Ms. Wheeler is a skilled and experienced litigator who has litigated a multitude of complex and highly technical cases and has maintained an exceptional trial record. Ms. Wheeler is AV-rated by Martindale-Hubbell and has been since 1998. She is an associate of the American Board of Trial Advocates.
Ms. Wheeler’s trial experience involves complex litigation and any other litigated matter. She obtained a defense verdict for her client after a fourteen and ½ week class-action jury trial involving claims in excess of $380,000,000.00. Her wide range of experience includes lead counsel in dozens of successful jury trials, many arbitrations, and appellate arguments in varied legal areas and venues. Her appellate practice has resulted in numerous published Court of Appeals and Supreme Court opinions.
Ms. Wheeler has practiced civil defense litigation since 1987. Ms. Wheeler’s trial work has included commercial litigation, professional negligence, personal injury, construction law, product liability, environmental law, toxic torts, employment law, civil rights litigation, insurance coverage, regulatory compliance, bad faith litigation, and general tort law. She has also served as an arbitrator in numerous personal injury and contract arbitrations and has presented various educational seminars in many areas of the law, including how to litigate class action lawsuits in Colorado. Ms. Wheeler is also active in estate and business planning.
Ms. Wheeler has been a very active leader in state and national bar associations and is also a leader and philanthropic contributor to the community. She has been honored with induction into the American Board of Trial Advocates and holds the rank of Associate. Ms. Wheeler served on the Board of Directors of the Colorado Defense Lawyers Association for over a decade. Ms. Wheeler is a past president of the Colorado Defense Lawyers Association and is a former Colorado State representative for the National Defense Research Institute. In both 2004 and in 2018, Ms. Wheeler received the State Leadership Award from the Defense Research Institute. Ms. Wheeler was selected for and completed the honorary Colorado Bar Association Leadership Training (COBALT). In 2008, Ms. Wheeler was honored as the Denver Bar Association Volunteer Lawyer of the Year. Ms. Wheeler was recognized by her peers as a Colorado Super Lawyer for 2008, 2009 2010, 2011, 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021. She received an Exceptional Performance Citation award from the National Defense Bar Association, Defense Research Institute, for “having supported and improved the standards of education of the defense bar and for having contributed to the improvement of the administration of justice in the public interest.” She is the former Chair of the Colorado and Denver Bar Association’s Joint Judicial Task Force, is a fellow of the Colorado Bar Foundation, and is a current member of the Denver, Colorado, Arapahoe, and American Bar Associations.
Ms. Wheeler was admitted to the bar in 1987 and is licensed to practice in all of the Colorado and Wyoming courts, as well as the U.S. Court of Appeals and U.S. Supreme Court. Ms. Wheeler obtained her Juris Doctor degree in 1987 from the University of Nebraska following receipt of her Bachelor of Arts degree in 1984 from Colorado State University.
Ms. Wheeler continues to maintain active involvement in many philanthropic organizations in Colorado. She co-chaired an event in Denver that raised over $250,000 for Girls Inc. of Metro Denver. She was formerly on the Board of Directors for Girls Inc., Metro Denver, and is a past president of Girls Inc., Alliance. She has been an active volunteer for The Gathering Place and many other local philanthropies. She served as a volunteer as the Parent Leader for Littleton High School Varsity Football from 2011 through 2014 and was active in the PTO for Littleton High School.
When not serving her clients, Karen can be found practicing yoga, golfing, entertaining friends and family at her home, traveling, or recreating outdoors with her husband, three sons, and their partners and dogs.
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