Ben Lebsack, Partner

Ben Lebsack is a partner at Lowrey Parady Lebsack DeFazio. He has focused on the representation of employees in disputes with their employers since his second year of law school, but also represents civil rights and personal injury plaintiffs and people who are injured by the malpractice of other attorneys. He also advises other attorneys on their ethical duties to clients.

Ben was born and raised in Denver. After graduating from East High School, he attended Grinnell College in Iowa and the University of Minnesota Law School where he graduated magna cum laude. While in law school, Ben served as an Editor for the American Bar Association Journal of Labor and Employment Law.

Outside of the office, Ben devotes a lot of time to the Colorado Bar Association’s Ethics Committee, frequently drafting and revising opinions about what a lawyer may or may not do under the ethical rules governing attorneys. He presents frequently at Continuing Legal Education programs, authors articles for various legal publications, and testifies at the state legislature. When it’s basketball season, he watches as many Nuggets games as he can. He’s been a fan since he can remember, at least since they drafted Dikembe Mutombo.

Leadership Roles:

• First Vice President, Board Member, National Employment Lawyers Association (2019-present)
• Board Member, Colorado Trial Lawyers Association (2016-2025)
• Co-Chair, National Employment Lawyers Association Ethics Committee (2019-2024)
• Past Chair, Colorado Trial Lawyers Association Employment Law Committee (2016-2019)
• Past-President and Past-Chair of Board of Directors, Colorado Plaintiff Employment Lawyers Association (2018-2022)

Community Service & Pro Bono:

• Cooperating Counsel, ACLU of Colorado
• Member, “Time’s Up” Legal Defense Fund
• Organizer, 2018 Candidates For Governor’s Forum on Work & Working Families Recognition

Recognition:

• 2024-2026 Super Lawyers
• 2025 5280 Top Lawyer in Labor and Employment (Plaintiff)
• 2025 Lawdragon 500 Civil Rights & Plaintiff Employment Lawyers
• 2023-2026 Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch
• 2022 New Trial Lawyer of the Year Award, Colorado Trial Lawyers Association
• 2018-2023 Super Lawyers Rising Star in Employment
• 10.0 Avvo Rating
•  Top 40 Under 40 The National Trial Lawyers

Memberships:

• Colorado Bar Association (Ethics Committee)
• Colorado Trial Lawyers Association (Board Member, Employment Law Committee Chair, Amicus Committee Member)
• National Employment Lawyers Association
• Plaintiff Employment Lawyers Association
• Sam Cary Bar Association

Publications:

• Colorado Labor and Employment Law (2024 Ed.) (with Ariel DeFazio)
• “Privileged Communication with Current and Former Corporate Employees,” The Colorado Lawyer (May 2022) (with John Lebsack)
• “Forced Arbitration: the Bad, the Bad, and the Ugly,” Trial Talk (Oct – Dec 2021).
• “Don’t Indemnify for Third Party Claims to Money in Settlement Agreements, Follow the Ethics Rules Instead,” Trial Talk (July – Sept 2021).
• “Shhhh, Be Quiet – Ethical Considerations in Agreeing to Confidentiality Terms in Settlement Agreements,” Trial Talk (2019).
• “But I Earned Those Commissions, Didn’t I?,” Trial Talk (2016).
• “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum: It Moved and Your Client Agreed to Litigate There,” Trial Talk (2015).
• “Confusion Demands Simplicity: Applying Rule 26 to ERISA Conflict of Interest Discovery Requests,” ABA Journal of Labor and Employment Law (2011).

Selected Courses Taught:

• Using Authenticity, Creativity & Ingenuity to Feel Better and to Achieve Your Goals More Consistently, Colorado Plaintiff Employment Lawyers Association Annual Retreat (August 2025)
• Smells Like Upjohn in Here: Privileged Communications with Current and Former Employees, Faculty of Federal Advocates (October 2024)
• Practical Things You Can Do To Make a Difference in Serving Your Affiliate’s DEIA Goals, National Employment Lawyers Association Annual Affiliate Workshop (June 2024)
• Open and Shut: Ethical Issues in Negotiated Agreements from the Fee Agreement to the Settlement Agreement, Pacific Coast Labor & Employment Law Conference (April 2024)
• The Attorney-Client Privilege for Labor and Employment Practitioners, American Bar Association Labor and Employment Law Conference (November 2023)
• Racist & Sexist Morality Tables: The Bounds of “Legitimate Advocacy” Under Rule 8.4(g), Colorado Trial Lawyers Association (December 2022)
• Answers to Ethical Questions Commonly Posed by NELA Lawyers, National Employment Lawyers Association (June 2019)
• Intersection of Tort and Employment Law 1, Colorado Trial Lawyers Association (May 2017)
• Drafting Specific Pleadings, American Association for Justice (February 2017)
• Challenging Forum Selection Clauses, Plaintiff Employment Lawyers Association (June 2015)