Leslie M. Lawson has a diverse background which serves her well as a mediator, arbitrator and private judge. She is a former Denver District Court Judge. As a trial attorney she represented both plaintiffs and defendants.

A recognized authority in employment law, Leslie established a national precedent in successfully litigating the first sexual harassment case tried in the United States. She was a partner in the firm Feiger & Lawson and a Senior Attorney for Atlantic Richfield (ARCO). While employed by Atlantic Richfield, her primary client was the largest surface coal mine in North America. During her career, she worked as a Trial Attorney for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and as a Staff Attorney in the clinical program at the University of Denver College of Law.

Leslie has received many honors during her legal career. In 1998 she was named the Distinguished Alumna by the University of Wyoming. She also received the Distinguished Alumna award from Casper College in 1991. She is a past president of the Colorado Women’s Bar Association and a member of the Board of Law Examiners Bar Committee. Leslie helped establish an Early Neutral Evaluation program in the Denver District Court. She is a Master in the Yasui Inn of Court. Leslie has taught many law school and continuing legal education courses over the years, published law review articles and participated in the National Institute for Trial Advocacy.

She attended the Harvard Law School Negotiations Workshop and Advanced Negotiation Workshop. She has presided over hundreds of cases in settlement conferences, arbitrations, or private judicial appointments. She is also very skilled in conducting fact finding investigations.