Lee Mickus

– Partner, Denver Office –

Lee Mickus defends manufacturers and other business interests in product liability and tort lawsuits around the country, guiding cases through the discovery, trial, and appeal stages. He has successfully tried cases to juries in Colorado, Texas, California, New York, Puerto Rico, Montana and several other states.

Trial & Litigation Experience

• Lee has handled cases involving a wide variety of industries and products, including automobiles, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, industrial machinery, wine and recreational equipment. Lee has made court appearances, argued appeals, and submitted amicus briefs in numerous jurisdictions across the country.

Professional Recognition & Awards

• Lawyers for Civil Justice “Alfred W. Cortese Jr. Award,” given for “outstanding contributions to the promotion of excellence and fairness in the United States civil justice system”  (2020)
• Lawyers for Civil Justice Outstanding Contributor (2017)
• Colorado Civil Justice League’s “Lawyer of the Year” (2005)
• The Best Lawyers in America®, Personal Injury Litigation – Defendants (2008-2021); Production Liability Litigation – Defendants (2015-2021)
• 5280 Magazine Top Lawyers, Personal Injury: Defense (2015-2021)
• Colorado Super Lawyers®, Personal Injury Defense: Products (2009-2021)
• Martindale Hubbell, AV Rated

Publications

• “Gatekeeping Reorientation: Amend Rule 702 to Correct Judicial Misunderstandings about Expert Evidence,” Washington Legal Foundation Working Paper No. 217 (May 2020).
• “Follow Louisiana’s Lead: The Case for Eliminating State Gag Rules on Motorists’ Failure to Buckle Up,” Washington Legal Foundation Working Paper No. 219 (August 2020).
• “Iowa Limits Medical Expense Damages to the Sums Actually Paid to a Plaintiff’s Health Care Provider,” Washington Legal Foundation Legal Opinion Letter (June 26, 2020)(with Marc Beltrame).
• “Depublication effort fails to obscure ruling that encourages close scrutiny of fee requests,” Los Angeles & San Francisco Daily Journal (Feb. 10, 2020).
• Opening the Courts to Seat Belt Non-Use Evidence,” Author, Law 360 Expert Analysis Online Website (December 24, 2015)
• “Fifty-State Compendium on the Law of Punitive Damages,” Contributing Author for Colorado, Defense Research Institute (2009)
• “New Statutes Change Civil Litigation in Colorado,” Co-Author, 33 Colo. Lawyer 65 (May 2004)
• “To Beep or Not to Beep: The Optional Equipment Defense,” Co-Author, 19 LJN’S Product Liability Law & Strategy 4 (April 2001)
• “Discovery of Work Product Disclosed to a Testifying Expert Under the 1993 Amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure,” Author, 27 Creighton L. Rev. 773 (1994) (cited in five published federal and state court cases and more than a dozen law review articles, and treatises)

Other Professional Experience

Snell & Wilmer L.L.P.

Wheeler Trigg Kennedy PC