Sarah Rice Carlson

Sarah Rice Carlson is an associate at Davis Graham & Stubbs LLP, where her practice focuses on commercial litigation, arbitration, construction and real estate litigation, creditors’ rights, and natural resources litigation. Ms. Carlson represents and advises clients in all stages of litigation including discovery, motions practice, alternative dispute resolution, settlement and negotiation, trial or arbitration, and appeals. She has successfully represented both plaintiffs and defendants in cases allowing her clients a balanced view of both sides of litigation.

Ms. Carlson is active in many Colorado communities. She remains an active alumnus of the University of Denver Sturm College of Law where she has taught as an adjunct professor on mediation advocacy and negotiation and is a member of the DU Law Alumni Judicial Clerkship Committee, which is actively involved in creating opportunities for diverse law students in the Colorado legal community. Additionally, she is a current member of the Colorado Women’s Bar Association, Denver Bar Association, and the Colorado Bar Association. Ms. Carlson serves on the planning committee for the CBA’s Colorado Diverse Attorney Community Circle (CODACC), an initiative seeking to build a community for diverse attorneys in Colorado.

Ms. Carlson serves on the board of directors for the Colorado Lawyers Committee and as co-chair of the Young Lawyers’ Division of the Colorado Hispanic Bar

Association. She also sits on the Young Professionals’ Board of the Colorado Women’s Chamber of Commerce and is a graduate of the Colorado Women’s Chamber of Commerce Leadership Program. In 2022, Ms. Carlson joined the board of directors of Senior Housing Options, a non-profit organization providing housing options for older adults with low income and disabilities.

Prior to joining DGS, Ms. Carlson clerked for Chief Judge Gilbert M. Román of the Colorado Court of Appeals where she assisted in the research and writing of various appellate opinions. She also previously interned for Judge Allison H. Eid during her tenure on the Colorado Supreme Court.

During law school, Ms. Carlson served as the editor in chief of the University of Denver Water Law Review. In 2018, she and her partner were national champions of the American Bar Association’s Representations in Mediation advocacy competition. Before graduating, she was awarded the DU Law 2018 Outstanding Leadership Award and the 2018 Excellence in Alternative Dispute Resolution Award.

Representative Matters & Experience

• Obtained fourth highest plaintiff’s jury verdict in Colorado in 2021 for an exploration and production company in a damages dispute with contractor
• Obtained favorable arbitration award for construction defect litigation and fraudulent billing relating to multi-million-dollar residential home
• Achieved successful settlement for pro bono client incarcerated at a Colorado correctional facility resulting in systematic, statewide change to religious freedoms in administrative regulations
• Represented secure lender in a successful state foreclosure proceeding involving ski and golf resort near Granby, Colorado
• Represented large landholders in quiet title and adverse possession claims