Sarah E. Spencer, Christensen & Jensen

Ms. Spencer has experience litigating commercial and tort matters in state and federal court on behalf of private clients and governmental entities. She is admitted to practice in Colorado, Utah, the United States District Court for the District of Utah, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals, and the United States Supreme Court. She has handled complex contractual disputes, employment matters, constitutional and Section 1983 cases, insurance coverage disputes, civil appeals, products liability suits, and other personal injury cases. Prior to joining Christensen & Jensen, Ms. Spencer worked as an associate attorney with a boutique litigation firm in Salt Lake City, and with one of the ten largest firms in Colorado. Ms. Spencer served two judicial clerkships after graduation from law school, one as a law clerk in a civil courtroom of Colorado's Second Judicial District, and one as the sole law clerk for the twenty-seven judges of the State of Utah's Juvenile Courts.

EDUCATION

• University of Denver Sturm College of Law, Juris Doctor 2004
  • Staff Editor, University of Denver International Law Journal 2002-2003
  • Member, ABA Traveling Trial Team 2002-2003
  • American Jurisprudence Award, Advanced Civil Procedure 2003
• Metropolitan State College of Denver, Bachelor of Arts 1999
  • Honors: Psi Chi, National Honor Society in Psychology, President’s Award

BAR ADMISSIONS

Admitted to practice in Colorado (2004), Utah (2006), Federal District of Utah, Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals, and United States Supreme Court.

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS AND ACTIVITIES

• Utah Law Related Education - Panel Judge for 2008 & 2009 High School Mock Trial Competition
• Utah State Bar - Co-Chair of 2009 Summer Convention
• Utah State Bar - Young Lawyers Division, Executive Council Member, Wills for Heroes  Committee Co-Chair, 2008-2009
• Defense Research Institute (DRI) - Member, Young Lawyers Committee, Publications and Supreme Court subcommittees
• Utah Defense Lawyers Association
• American Bar Association
  

SELECTED OPINIONS

• Amundsen v. Jones, 533 F.3d 1192 (10th Cir. 2008)
• Clark v. Edmunds, 513 F.3d 1219 (10th Cir. 2008)
• Chidester v. Utah County, 268 Fed.Appx. 718 (10th Cir. 2008)
• CCo-author of Petition for Writ of Certiorari to United States Supreme Court, Pearson v. Callahan, 2007 WL 4300857, cert. granted March 24, 2008, 128 S.Ct. 1702.

PRACTICE AREAS

• Commercial and Business Litigation
• Personal Injury/Insurance Defense
• Employment and Labor Law
• Appeals
• Products Liability

PUBLICATIONS

• "Vicarious Liability of Motor Carrier Employers for Punitive Damages Imposed as a Result of Employee Drivers' Conduct: The Restatement's Complicity Approach," ALFA INTERNATIONAL TRANSPORTATION UPDATE, Vol. 2008, Issue 4.
• Employment Law Update - Colorado and Wyoming Chapters of 2005 ALFA 50 State Compendium

PERSONAL

• Born Denver, Colorado, 1982