Paul Maxon is one of Colorado’s best attorneys.
Career highlights include:
- 2021 Case of the Year Award from the Plaintiff Employment Lawyers Association for Kokot v. Maxim
- 2017 Case of the Year Award from the Colorado Trial Lawyers Association and $2.45 million verdict for Hayes v. Skywest
- 2015 Case of the Year Award from the Colorado Trial Lawyers Association for Basevitz v. Fremont
- $2.6 million dollar arbitration award for Muñoz v. Boulder Homemade, Inc.
- Victory before the Colorado Supreme Court in Boyer v. Healthgrades
- $2.3 million settlement of a sex and age discrimination case
- Faculty at the University of Colorado Law School
- Board member of the Plaintiff Employment Lawyers Association
- 2019-23 Super Lawyer in Employment Law
- Member of American Lawyer’s 2003 Litigation Department of the Year
Paul Maxon is one of Colorado’s best attorneys, and has successfully represented hundreds of clients in claims against their employers. He has won both trials and arbitrations on behalf of employees involved in claims for unpaid wages, trade secrets, and sexual discrimination, among others.
Among his many victories, Paul Maxon was awarded the prestigious “Case of the Year” award from the Colorado Trial Lawyers Association in both 2015 and 2017, and from the Plaintiff Employment Lawyers Association in 2021. The 2015 award was for representing a teacher in a religious discrimination and retaliation lawsuit against a school district, which resulted in widespread media coverage and significant policy changes. The 2017 award was for a disability discrimination and retaliation lawsuit which resulted in one of the largest ever verdicts under the Americans with Disabilities Act. The 2021 award was for prevailing in a sex and age discrimination case against a large employer represented by two nationally prominent law firms. In addition, Mr. Maxon has had significant success representing sexual abuse survivors; in 2017 he won a $2.6 million arbitration award for two of his sex abuse survivor clients, and 2020 he secured a $2.3 million settlement of his client’s sex discrimination claims–one of the largest ever in Colorado.
Mr. Maxon’s cases often result in victory not only for his clients, but for Colorado employees generally. His lawsuits have received extensive media coverage both in the state and nationally, drawing attention to issues of harassment, discrimination, and mistreatment in the workplace. His published cases, including Kennedy v. Colorado RS, LLC, 872 F.Supp.2d 1146 (D. Colo., 2012), HealthGrades v. Boyer, 359 P.3d 25 (Colo., 2015), and Hayes v. SkyWest, 401 F.Supp.3d 1194 (D.Colo., 2019), have resulted in changes in the law that have made it easier for employees to bring claims against employers who violate their legal rights.
A recognized expert in employment law, Paul Maxon is regularly asked to teach other attorneys the intricacies of the field. He has spoken and written on such diverse topics as: settlement of employment lawsuits, trade secrets litigation, abuse of process counterclaims, ethical issues in high-profile cases, and deposition strategy. In 2016 he joined the faculty of the University of Colorado-Boulder School of Law, where he taught employment discrimination law. From 2018-19, he was co-chair of the Boulder County Bar Association’s Employment Law Section.
Prior to opening his own practice in 2005, Paul Maxon was an associate with O’Melveny & Myers in Los Angeles, where he received several pro bono awards and was a member of American Lawyer’s “Litigation Department of the Year.” He studied law at the University of Southern California School where he was awarded the Malcolm Lucas prize for being ranked first in his class, and the Order of the Coif for graduating in the top 10% of his class. He is admitted to practice in both Colorado and California.
Presentations, Courses, and Publications:
- October, 2022: Annual Case Law Update (presentation), Plaintiff Employment Lawyers Association annual retreat
- March, 2022: The Right to Green Work (presentation), Plaintiff Employment Lawyers Association speaker series
- August, 2020: Wrongful Discharge in Violation of Public Policy: Current and Advanced Topics (presentation), Plaintiff Employment Lawyers annual retreat
- October, 2018: Ethical Issues in High Profile Cases (presentation), Boulder County Bar Association Employment Law Section
- January, 2018: Litigating Employment Cases with Rules of the Road (presentation), Plaintiff Employment Lawyer’s Association speaker series
- August, 2016: Defending Employer Lawsuits (presentation), Plaintiff’s Employment Lawyer annual retreat
- April, 2016: Ethical Issues Regarding Case Publicity (presentation), Colorado Bar Association CLE
- January-May, 2016: Employment Discrimination Law (course), University of Colorado-Boulder School of Law
- October, 2015: Defending Employees Against Claims of Trade Secret Theft and Risks of Bringing Unfounded Claims Against Former Employees (presentation), Colorado Bar Association CLE
- October, 2015: The Colorado Supreme Court’s Decision in Boyer v. HealthGrades (presentation), Plaintiff’s Employment Lawyers Association speaker series
- June/July, 2015: The Value of Abuse of Process Claims for Employee-Defendants (article), Trial Talk Magazine
- September, 2014: Everything They Say is Wrong: Getting Admissions During Depositions (presentation), Plaintiff’s Employment Lawyers Association speaker series
- August 2012, Off the Beaten Path: How Can We Blow This Call? (article), New York Daily News
- August 2011, An Abuse of Process Verdict (presentation), Plaintiff’s Employment Lawyers annual ertreat
- August 2010, Early Settlement of Employment Cases (presentation), Plaintiff’s Employment Lawyer’s Annual Retreat
- August 2010, Closing the Deal: Techniques and Tactics for Success in Mediation and Arbitration of Employment Claims (panel), Colorado Trial Lawyers annual convention
- June/July, 2010, Comprehensive Settlement Strategy: A Plaintiff’s Employment Lawyer’s Guide to Early Settlement (article), Trial Talk Magazine