Mr. Powell is a Shareholder in our Denver office. He has significant experience litigating employment cases on behalf of employers in a variety of industries and has tried to verdict significant employment-related cases in both state and federal courts. He also frequently advises employers on matters arising from the employer-employee relationship, including but not limited to unfair competition, the duty of loyalty, confidential and trade secret information, executive employment agreements, restrictive covenants, employee classification and compensation, wrongful discharge claims, disability and family leave issues as well as harassment and discrimination based on race, national origin, gender and age.
Mr. Powell received his undergraduate degree from the University of Santa Clara. He then attended UCLA Law School, where he served as one of the Managing Editors of the UCLA Law Review. Following graduation, he served as a law clerk for The Honorable John L. Kane, Jr., of the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado. He then gained valuable trial experience as a Deputy District Attorney in the Denver District Attorney’s Office before entering private practice in 1990. Mr. Powell was a partner in the labor and employment sections of two prominent Denver based law firms, Holland & Hart LLP and Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, before joining Ogletree Deakins in January 2011.
Experience
Unlike many employment litigators, Mr. Powell has had the good fortune of continuing to try cases since he left the Denver District Attorney’s Office and entered private practice. Some of the representative cases tried to verdict or successfully resolved and in which he served as lead or co-lead counsel include the following:
- Obtained complete defense for well known cable and telecommunications company on claims alleging sexual harassment, discrimination and retaliation
- Obtained complete defense verdict for prominent Colorado based college on claims alleging breach of contract, defamation and involving related issues of academic freedom
- Obtained complete defense verdicts in two separate trials for prominent automobile dealership – one case involved claims of retaliation under the Americans With Disabilities Act and the other case involved claims of discrimination and retaliation under Title VII as well as breach of contract
- Successfully defended parent company of national title insurance companies as well as respective companies against claims alleging breach of fiduciary duty and tortuous interference with contract and successfully resolved claims asserted by plaintiff-competitors
- Obtained complete defense verdict for local power company against allegations of race discrimination
- Successfully defended through arbitration alleged breach of employment agreement asserted by former President of mortgage company
- Successfully obtained injunction for national seller of industrial products and later prevailed at trial on claims alleging breach of non-compete and non-solicitation agreements against former sales representative and her current employer.
In addition to his significant trial experience, Mr. Powell has also successfully pursued injunctions on behalf of employers in cases involving the misappropriation of confidential information, employee breach of fiduciary duties as well as violations of non-compete and non-solicitation agreements. When he is not in the courtroom, Mr. Powell conducts training and counseling programs for his clients involving a wide variety of topics related to the employer-employee relationship.
Colorado
U.S. District Court, District of Colorado
U.S. Court of Appeals, Tenth Circuit
Education and Honors
- “AV Preeminent” by Martindale-Hubbell
- Fellow, International Society of Barristers
- Chambers USA America’s Leading Business Lawyers (2005-2010)
- Best Lawyers in America (2006-2011)
- Colorado Super Lawyers (2009, 2010, 2011)
- Lawdragon 500, Leading Lawyers in America (2006, 2007)
- Richard Marden Davis Award, given annually by the law firm of Davis Graham & Stubbs
- Managing Editor, Vol. 30 of the UCLA Law Review
Professional Activities
- American Bar Association (Employment and Litigation Sections)
- American Bar Association (Labor and Employment Law Section, Management Co-Chair for the Ethics and Professional Responsibility Committee)
- Colorado Bar Association
- National Bar Association
- Sam Cary Bar Association
- Academy of Hospitality Industry Attorneys
- Faculty of Federal Advocates
- National Employment Law Council (Coordinating Committee)
- Member of Transition Committee for Colorado Governor-Elect John Hickenlooper
- Alzheimer’s Association of Colorado (Board of Directors)
- Colorado Symphony Orchestra (Board of Trustees)
In The News
- July 14, 2011 - Law360 - "Q&A With Ogletree Deakins' David Powell"
- Spring 2001 - Tulsa Law Journal - "Complying with the Mandate of Kolstad: Are Your Good Faith Efforts Enough?"