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Mary Price Birk

Mary Price Birk practices complex civil litigation, including class and collective actions, products liability and employment disputes, and has appeared in federal cases in the United States District Courts for the districts of Colorado, Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, Montana, Wyoming and Idaho, and in numerous state courts in civil litigation, including Colorado, California, Texas, Nevada, New Mexico, Montana, Michigan, Oklahoma, Idaho, Utah and Wyoming.

Ms. Birk has been responsible for the defense of hundreds of personal injury and wrongful death cases filed in state and federal courts in Colorado, New Mexico, Wyoming, Montana, Utah, Idaho, Nevada, Arizona, Texas, Ohio and California, involving various laws, such as products liability, negligence, breach of warranty, dram shop and admiralty/maritime law.

Ms. Birk advises clients on dealing with crisis management and with strategies to work with the press and public to communicate and respond to crisis situations.

Ms. Birk serves as Co-Chair of the firm’s National Employment Litigation Practice Team. She counsels and represents domestic and international employers in the many aspects of employment law and litigation, including cases before administrative agencies and state and federal courts involving employment discrimination, covenants not to compete, employee raiding, trade secret and confidential information protection, wage and hour, sexual harassment, wrongful termination and traditional labor disputes; counseling employers concerning reductions in force, WARN act compliance, e-discovery, employment issues involved in mergers or acquisitions, dealing with consent decrees, employee discipline and termination, investigation of employee complaints, OSHA and wage and hour matters; advising employers regarding legislative developments and changes in applicable case laws, statutes and regulations; and training employers and their employees in a variety of workplace issues, including sexual harassment.

Ms. Birk was named a Colorado “Super Lawyer” in 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009. She serves on the Board of Directors of the Colorado Judicial Institute and was the former chair of that organization’s Family Law Committee. Ms. Birk is a member of the American, Federal, Nevada, Montana, Colorado, Utah, Denver and Colorado Women’s Bar Associations. She is also a member of the Defense Research Institute and sits on the Board of Directors for the Denver Chapter of the Rhone-Brackett American Inns of Court (of which she is a former president). She currently serves on the Colorado Bar Association/Denver Bar Association’s joint Professionalism Coordinating Council. She previously served on the AIDS Coordination Committee, Community Concerns Committee and the Denver Bar Association’s Professionalism Committee.

Ms. Birk has devoted many hours of service to several community organizations. In 2006 and 2007, Ms. Birk was honored by the Rocky Mountain Children’s Law Center for her superior volunteer efforts with that group. In addition, the Colorado Bar Association named Ms. Birk as a Fellow of the Colorado Bar Foundation, the charitable arm of the CBA, which promotes the advancement of jurisprudence, the administration of justice and the dissemination of educational information to practicing attorneys and the general public. She served on the Board of Directors of the Aurora Rotary Club and chaired the District Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarship Committee. Ms. Birk has participated in the Thursday Night Bar Association, a Colorado pro bono organization, and served as a judge in the Regional and State Mock Trial and Appellate Competitions. She has also served on the Board of Directors of the Junior Symphony Guild and the Sunburst Homeowners Association. In addition, Ms. Birk was a faculty Member for the 2008 NITA Miranda Trial Advocacy Institute.

Selected Publications:

• “RIFs: Use Statistical Analysis To Avoid Disparate Impact Based on Age,” Legal Report (April 2008). *Article honored with national gold level-award for “Best Technical/How-To Article” in a newsletter by the American Society of Business Publications Editors (July 2009)
• “Colorado Civil Pretrial Handbook,” 2008 Edition (Publisher: Bradford Publishing Company)
• “Maximizing the Potential of the Older Workforce - Guiding Your Company Through the Challenges and Demographics of the American Workforce,” Chapter 17 in Human Resources 2007 Summer Edition (Publisher: Thompson)
• “Walking on Eggshells - Avoiding Retaliation Claims When an Employee Who Files a Discrimination Complaint Doesn’t Leave,” Employee Relations Law Journal, Vol. 32, No. 3 (Winter 2006)
• “Discovery and Spoliation Issues in the High-Tech Age,” the Colorado Lawyer, Vol. 32, No. 9, p. 81 (co-author) (September 2003)
• “International Employment Law Issues,” Employment Law Counselor, Issue No. 148 (December 2002)
• “International Employment Law Issues,” Corporate Counsel’s Quarterly, Vol. 17, No. 1 (January 2001)
• “Liability at the Office,” Colorado Journal, Vol.2, No. 26 (co-author) (June 1996)

Selected Speeches and Presentations:

• “E-Discovery in Employment Litigation,” Strafford Publications, Inc. (January 2009 and July 2008)
• “Employment Class Actions: Emerging Areas of Concern and New Protections,” University of Louisville, Louis D. Bradeis School of Law and Twenty-Fourth Annual Carl A. Warns Jr. Labor and Employment Law Institute (2007)
• “Effect of the New Immigration Laws on Colorado Employers,” Pinnacol Assurance (2007) and Aurora Chamber of Commerce (November 2006)
• “Employment Law Update,” Sterling Education Services (June 2007)
• “Employment Class Actions: Emerging Areas of Concern and New Protections,” presented with Baker Hostetler partner John Lewis, Baker Hostetler Market Leaders National Employment Conference (February 2007)
• “When the EEOC Comes Calling: Strategies for Dealing with Investigation and Prevailing in Claims,” Strafford Legal Teleconferences (August 2006)
• “Employee Blogging: Liability Risks for Employers,” (teleconference) Strafford Publications, Inc. (May 2006)
• “Advising Colorado Employers: Colorado Employment Law Update,” Aurora Bar Association (April 2006)
• “Hiring and Firing in Colorado,” Sterling Education Services (October 2003)
• “Basic Employment Discrimination Laws,” Baker Hostetler Employee Roundtable Presentations (August 2002)
• “Employment Issues for Temporary Placement Services,” Denver Bar Placement Agency (October 2001)
• “International Employment Law Issues,” Colorado Human Resources Association (September 1999)
• “The Americans With Disabilities Act,” Public Housing Authorities Directors Associations and Commissioners Conference (January 1999)
• “Employee Law,” Public Housing Authorities Directors Associations and Commissioners Conference (January 1999)