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Michael Fairhurst,
Partner

MFairhurst@KLN-law.com

PROFESSIONAL BACKGROUND

 

Mr. Fairhurst is the founding Partner of Killmer, Lane & Newman’s Western Slope office based in Carbondale, CO. Mr. Fairhurst has devoted his entire legal career to representing people whose rights have been violated. He has only represented people – and never corporations or other large entities – who have been subjected to abuses of power. Mr. Fairhurst has extensive experience with issues ranging from police misconduct to prisoners' rights to disability rights to employment discrimination and retaliation, and more. Mr. Fairhurst joined Killmer, Lane & Newman as an Associate Attorney in 2013. Since then, Mr. Fairhurst has been part of the winning trial team in several major employment and civil rights cases. This includes the Marvin Booker v. City and County of Denver case, which resulted in the largest civil rights jury verdict at the time in Colorado history. Mr. Fairhurst became a Senior Associate Attorney at Killmer, Lane & Newman in 2016 and a Partner in 2018.

 

Mr. Fairhurst’s Western Slope-based office of the law firm serves the entire western part of Colorado, including but not limited to Carbondale, Glenwood Springs, Grand Junction, Aspen, Basalt, El Jebel, Parachute, New Castle, Rifle, Paonia, Palisade, Vail, Eagle, Avon, Breckenridge, Durango, Telluride, Gunnison, Crested Butte, Montrose, Ouray, Cortez, Steamboat Springs, Pagosa Springs, Buena Vista, Leadville, Salida, Meeker, Craig, and Hayden.

AWARDS

Super Lawyers Rising Star (2016-Present)

 

Case of the Year Award Finalist, Colorado Trial Lawyers Association (2018) – K.M. v. Hickenlooper: Lawsuit brought on behalf multiple intellectually disabled individuals against state officials for engaging in unconstitutional, intrusive body searches without justification.

ASSOCIATIONS

  • Colorado Plaintiff Employment Lawyers Association, Board Member (2020-Present)

  • Colorado Cross-Disability Coalition, Board Member (2017-Present)

  • Colorado Plaintiff Employment Lawyers Association, Treasurer (2018-20)

  • Colorado Plaintiff Employment Lawyers Association, Outreach Officer (2017)

SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS

  • Defeating Claims of Qualified Immunity in Civil Rights Cases Under Colorado and Federal Law (February 2023)

  • Defeating Claims of Qualified Immunity in Civil Rights Cases (January 2020)

  • Pleading and Proving Municipal Liability Claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (July 2017)

EDUCATION

 

Mr. Fairhurst obtained his juris doctor degree from the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law in 2012. Mr. Fairhurst graduated magna cum laude from Williams College in 2007.

BAR ADMISSIONS

Mr. Fairhurst is admitted to practice law in the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, the United States District Court for the District of Colorado, and the State of Colorado.

PUBLICATIONS

  • Traffic-Light-Labeling on Restaurant Menus: A Call for the Communication of Nutrition Information Through Color-Coded Prices, 16 Quinnipiac Health L.J. 1

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