Cindy Coleman

Cindy joined Heizer | Paul in 2006, following a state district court clerkship.

The newest member of our growing firm, Cindy's work focuses on supporting the litigation practice. She takes an active role in preparing civil cases for trial, including managing and conducting discovery, and drafting and arguing motions submitted in state and federal courts.  She recently took primary responsibility for drafting briefs submitted to the Colorado Court of Appeals in a First Amendment case, and for the winning briefs in a real estate matter on appeal.

In our employment practice, Cindy assists the firm’s public and private clients with hiring issues, as well as with employment discrimination and Family and Medical Leave Act questions.

As that rare lawyer who can really do math, Cindy has worked with companies facing employee benefit plan problems.  In a recent case, she assisted a company determine how best to deal with a plan audit that revealed large numbers of late contributions to an ERISA qualified retirement plan.  By properly recalculating the assessable penalties, Cindy helped significantly limit the employer’s exposure and assisted in finding a workable resolution to what at first appeared to be a devastating financial situation.

In another matter, Cindy assisted a retirement plan that incorrectly characterized its highly compensated employees, exposing the plan to excise taxes and stiff penalties.  After significant investigative work and analysis, she helped work directly with the IRS to achieve a closing agreement that was extremely favorable to the plan.

Representative Matters

• Assisted in researching and drafting successful summary judgment arguments in contract litigation on behalf of local government client.
• Assisted in defending architectural control committee against tort and contract claims in state district court litigation.
• Assisted in federal court construction litigation involving Bureau of Land Management project.
• Developed hiring practices checklist and personnel policies for Colorado police department.