 During this time, he also served as a special assistant attorney general for the State of Colorado, briefing and arguing criminal appeals before the Colorado Court of Appeals and Colorado Supreme Court.From July 2001 to January 2004, he served as associate solicitor at the U.S. Department of the Interior.He provided legal advice on privacy and FOIA issues, employment and labor issues, government contracts matters, matters involving territories and possessions of the United States, and occasionally on matters involving Native Americans.