Leslie Weber

One day you wake up and you’re in your mid thirties and you’re not quite sure how you got there…looking back I probably watched too much Law and Order in my youth, thinking I wanted to be like that. When I started at CGH we did criminal defense, so basically the exact opposite of the show, but I have and will always like helping people. It’s my why and what drives me in my career and personal life. In criminal defense and personal injury law, we are the “little guy” taking on the behemoths in the fight for justice. Getting paid to argue with facts and knowledge is fun too.

I saw Tim post some jokes on Facebook that were hilarious so when he posted the job opening five years ago, I decided to apply. I was working as a corporate paralegal before CGH. There was a lot of reviewing business contracts and not much interaction with actual people. I knew Tim through a mentoring youth program we did in Denver and so I already knew he was a caring person and someone I would want to work for and with. Then I started working here and realized they all have horrible taste in music and was like, I’m not so sure, but I stuck with it and it’s been the best job I’ve ever had.

My husband, Brad, and I had to make trial binders for eight hours on our wedding anniversary a couple years ago. We missed our dinner reservation at The Kitchen (where we had our wedding reception) and never made it back that year for a reschedule, haha! CGH has learned many lessons since then, thankfully. The trial we were working on ended up getting our biggest verdict ever, so it was worth it in the end. But at the time, not very romantic.

Litigation. There is no smoking gun in the courtroom during trial. Litigation actually has what’s called a “discovery” phase that has a cutoff over a month before trial. If you don't disclose evidence before the cutoff, it's actually very bad because you cannot use it at trial. Litigation deadlines keep me up at night.

The legal field is known for being archaic but CGH has implemented a few new platforms with new technology that are very cool! Gone are the days of printing/stamping/stapling etc., thank goodness. Now everything is digital and paperless. I don’t think a robot will come for my job quite yet but the new technology definitely helps us make clients cases more organized, which helps us tremendously during litigation.

My day has a very significant range depending on if we are going to trial. CGH goes to trial a lot for a personal injury firm (still only about 5% of cases but that’s a lot in comparison to other PI firms). A typical trial starts weeks before to get ready. The Court requires a lot of documents to be filed before trial. We have to set up meetings with clients and witnesses to prepare. We have to create exhibit binders. We have to prepare the visuals and the tech. We have to try and pick a jury that won’t be too mad to be on a civil trial jury. We have to prepare, prepare, and prepare some more!! The most nerve wracking time is when the Jury has the case and you’re waiting for a verdict. If there is no trial, I’m just answering emails and going through medical records.

I have never met a harder working group of individuals. The never ending pursuit of justice fuels the fire at the practice and I don’t see anyone slowing down in the 5 years I’ve worked here. If anything, we have picked up speed and are full steam ahead.

I do not unwind because I live with a two year old. They have the energy of 1000 suns and we pretty much go till we all pass out. You can find us at Denver Nature and Science Museum often though, we love it there! They have dinosaurs. I also run the social media for Brad’s Diner, serving up the best smash burgers in Denver. I try to make as many yoga sculpt classes I can.

Don’t. But if you must, try to find a practice area that helps people and a firm like CGH.

Relationships help you tell the client’s story and tell it persuasively. When you hear stories of injuries and trauma, it is hard. I am scared of everything, especially driving, now. However, if we don’t show the insurance company that clients are real people with real lives that are affected usually by the carelessness of another driver, then they will have no reason to pay a fair amount.