Smith, Michael Morgan

Ms. Smith focuses her practice on employment issues, representing both employers and employees, in cases involving claims of wrongful discharge, wrongful termination and infringement on civil employment rights. Ms. Smith also handles commercial litigation, involving claims for breach of fiduciary duty.

Additionally, Ms. Smith directs appellate litigation for the firm, appearing before the state and federal appellate courts, including the United States Supreme Court.

Ms. Smith joined Burg Simpson Eldredge Hersh & Jardine, P.C., in 1997. She has achieved the highest rating from her peers for quality of legal work, professionalism, and ethics and has received a preeminent "AV" rating by Martindale-Hubbell. Law Week Colorado named Ms. Smith as Barristers' Best Employment Lawyer in 2010 and 2011, and selected her as one of the 2008 Top Women Lawyers of the Year. Ms. Smith has also been named a Top 100 Attorney by The National Trial Lawyers.

Ms. Smith served as a contract Magistrate Judge for the Seventeenth Judicial District, and handled small claims matters from January of 1996 to February 2002. She is the author of "The Small Claims Handbook."

Ms. Smith received her license in 1984. Her past experience includes employment with Hall & Evans, LLC, the Kobayashi Law Offices and Mountain States Legal Foundation. Ms. Smith also served as a judicial law clerk to the Honorable Karen S. Metzger, Colorado Court of Appeals.

Ms. Smith is a frequent lecturer in the Denver community on a variety of topics. She is also a contributing author to The Practitioner's Guide to Colorado Employment Law. Ms. Smith is a past chair and current member of the Denver Bar Association's Legal Fee Arbitration Committee and is a past member of the Colorado Bar Association's Ethics and Attorney Regulation Committees. Recently Ms. Smith began working with the Colorado Lawyers for Colorado Veterans, where she participates in the Committee's Clinics for Veterans.

Ms. Smith contributed hats to Kaps for Kendall and she supports Toys for Tots; she also contributed an afghan for the Soldier Squares Project. Ms. Smith and her sons have been adopting and providing support for Marines since 2005. Over that time, they have adopted more than 1,000 Marines, and other service personnel serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. Ms. Smith serves as a member of the advisory board for Operation TBI Freedom.

Authorship

• The Colorado Lawyer (Feb., 2010)
• The Common Law Employee Versus the Independent Contractor: A Legal Primer
• Trends Regarding Housing Issues (Diane Vaksdal Smith)
  © 2001 Diane Vaksdal Smith, Esq.
• Hostile Workplace Claims: The New Battleground
  2006 Diane Vaksdal Smith
• Ethics and Professionalism Issues in Employment Law Cases (Diane Vaksdal Smith)
  © 2001 Diane Vaksdal Smith, Esq. and Kathryn E. Miller, Esq.
• Finality of Judgment – Issue Preclusion, Claim Preclusion, and Law of the Case © 2006 Diane Vaksdal Smith, Esq.
  This Article was originally published in The Colorado Lawyer, Vol. 35, Issue No. 7 (July 2006)
• Small Claims Handbook – A Guide for Non Lawyers (Diane Vaksdal Smith)
  © 2001 Diane Vaksdal Smith, Esq.