Trial Lawyers With Broad Experience

Godfrey | Johnson, P.C. is a Denver-based law firm that handles complex litigation throughout the central and western United States. We also handle specialized matters in many foreign countries. The breadth of our experience is a primary source of our strength as a litigation firm, covering a vast range of civil litigation topics and geographic areas. While no two cases are exactly alike, and we develop each case individually, we have the benefit of having litigated so many different kinds of disputes that our knowledge base is unusually extensive, so we have no need to reinvent the wheel.

Multidisciplinary Expertise

Our extensive trial experience, scientific and engineering acumen, and specialized training in finance and business brings a valuable mosaic of abilities to bear on any problem or lawsuit. We call this Multidisciplinary Expertise. The methodology we utilizes provides the formula for solving your unique problems, regardless of the degree of scientific, business or medical complexity. You will find many examples of this philosophy under the specific practice areas listed on the left side of these pages.

Modern trial practice requires a total mastery of many separate technical skills, including not only traditional legal argument, examination of witnesses and jury skill, but also technological mastery and sophistication in the art of multimedia presentation, information science and the psychology of persuasion. Unique and varying judicial expectations of counsel, and rapid changes in procedural and substantive law make the American courtroom an even more demanding battlefield. We have dedicated our professional lives to the mastery of this environment.

Helping Jurors Find Truth

Jurors are never persuaded by information they do not understand. On the other hand, jurors are nearly always influenced by emotion. Teaching is an art, and helping juries to understand complex information is a high form of that art. Using technology to accomplish that goal is one of our firm’s hallmarks. Whether it comes down to a common-sense argument made on an easel with a magic marker or a state-of-the-art computerized analysis of biomechanics or accident reconstruction, we have extensive experience and we have developed many methods that are totally unique to our firm. This is the kind of sophistication that can only come from trying a massive number of jury cases.

With a great deal at stake, it is not acceptable to trust an important matter to unprepared or inexperienced trial lawyers. Litigation, in essence, is a test of legal force. Law professors often preach that, within the bounds of legal ethics and moral responsibility, litigation in America is designed to be all-out war, through which justice is obtained as a result of the forceful collision of adversaries, ideas and claims, in which each side strips away all that is untrue or unsupportable in the opponent’s presentation. In an adversarial system of justice, the goal is obliteration of all but that which is true; this is the harsh reality of our system of justice. The theory breaks down to some degree, however, because legal adversaries are rarely evenly matched, yet the perceptions of the court and jury depend utterly upon the skill, professionalism and preparation of trial lawyers.

Achieving Optimum Settlements

Lawsuits are often brought with the aim of achieving a settlement, but readiness for trial has the greatest influence on the outcome of a case, including the relative benefit of any settlement. In order to achieve a desirable settlement, one must be as prepared as possible to win at trial. If an acceptable settlement is not achievable, trying your case more effectively than one’s opponent is the best alternative.

What does it take to win?

The ultimate key to this form of “civilized warfare” is to be represented by lawyers with a mastery of the art, who understand how to skillfully weave the tapestry of preparation and tactics to achieve the optimum result attainable under the circumstances. This demands detailed and extensive knowledge of the law, years of courtroom experience, specialized training and a natural talent for trial practice.

Mediation & Arbitration

Disputes don’t always have to be resolved by a jury. When cases are well-prepared, they often end in mediation or Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR). Some cases are required by contract or statute to be resolved in arbitration (a binding decision by an arbitrator). The science and practice of mediation and arbitration are unique and differ in some ways from jury trial practice. We have vast experience in these areas—dovetailing our trial expertise into a mastery of mediation and arbitration.

The key to success in litigation is to be realistic and careful in terms of how a “win” is defined under the circumstances of any given dispute. No two cases are exactly alike. Remember that no attorney or firm can guarantee success according to any arbitrary standard or in terms of a favorable result at trial. Whether or not to try a case or settle a case is a decision a client makes with the advise of an attorney, and no attorney can guarantee anything about the outcome of a civil case. Any case, tried to a jury or a court, might be resolved unfavorably. Trials are inherently unpredictable. Statements contained on this website regarding the ability of the professionals at Godfrey | Johnson, P.C., are based upon good faith perceptions of our abilities demonstrated over years of practice, and are not intended to imply that the attorneys have never lost a case or that we can assure that any particular case will be won at trial or on motions. The best way to evaluate any case is to communicate about it in depth with qualified legal counsel, providing all relevant information to the attorney. It is dangerous to withhold facts from an attorney, and can lead to the delivery of legal advise that is fundamentally flawed. No attorney can prevent this from happening, as attorneys all must rely to some extent upon the information that is provided to them by their clients. The best way to evaluate an attorney is by that attorney’s track record, and ours is open for discussion in any specific field. Our abilities as described on this website are based upon experience in actual cases, which have been successful more often than not. ©2015 Godfrey | Johnson, P.C. All rights reserved.