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Nicole Salamander Irby

Senior Counsel

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Nicole Salamander Irby returns to GRSM after nearly a decade of gaining behind-the-scenes federal district court proficiency and experience as in-house counsel for a large housing and healthcare services organization.  Nicole maintains expertise in a wide range of legal areas, including professional liability, insurance, contract review and negotiation, employment law, and risk management, with a keen ability to apply practical legal principles to business operations.  She listens carefully to her clients to help identify their goals and develop strategies to achieve favorable results.

Nicole’s practice focuses on professional liability defense, defending attorneys against legal malpractice claims.  She believes the legal profession holds an esteemed place in modern culture and is worthy of ardent advocacy.  Nicole not only steps in once a claim arises but also can help attorneys with claim prevention and mitigation.  Her corporate experience informs her ability to advise in-house counsel on ethical and practical issues.

Nicole also has defended clients in commercial litigation and insurance matters.  Nicole has practiced in many levels of court in Colorado, including federal district and appellate court, state district and appellate court, county court, small claims, and administrative proceedings before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment.

Before becoming an attorney, Nicole worked in the non-profit world and is familiar with solving challenges around funding, employee retention, and conducting business in a way that supports the organization’s mission.  These principles translate to assisting clients in the practice of law, whether in private practice or as part of a corporate legal team.  Nicole values clarity, integrity, and reliability, which is clear in her conduct with clients, opposing counsel, and the courts.

Legal Malpractice

  • Successfully represented attorney who advised an estate fiduciary in a dispute brought by an estate creditor.
  • Obtained dismissal of a lawsuit against a law firm on the basis of absolute litigation privilege, which also resulted in an award of fees and costs.
  • Obtained dismissal of a lawsuit arising from a criminal conviction on the basis of the statute of limitations, which also resulted in an award of fees and costs.
  • Successfully defended law firm in a claim arising from a complex patent application.

Insurance

  • Obtained dismissal of a third-party administrator from a bad faith lawsuit on the basis that no duty of care was owed to the insured.
  • Successfully represented an out-of-state insurer in an action for change of venue.
  • Part of successful appellate team which achieved affirmation of a favorable outcome for the insurer of a construction site.

Employee Benefits Insurance

  • Obtained judgment affirming a claim administrator’s benefit decision as to a claim arising from heart-related diagnoses and depression.
  • Successfully defended an administrator in lawsuit alleging state law claims on the basis of ERISA preemption.
  • Obtained voluntary dismissal of a benefits claim due to the plaintiff’s failure to disclose the claim in a bankruptcy proceeding.

  • Creating Effective and Ethical Environments for Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities, Faculty of Federal Advocates Newsletter, April 2024, and Boulder County Bar Association Newsletter, May 2024, at p. 6-7.
  • Co-Author, Privileges and Confidentiality, Lawyers’ Professional Liability in Colorado (Michael T. Mihm, ed., CLE in Colo., Inc.), 2015.
  • Co-Author, Better Deal or No Deal: Causation in Transactional Professional Negligence Cases, 42 THE COLORADO LAWYER 51, December 2013.

  • Employee Leave and Reasonable Accommodation Requests, Organizational Management Webinar, January 9, 2024, updated on July 9, 2024.
  • Co-Presenter, Technology and Ethics, GRSM Professional Liability Practice Group webinar, January 20, 2016.

Admissions

  • Colorado
  • U.S. District Court, District of Colorado
  • U.S. Court of Appeals, Tenth Circuit

Memberships

  • Colorado Women’s Bar Association
  • Faculty of Federal Advocates

Community Involvement

  • The Colorado Coalition for the Homeless, The Delores Project, Doctors Without Borders

Education

  • J.D., University of Denver Sturm College of Law, 2008
    • Order of St. Ives
    • Recipient, University of Denver Sturm College of Law Outstanding Leadership Award
    • Editor-in-Chief, Denver Journal of International Law and Policy
  •  B.A., cum laude, Sociology, Colorado State University, 2002

Honors

  • Super Lawyers® Rising Stars distinction in Professional Liability Defense and Employee Benefits, 2014-2016