Spencer J. Kontnik

Spencer Kontnik is a founding partner of Kontnik | Cohen and one of the premier civil rights litigators in Colorado. He has also gained national attention for his work representing individuals with disabilities. In 2024, Mr. Kontnik was appointed by Colorado Governor, Jared Polis to serve on a task force to rewrite the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act. He has also drafted legislation, testified before the Colorado State Legislature, and helped pass legislation in Colorado related to ensuring basic civil rights for all individuals regardless of age, race, national origin, color, sex, sexual orientation, and disability.

Mr. Kontnik has represented clients before the Supreme Court of the United States, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, the Colorado Court of Appeals, the U.S. District Court of Colorado, numerous state trial courts throughout Colorado and other states, and in numerous administrative courts and arbitration settings. Mr. Kontnik has tried numerous jury trials, bench trials, injunction hearings, and arbitrations. In the process, he has secured verdicts and settlements in the six and seven figures for his clients. Mr. Kontnik expects to go to trial, and he expects the attorneys in his firm to take cases to trial. Trial attorneys try cases, and the best results are won in the courtroom.

Mr. Kontnik has also been instrumental in taking on the difficult cases that have wide-reaching impact. In 2024, Mr. Kontnik became one of the only attorneys in the United States to successfully obtain preliminary injunctive relief against a State Supreme Court for discriminating towards disabled test takers on the bar exam. The impact of the 2024 preliminary injunction has been widespread within the Colorado legal community. In 2021, Mr. Kontnik was awarded the Access to Justice Award by the Colorado Trial Lawyers Association in connection with a lawsuit against a large long term care facility that engaged in a pattern of discrimination towards a disabled patient.

As part of his commitment to ensuring equality, Mr. Kontnik regularly consults, provides training, and education on civil rights issues. He has been a guest lecturer at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law, the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School, and he has presented numerous Continuing Legal Education Courses to various bar associations. He has also presented to numerous professional organizations including the Colorado Bar Association, the Association of Late Deafened Adults, the Faculty of Federal Advocates. Mr. Kontnik is also a founding member of the Colorado Disability Bar Association and has been on the board of several non-profit organizations.

Mr. Kontnik has always been driven by competition and a desire to overcome any obstacle. From an early age, he excelled in sports and was an All-American swimmer in high school. While attending law school, he was recognized as a leader of the National Trial team and was given the prestigious “Directors Award” from which in only given out in exceptional cases. Prior to starting his own firm, Mr. Kontnik worked for a prominent defense law firm in Colorado. He was one of Chipotle’s trial attorneys in a high stake multi-million-dollar lawsuit in Texas. Ms. Kontnik routinely draws from his experience as a defense attorney to obtain competitive advantages for his clients.