Sarah Smyth O'Brien
Office Information
Sarah is a member of Butler Snow’s litigation department and practices within the Tort, Transportation, & Specialized Litigation Group.
Biography – View PDF Bio
- Associations
- Bar Admissions
- Civic Involvement
- Distinctions
- Education & Honors
- Experience
- In the News
- Papers, Presentations, & Publications
- Recent Blogs
Bar Admissions
- Colorado, 2002
- U.S. District Courts
- Colorado: District of Colorado
Civic Involvement
- Volunteer work for Encompass Hospice of Colorado
Distinctions
- Martindale-Hubbell®
- AV®– Preeminent™ Peer Review Rated
- Best Lawyers in America®
- Personal Injury Litigation – Defendants, 2021-2022
Education & Honors
- University of Denver, Sturm College of Law, J.D., Order of St. Ives, 2002
- Preventive Law Journal
- University of Wyoming, B.S., Political Science, 1997
- Clerkship, Honorable Justice Gregory Hobbs, Jr., Colorado Supreme Court, Denver, CO, 2002-2003
Experience
- Ms. O’Brien has represented clients in state and federal court as well as arbitration in a broad range of complex civil litigation matters, including insurance bad faith, third-party insurance claims, construction litigation, commercial litigation, and premises liability cases. Ms. O’Brien has experience in all phases of complex litigation, including trial and arbitration.
- Representative Experience
- Defended insurers in complex bad faith and statutory delay cases as well as third-party cases, in which extensive monetary damages were claimed, in federal and state court as well as arbitration.
- Assisted insurers in claims investigation for SIU, including taking of Examinations Under Oath.
- Preparation of coverage opinions in variety of areas.
- Obtained a defense verdict for contractor in a construction defect arbitration involving claimed damages of over $10 million.
- Assisted team with successful appeal to the Colorado Supreme Court of key damage issues in product liability matter.
- Obtained summary judgment for clients in federal and state court.
Papers, Presentations, & Publications
- Speaker, “Using Waivers to Limit Liability for COVID-19 Exposure Claims,” myLawCLE, July 17, 2020.
- Speaker, “Your Guide to Legal Matters,” Business Leaders Podcast, May 25, 2019.
- Co Author, “Surge in Apartment Construction Fuels Condo Conversions, Liability Concerns in Denver,” Law Week Colorado, Vol. 15, No. 43, October 22, 2018.
- Author, “Choose Your Forum,” Construction Claims, CLM, Fall 2016