Valeri Pappas

Valeri Pappas was born in Syracuse, New York and has lived in Colorado since 1995. As an undergraduate, she attended the University of Michigan for two years in the Honors Program before receiving her B.A. from the University of Vermont, graduating magna cum laude and as a member of Phi Beta Kappa. She attended the University of Colorado School of Law where she served as an associate editor of the law review and received her J.D. in 1998. Ms. Pappas joined Davis & Ceriani as a litigation associate in 1999, became a partner in 2005 and managing partner in January 2015.

Litigation Practice

Part of Davis & Ceriani’s trial team, Ms. Pappas’s experience as a litigator includes participating in all phases of multi-million dollar litigation, in jury trials as well as FINRA arbitrations. Her practice areas include securities litigation, employment law, complex commercial litigation, personal injury and general civil litigation. Her securities experience over the past twenty years includes cases across the country representing institutional investors bringing securities fraud claims resulting from municipal bond purchases.

Employment Law Practice

Ms. Pappas also advises employers on a variety of matters such as drafting and revising employee handbooks, conducting workplace investigations as well as company-wide and individual sensitivity, discrimination and harassment training. Ms. Pappas assists both employers and employees on matters such as dispute resolution, drafting and negotiating severance agreements, non-compete agreements and other workplace and employment issues. In her employment practice, Ms. Pappas co-authored “Workplace Bullying Legislation – A Primer for Colorado Employers and Employees” published in Trial Talk June/July 2008.

Awards, Professional Memberships, Teaching and Activities

Ms. Pappas has been selected for many years as Colorado Super Lawyer for securities litigation, and has also been recognized in the Top 100 lawyer and Top 50 Women lawyer categories. She was also selected previously as a Colorado Super Lawyers “Rising Star” and 5280 Top Lawyer, and Best Lawyers in America for 2020-2022. Ms. Pappas can also be found on the Bar Register of Preeminent Women Lawyers. Ms. Pappas’s involvement in the community is extensive:

  • Vice Chair for the Boys and Girls Club of Metro Denver
  • Board of Directors for the Boys and Girls Club of Metro Denver as a Board Member, and served on the Associate Board for ten years, culminating as the Chair for 2015-2017
  • Board of Directors of the Colorado Women’s Bar Foundation
  • Board of Advisors of ACE Scholarships from 2013-2017
  • Volunteer for Colorado Bar Association’s Lawline 9, which provides free legal advice to the public
  • Faculty member at the National Institute for Trial Advocacy (NITA) since 2015, teaching annually at the Rocky Mountain Building Trial Skills program, as well as additional programs teaching trial skills to public interest and immigration attorneys.
  • Teacher for the NITA Legal Aid Association of CA course, 2021.
  • Graduate of the 2017 Leadership Denver class
  • Adjunct Professor at University of Colorado School of Law – Technical & Engineering Knowledge in Litigation, Fall 2019
  • Executive Council of the Litigation Section of the Colorado Bar Association
  • Member of the Colorado Bar Association, the Denver Bar Association, the Colorado Trial Lawyers Association, the Colorado Women’s Bar Association and the American Association for Justice

Publications

Examining the Title VII Ellerth/Faragher Affirmative Defense in the “Me Too” Era

Ms. Pappas is featured in the University of Vermont’s Catamount Today: Denver Edition.