Lenora Plimpton
Partner
Leni is a litigator and counselor who specializes in employment law. She is an experienced appellate advocate and commercial litigator. Leni’s practice spans both federal and state courts, and she is licensed to practice law in both Colorado and Utah. Leni has a special interest in constitutional law and freedom of speech, as well as government contracting. Her industry experience includes tech, robotics, retail, private equity, title insurance, and medical devices.
Leni’s complex commercial litigation experience includes breach of contract actions, disputes regarding trade secrets & proprietary information, breach of fiduciary duty/duty of loyalty claims, and government contracting. Leni is known for her creative thinking, written and oral advocacy, and her aggressive approach to pursuing her clients’ interests. She is also a seasoned negotiator who has achieved numerous favorable settlements for her clients.
Leni regularly advises companies of all sizes, from small start-ups and family-owned businesses to large multinational corporations. Her employment law expertise spans multiple areas:
- HR law;
- Employment policies and procedures;
- Wage and hour matters;
- Non-competition, non-solicitation, and proprietary information agreements;
- Hiring, firing, and performance management;
- Workplace investigations;
- Executive employment agreements & compensation structures;
- Administrative audits and appeals (including the Unemployment Insurance Division and the Wage Division);
- ADA, FMLA, Title VII, the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act;
- Reductions in force;
- Labor bargaining and collective actions; and
- General employment counseling and risk assessment.
Leni regularly appears in court and has briefed and argued dispositive motions in both state and federal courts. She often represents clients in arbitration and is a subject matter expert on the Federal Arbitration Act.
For successive years, she has been named to the Best Lawyers’ “Ones to Watch” list and selected by Super Lawyers in recognition of her work in litigation and labor and employment law.
After law school, Leni served as a law clerk for two Utah Supreme Court justices and the Colorado Supreme Court chief justice. Following her clerkships, she joined Bryan Cave before moving to Fortis in 2018.
Practice Areas
- Employment & Labor Law
- Employment Litigation
- Commercial Litigation
- Appeals
- Public Utilities Commission Matters
Education
- Juris Doctor, University of Utah, S.J. Quinney College of Law, 2013
- Bachelor of Arts, English Literature, Columbia University, Columbia College – 2007
Bar Admissions
- Utah (2013)
- Colorado (2015)
- U.S. District Court, District of Colorado
- U.S. District Court, District of Utah
- The United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
- Faculty of Federal Advocates
- Colorado Bar Association
- Colorado Women’s Bar Association
- Colorado Poverty Law Project
- U.S. District Court of Colorado, Pro Bono Panel
- Women Lawyers of Utah
- Named to Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch – 2021-2024
- Commercial Litigation
- Selected as a Super Lawyers Colorado Rising Star – 2021-2023
- Named on the 2026 LawDragon 500 X – The Next Generation list
Leni has a very active life with her two children and many pets. Leni’s husband, John, is a lawyer with the Colorado Public Defender’s Office. When Leni has spare time, she loves gardening at her home in Lakewood, skiing at Winter Park, and baking.
- Featured, “Judge Says Pot Fraudster Must Pay $1.5M In Civil Suit,” Law360 – June 2023
- Quoted: “Check Your Paycheck: Deductions Start in January for Colorado’s New Family Leave Program,” Denver Post – Dec. 2022
- Author, “3 Ways Employers Can Combat Quiet Quitting” – AllBusiness.com, October 2022
- Author, “Family Leave Policy Considerations During, After COVID-19”, HR Daily Advisor – July 2020
- “Paid Leave Bills Address COVID-19” Colorado Law Week – March 2020
- Successfully defeated a motion for summary judgment brought against Fortis’s client brought by two major national law firms.
- Picked up a pro bono case in federal court at the 11th hour, obtained leave to re-open discovery, obtained critical documents and deposition testimony revealing the merit of the client’s case; negotiated a favorable settlement for the client just before trial.
- With a Fortis team, briefed a Tenth Circuit appeal of the dismissal of a technology company’s claims against former employees and their new employer. The Tenth Circuit unanimously ruled in the client’s favor on three of four claims. LS3 Inc. v. Cherokee Nation Strategic Programs, L.L.C., No. 21-1385, 2022 WL 3440692 (10th Cir. Aug. 17, 2022)
- Assisted with a trial involving a business contract dispute, in which the Fortis team obtained a successful verdict on one claim and a hung jury on the second claim.
- Won summary judgment dismissing claims of sex and gender discrimination in violation of Title VII and Idaho law alleged by a former employee. Allred v. Home Depot, 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 110904 (D. Idaho 2019).
- Won motion to dismiss three of Plaintiff’s five claims in a federal lawsuit where Plaintiff, a white former employee, claimed “reverse” race discrimination and disability discrimination. Cunningham v. Home Depot, 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 92374 (D. Ariz. 2019).
- Defended large, multi-state equipment company in Utah contract dispute; negotiated favorable settlement of claims during lengthy private mediation.
- Obtained favorable settlement during mediation at the CCRD of age and disability discrimination claims brought by disgruntled former employee of a technology company.
