Christine (Chris) Lamb’s practice focuses on counseling companies and executives on human resources and personnel issues and defending companies in employment lawsuits. Chris has over 28 years of experience representing a wide variety of companies ranging from start-up businesses to Fortune 100 companies. Before co-founding Fortis Law Partners, Chris practiced employment law at Jenner & Block in Chicago and Davis, Graham & Stubbs in Denver. 

Chris frequently appears before state and federal courts in Colorado and throughout the Rocky Mountain region. She has represented clients in matters before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the United States Department of Labor, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP), and the Colorado Department of Labor & Employment (CDLE).  She also provides advice and counseling on personnel policies and employee manuals, employment contracts, executive compensation, non-compete and trade secret agreements, and harassment investigations.

Chris is also certified as a labor & employment arbitrator by the American Arbitration Association® (AAA), the nation’s leading provider of alternative dispute resolution services. Chris serves on the AAA Panel of Employment Arbitrators, and has arbitrated numerous employment-law disputes. 

Practice Areas

• Employment Law
• Employment Litigation
• Arbitration

Bar Admissions

• Colorado – 1998
• Illinois – 1994

Education

• Juris Doctor, Ohio State University School of Law, Summa Cum Laude – 1994

          –     Elected to Order of the Coif

• Bachelors of Science, Northwestern University – 1991

Professional Affiliations

• AAA Panel of Labor & Employment Arbitrators
• American Bar Association – Labor & Employment Law Section
• Colorado Bar Association – Labor & Employment Law Section

Honors & Awards

• Named to U.S. News – Best Lawyers List for her work in Employment Law – Management and Workers’ Compensation Law – Employers, 2021-2023
• Selected to Colorado Super Lawyers, 2015-2023
• AV rated by Martindale Hubbell since 2002, with the highest rating available.
• Named “Go-To Law Firm” by the nation’s top 500 companies.

Community Activities & Personal Interests

Chris is a certified yoga instructor and teaches evening yoga classes at CorePower Yoga Central park studio.

Representative Cases

• Won summary judgment dismissing claims of disability discrimination in violation of the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADAA) alleged by discharged employee against his employer. Kolkebeck v. Home Depot, 2017 WL 1190942(D. Utah 2017).
• Won summary judgment on behalf of employer dismissing claims of discrimination and retaliation in violation of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). Eau Claire v. Home Depot, 2017 WL 469730 (D. Idaho. 2017).
• Won summary judgment dismissing claims of age discrimination brought by employee against former employer under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA). Gordon v. Home Depot, 191 F.Supp.3d 1271 (D. Utah 2015).
• Won a motion to dismiss a Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) class-action lawsuit on behalf of an employer in case alleging unpaid wages and overtime violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act. Martinez v. XClusive Staffing, 2015 WL 3524463 (D. Colo. 2015).
• Won summary judgment on behalf of employer on former employee’s claims of violation of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and Montana’s Wrongful Discharge from Employment Act. Winkler v. Home Depot, 2016 WL 3087052 (D. Mont. 2015).
• Won summary judgment on behalf of a software company obtaining dismissal of former employee’s claims of age discrimination under the ADEA. Jesuale v. Oracle, 2013 WL 6858683 (D. Colo. 2013).
• Won summary judgment on behalf of a large consulting firm against former employee’s claim of transgender discrimination under Title VII. Rice v. Deloitte Consulting LLP, 2013 WL 3448198 (D. Colo. 2013).
• Won summary judgment on behalf of large national bank dismissing former employee’s claims of disability discrimination under the ADA. Wolfe v. U.S. Bank, 2012 WL 6060999 (D. Colo. 2012).
• Represented an engineering consulting company in asserting Colorado state law claims against a group of former employees who departed with confidential information intending to take a company business unit and start their own firm. Following a three-week jury trial, the jury awarded actual and punitive damages totaling $3M. Harris Group Inc. v. Robinson, Courtney, Neff and Luminate, 209 P.3d 1188 (Colo.App.2009).
• Defended a national bank against claims of age and gender discrimination, retaliation and breach of contract under Title VII and ADEA. After winning complete summary judgment, successfully defended the judgment on appeal to the Tenth Circuit. Timmerman v. U.S. Bank, N.A., 483 F.3d 1106 (10th Cir.2007).
• Defended a client in a multi-plaintiff discrimination lawsuit alleging age and race discrimination and won summary judgment on all claims by all Plaintiffs, convincing the Court that the Plaintiffs had not sufficiently exhausted the jurisdictional prerequisites for bringing the claims and failed to present sufficient evidence of discrimination. Alvariza v. Home Depot, 506 F. Supp. 2d 451 (D. Colo. 2007); Alvariza v. Home Depot, 2007 WL 779829 (D. Colo. 2007); Alvariza v. Home Depot, 2007 WL 794416 (D. Colo. 2007); Alvariza v. Home Depot, 2007 WL 794187 (D. Colo. 2007).
• Represented a large national retailer in a race discrimination lawsuit brought by an African American employee passed over for promotion alleging violation of Title VII and §1981. Following Ms. Lamb’s cross-examination of Plaintiff’s expert witness on the first day of trial, Plaintiff voluntarily dismissed all claims. Cross v. Home Depot, 390 F.3d 1283 (10th Cir. 2004).

Speeches and Publications

• Quoted: “2023 Trends: Legalization of Recreational Marijuana and Therapeutic Psychedelics”, SHRM (Society for Human Resource Management) – December 2022
• Presenter: Fortis Law Partners 2022 Lunch & Learn Series “What Employers Need to Know about Colorado’s New Non-Compete Law” – Oct. 2022
• Quoted: “Fortis Law Focuses on Employer Struggles Through the Pandemic” Law Week Colorado – January 2021
• Quoted: “Work From Home Policies & Considerations After COVID-19” International Legal Technology Association – June 2020
• Author: “Six Tips for Protecting Retailers, Employees from Safety, Legal Risks of COVID-19” Chain Store Age – May 2020
• Quoted: “Not comfortable returning to work? Employees can still get federal, not state, benefits” News Channel 5 – April 2020
• Quoted: “HR should prepare now for continued employee remote work” Denver Business Journal – April 2020
• Quoted: “Deciding whether to furlough employees.” Scripps National News – April 2020
• Quoted: “Companies Cite New Government Benefits in Cutting Workers” The Wall Street Journal – April 2020
• Quoted: “A furlough and a layoff represent a different level of commitment to workers” Denver Post – 2020
• New Developments In Employment Law
• EEOC investigations: Understanding the Process and Using it To Your Company’s Advantage
• Little Mistakes, Big Consequences, how to avoid the most costly human resources mistakes
• Great Job, You’re Fired! How to Minimize Risk in Employee Discipline and Terminations
• Recent Changes to the FMLA, What you need to know
• Employment Law in Up and Down Economies