Credentials
Education
Government Service
Judicial Extern to the Honorable David Furman of the Colorado Court of Appeals
Intern to the Boulder County Deputy Probation Officer
Legal Memberships
Law School…Yes, We Can
Board of Directors
Sam Cary Bar Association
Sports Lawyers Association
Colorado Defense Lawyers Association
Bar and Court Admissions
Colorado
U.S. Court of Appeals, 2nd Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals, 10th Circuit
U.S. District Court, D. Colorado
Community Activity
Miracle League of Denver
Volunteer
A Precious Child
Volunteer
Articles and Presentations
Presenter, "Beyond the Bottom Line: Valuing Emotional Distress Damages in Employment Law," Colorado Bar Association Employment Law Spring Update.
Presenter, "Times Are Changing: Generative AI and the Law," Vail Summit Resorts.
Presenter, "Directing Expert Witnesses," University of Wyoming Trial Institute.
Celyn Giefer represents professionals and businesses in high-stakes litigation involving professional liability, employment disputes, catastrophic injury claims, and commercial matters. She also helps defend companies against nationwide class actions. She has experience with FLSA collective actions, wage and hour cases, and misclassification and joint employment matters.
Celyn has experience at every stage of a case, including leading pre-suit investigations, taking and defending depositions, arguing substantive motions, drafting successful dispositive motions, and appeals. Celyn has trial experience, including serving on two multi-week trials, and has conducted examinations and argued evidentiary issues.
Celyn’s background includes NCAA college athletics. She played NCAA softball. In law school, she worked as an NCAA legal compliance officer in the wake of college athletics transitioning into the Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) era.
Celyn’s personal interests include traveling, golfing, and hiking.
Cases
Highlights
Member of trial team in a high exposure, two-week products liability jury trial for an auto industry manufacturer in Las Vegas, New Mexico.
Member of trial team in two-week professional liability jury trial on behalf of a hospital system in Augusta, Maine.
Representing one of the nation's foremost amateur sports organizations in high-stakes litigation.
Representing a leading Illinois health system in multiple wrongful death cases.
Won a preliminary injunction for plaintiffs suing the Elizabeth (Colorado) School District over a book ban violating free speech protections. We are partnering with the ACLU of Colorado and representing students of the school district, the Rocky Mountain NAACP State Conference CO-MT-WY, and The Authors Guild.
Won motion to exclude an expert's testimony two weeks before trial where the plaintiff unsuccessful sought to introduce new liability opinions on the eve of trial.
Won a motion to dismiss a consumer class action lawsuit alleging several refrigerator models were defective.
Highlights
Member of trial team in a high exposure, two-week products liability jury trial for an auto industry manufacturer in Las Vegas, New Mexico.
Member of trial team in two-week professional liability jury trial on behalf of a hospital system in Augusta, Maine.
Representing one of the nation's foremost amateur sports organizations in high-stakes litigation.
Representing a leading Illinois health system in multiple wrongful death cases.
Won a preliminary injunction for plaintiffs suing the Elizabeth (Colorado) School District over a book ban violating free speech protections. We are partnering with the ACLU of Colorado and representing students of the school district, the Rocky Mountain NAACP State Conference CO-MT-WY, and The Authors Guild.
Won motion to exclude an expert's testimony two weeks before trial where the plaintiff unsuccessful sought to introduce new liability opinions on the eve of trial.
Won a motion to dismiss a consumer class action lawsuit alleging several refrigerator models were defective.
Class Actions
Obtained decertification of an FLSA conditional collective that had been certified before we took over the case. After the decertification decision was issued, lawyers for the plaintiffs conceded that another pending nationwide case—which we also were defending—should be decertified as well.
Defeated Rule 23 class certification of state law overtime claims in New Mexico for an international shipping company.
Defeated conditional certification of an FLSA and state law putative collective action in federal court in Ohio for an international shipping company.
Won a motion dismissing an appeal in the Fourth Circuit of Appeals for a major shipping client denying the plaintiff's Rule 23(f) petition.
Pro Bono
Assisted with winning a unanimous appellate decision for an online education provider against a school district, affirming WTO's prior victories for the client in district court and before the Colorado State Board of Education.
Other
Representing a leading ski resort in premises liability cases.
Drafted a writ of certiorari to Colorado Supreme Court that analyzed when a market-based interest rate applies when a judgment debtor appeals.
Celyn Giefer represents professionals and businesses in high-stakes litigation involving professional liability, employment disputes, catastrophic injury claims, and commercial matters. She also helps defend companies against nationwide class actions. She has experience with FLSA collective actions, wage and hour cases, and misclassification and joint employment matters.
Celyn has experience at every stage of a case, including leading pre-suit investigations, taking and defending depositions, arguing substantive motions, drafting successful dispositive motions, and appeals. Celyn has trial experience, including serving on two multi-week trials, and has conducted examinations and argued evidentiary issues.
Celyn’s background includes NCAA college athletics. She played NCAA softball. In law school, she worked as an NCAA legal compliance officer in the wake of college athletics transitioning into the Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) era.
Celyn’s personal interests include traveling, golfing, and hiking.
Credentials
Education
Government Service
Judicial Extern to the Honorable David Furman of the Colorado Court of Appeals
Intern to the Boulder County Deputy Probation Officer
Legal Memberships
Law School…Yes, We Can
Board of Directors
Sam Cary Bar Association
Sports Lawyers Association
Colorado Defense Lawyers Association
Bar and Court Admissions
Colorado
U.S. Court of Appeals, 2nd Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals, 10th Circuit
U.S. District Court, D. Colorado
Community Activity
Miracle League of Denver
Volunteer
A Precious Child
Volunteer
Articles and Presentations
Presenter, "Beyond the Bottom Line: Valuing Emotional Distress Damages in Employment Law," Colorado Bar Association Employment Law Spring Update.
Presenter, "Times Are Changing: Generative AI and the Law," Vail Summit Resorts.
Presenter, "Directing Expert Witnesses," University of Wyoming Trial Institute.
Cases
Highlights
Member of trial team in a high exposure, two-week products liability jury trial for an auto industry manufacturer in Las Vegas, New Mexico.
Member of trial team in two-week professional liability jury trial on behalf of a hospital system in Augusta, Maine.
Representing one of the nation's foremost amateur sports organizations in high-stakes litigation.
Representing a leading Illinois health system in multiple wrongful death cases.
Won a preliminary injunction for plaintiffs suing the Elizabeth (Colorado) School District over a book ban violating free speech protections. We are partnering with the ACLU of Colorado and representing students of the school district, the Rocky Mountain NAACP State Conference CO-MT-WY, and The Authors Guild.
Won motion to exclude an expert's testimony two weeks before trial where the plaintiff unsuccessful sought to introduce new liability opinions on the eve of trial.
Won a motion to dismiss a consumer class action lawsuit alleging several refrigerator models were defective.
Highlights
Member of trial team in a high exposure, two-week products liability jury trial for an auto industry manufacturer in Las Vegas, New Mexico.
Member of trial team in two-week professional liability jury trial on behalf of a hospital system in Augusta, Maine.
Representing one of the nation's foremost amateur sports organizations in high-stakes litigation.
Representing a leading Illinois health system in multiple wrongful death cases.
Won a preliminary injunction for plaintiffs suing the Elizabeth (Colorado) School District over a book ban violating free speech protections. We are partnering with the ACLU of Colorado and representing students of the school district, the Rocky Mountain NAACP State Conference CO-MT-WY, and The Authors Guild.
Won motion to exclude an expert's testimony two weeks before trial where the plaintiff unsuccessful sought to introduce new liability opinions on the eve of trial.
Won a motion to dismiss a consumer class action lawsuit alleging several refrigerator models were defective.
Class Actions
Obtained decertification of an FLSA conditional collective that had been certified before we took over the case. After the decertification decision was issued, lawyers for the plaintiffs conceded that another pending nationwide case—which we also were defending—should be decertified as well.
Defeated Rule 23 class certification of state law overtime claims in New Mexico for an international shipping company.
Defeated conditional certification of an FLSA and state law putative collective action in federal court in Ohio for an international shipping company.
Won a motion dismissing an appeal in the Fourth Circuit of Appeals for a major shipping client denying the plaintiff's Rule 23(f) petition.
Pro Bono
Assisted with winning a unanimous appellate decision for an online education provider against a school district, affirming WTO's prior victories for the client in district court and before the Colorado State Board of Education.
Other
Representing a leading ski resort in premises liability cases.
Drafted a writ of certiorari to Colorado Supreme Court that analyzed when a market-based interest rate applies when a judgment debtor appeals.