Wheeler Trigg O'Donnell, Trial Tested Wheeler Trigg O'Donnell, Trial Tested
Carolyn J. Fairless
Partner
fairless@wtotrial.com
P 303.244.1852
F 303.244.1879


Carolyn has practiced extensively in the federal and state courts in Colorado, and has also been admitted pro hac vice in several other states.  Her practice areas include professional liability, product liability, intellectual property, and commercial litigation.

In recent years, Carolyn has:

  • Led the trial team retained in the last few months before trial to defend against a real estate company's claims that WTO's client caused the loss of a two million dollar investment when it prevented the sale of a real estate before the real estate market crashed.  Despite rulings made before WTO's retention that the basis for interfering lacked merit as a matter of law, following trial the court ruled for WTO's client on all issues of liability, causation, and damages.
  • Obtained complete summary judgment and an award of attorney's fees against the plaintiff and the plaintiff's attorneys in a legal malpractice case where the plaintiff sought $7 million in damages.
  • Obtained complete summary judgment and an award of attorney's fees in a legal malpractice case where the plaintiff claimed $4 million in damages.
  • Successfully obtained a Rule 12 dismissal on behalf of five attorneys sued for extreme and outrageous conduct, civil conspiracy, defamation, and abuse of process.
  • Represented the Vancouver Canucks organization in a lawsuit brought by Colorado Avalanche player Steven Moore as a result of injuries sustained by Mr. Moore during a hockey game, successfully obtained a dismissal of the lawsuit on the grounds of lack of personal jurisdiction and forum non conveniens, and also obtained an award of attorney's fees and costs in favor of the Canucks organization and against Mr. Moore.
  • Obtained partial summary judgment on behalf of a large national law firm that had been sued for malpractice, aiding and abetting, conspiracy and violations of RICO, reducing the damage claim from over $150 million to less than $2 million, and paving the way for a favorable settlement of the case.
  • Won complete summary judgment in a $5 million legal malpractice case one week before a two-week trial was scheduled to begin.

Cases


Clients


Admitted to Practice

Other Experience

IBM Corporation
    Computer Analyst

Legal Memberships, Activities, and Honors

Colorado Super Lawyers
    Professional Liability: Defense, 2010
Law Week Colorado
    
Top Women Lawyers 2010
Colorado Super Lawyers Rising Stars
    
Professional Liability: Defense, 2009
Colorado Corporate Counsel Black Book
    Business Litigation, 2007
The Legal 500 United States – Litigation, 2007
American Bar Association
Colorado Bar Association
Defense Research Institute
    Professional Liability Committee
Federation of Defense & Corporate Counsel
Martindale-Hubbell AV® Peer Review Rated*

*CV, BV, and AV are registered certification marks of Reed Elsevier Properties Inc., used in accordance with the Martindale-Hubbell certification procedures, standards, and policies.

Community Memberships, Activities, and Honors

President, Table Mountain Animal Center Foundation

Personal Interests

Her dogs

Articles and Presentations


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Education

  • University of Colorado School of Law - J.D., 1998
    Rothgerber Moot Court Board, President
    Best Oralist Team, Saul Lefkowitz Intellectual Property Regional Moot Court Competition
    Research Assistant to Professor Dale A. Oesterle
  • Tulane University - B.S., Computer Science, cum laude, 1992

Practice Areas

Industries



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