Mary Jo Lowrey, Partner

Mary Jo Lowrey is a partner at Lowrey Parady Lebsack where she focuses her practice on plaintiff-side employment law, civil rights law, and class actions.

Ms. Lowrey is a Colorado native, born and raised in Boulder, Colorado. She attended the University of Colorado at Boulder and graduated cum laude with a BA in psychology and a focus on behavioral neuroscience. Prior to earning her JD from the University of Denver Sturm College of Law, she worked in the healthcare sector for five years. After law school, Ms. Lowrey worked for the US Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights investigating civil rights and HIPAA violations in the health and human services sector. Ms. Lowrey founded the firm that is now Lowrey Parady Lebsack in 2013.

Ms. Lowrey served as an Officer and Board Member for the Colorado Plaintiff Employment Lawyers Association for many years. She has been named a Super Lawyers Rising Star in the area of Employment every year from 2013 to 2018 and a Super Lawyer every year from 2019 to 2021.  Reflecting Ms. Lowrey‘s commitment to alleviation of poverty, she serves as a member of Board of Directors of El Centro Humanitario, a grassroots workers’ organization protecting the rights of day laborers.

Ms. Lowrey is experienced in serving as local counsel in national wage class actions.  She teaches frequently on employment law topics.

Leadership Roles:

• Executive Council Co-Chair, Colorado Bar Association Labor & Employment Section
• Past Board Member, Colorado Plaintiff Employment Lawyers Association
• Past Chair, Towards Justice Development Advisory Board
• Past Co-Chair, Colorado Women’s Bar Association Public Policy Committee

Community Service & Pro Bono:

• Board Member, El Centro Humanitario
• Bar Fellow, Colorado Bar Foundation
• Member, “Time’s Up” Legal Defense Fund
• Member, National Alliance on Mental Illness Hotline
• Volunteer Attorney, Colorado Poverty Law Project Legal Clinic
• Member, Colorado Wage Theft Task Force
• Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network Pro Bono Attorney
• Mentor, Colorado Supreme Court’s Colorado Attorney Mentoring Program (CAMP)

Recognition:

• 2021-2024 5280 Top Lawyer in Labor and Employment (Plaintiff)
• 2022-2024 Best Lawyers in America, Employment Law – Individuals
• 2019 to 2025 Super Lawyer in Employment
• 2013 to 2018 Super Lawyers Rising Star in Employment

Memberships:

• Colorado Plaintiff Employment Lawyers Association
• National Employment Lawyers Association
• Colorado Trial Lawyers Association (including Women Trial Lawyers Network)
• Colorado Women’s Bar Association (including Public Policy Committee)
• LGBT Bar Association, Ally Member
• Lawyers Civil Rights Coalition
• Faculty of Federal Advocates
• Colorado Women Owned Law Firms (WOLF)
• Colorado Bar Association, Labor & Employment and Civil Rights Sections

Selected Courses Taught:

• Colorado Equal Pay for Equal Work Act Update, Plaintiff Employment Lawyers Association (August 2021)

• COVID-19 Vaccines: Employer Considerations, CBA Labor & Employment Section (February 2021)
• The Impact of Covid-19 on Employees in Colorado, DU Law Workplace Law Program (April 2020)
• Employment Law Considerations in the #MeToo Era, Boulder County Bar Association (November 2018)
• New Lawyer Bootcamp, CBA Labor & Employment Section (September 2018)
• A Guide to the Laws Protecting Nursing Mothers and New Mothers in the Workplace, Plaintiff Employment Lawyers Association (August 2018)
• Everyone Else Wants to Settle: Ethical Issues in Representing Multiple Clients, Plaintiff Employment Lawyers Association (May 2018)
• Representing Low Wage Workers: Ethics in Class Settlement Negotiations, Wage Justice Day (April  2018)
• New Lawyer Bootcamp, CBA Labor & Employment Section (April 2017)

Publications:

• “The Colorado Wage Claim Act: Timing and Penalties – 2018 Reboot,” Trial Talk (June/July 2018)
• “The Valuable Administrative Process: Advantages and Idiosyncrasies of Filing a Charge of Discrimination with the Colorado Civil Rights Division,” Trial Talk (June/July 2013)
• “Understanding Provisions of the Colorado Wage Claim Act When Representing Terminated Employees:  Timing and Penalties,” Trial Talk (June/July 2009)