership with the Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System (IAALS), DGS and four other law firms formed the Denver Law Firm Coalition for Racial Equity. The Coalition’s mission is to make the Denver legal community a desirable place for attorneys of color – with an initial focus on African American attorneys – from across the country. 

In 2021, DGS completed 20,153 hours of legal pro bono work and community service. In 2024 the firm will relocate to the top three floors of Paradigm River North, a state-of-the-art office development in RiNo.