Theresa Wardon Benz

Theresa Wardon Benz is a partner in the Trial Group at Davis Graham & Stubbs LLP, where she leads the firm's appellate practice. She has represented leading companies, including Ford, Michelin, and Whirlpool, in complex commercial, class action, product liability trials, litigation, and high-stakes appeals.

Prior to joining DGS, Ms. Benz was a partner in the Denver office of a boutique law firm, where she began her legal career as an associate in 2009. An adept and perceptive leader, Ms. Benz has briefed and argued winning appeals for clients in the automotive, healthcare, and energy sectors over disputes involving products liability, professional malpractice, commercial, and class action litigation at both the trial and appellate level in federal and state courts across the country. Ms. Benz has served on winning trial teams in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, and Ohio, playing a significant role in helping to achieve successful defense verdicts. She also holds robust expertise in handling all stages of class actions, from motion to dismiss, discovery, class certification opposition and appeal, trial, and settlement. Leveraging her technical savvy, Ms. Benz has achieved favorable outcomes for her clients, which include drafting briefs that defeated certification in consumer class and wage-hour class actions.

Ms. Benz received her J.D. magna cum laude and Order of the Coif from Northwestern University Law School and earned her B.A. summa cum laude in History from Boston College. Following law school, she clerked for Judge Neil M. Gorsuch of the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals (now a U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice). As a Richard Marden Davis Award recipient, her commitment to excellence in the legal community extends beyond the courtroom through her civic and community involvement. Ms. Benz maintains an impactful pro bono practice from her representation of asylum seekers fleeing violence in their home countries to previously serving as a long-time board member for The Gathering Place, Denver’s only daytime shelter for women, children, and transgender individuals experiencing poverty. In addition, she is a mentor for Law School . . . Yes We Can, which is the first law school pipeline program in Colorado to target high-achieving first-year college students from diverse backgrounds and provide them access to the legal profession. Ms. Benz is also a fellow for the Leadership Council for Legal Diversity (LCLD) and serves as the co-chair of the DGS Women in Leadership Lecture Series (WILLS).

Ms. Benz is admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado, and U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

Other Commitments & Accomplishments

• 5280 Magazine, Top Lawyers: Appellate (2023-2024)
• Denver Bar Association, Richard Marden Davis Award (2019)
• Benchmark Litigation: Local Litigation Star (2020-2022); 40 & Under National Star (2019); Under 40 Hotlist (2017-2018, 2020-2021)
• Colorado Super Lawyers: Super Lawyer, Civil Litigation Defense (2022); Rising Stars, Civil Litigation Defense (2012-2021)
• “On the Rise,” American Bar Association (2017)
• “40 Under 40,” Denver Business Journal (2016)
• “Top Litigators,” Law Week Colorado (2016); “Up-and-Coming Lawyers,” (2012)