Background
Heather A. Salg is a Partner who has tried over 60 trials and arbitrations to verdict. She primarily defends insurance companies and their insureds, as well as large self-insurers in Federal Court and District Courts throughout Colorado. Her primary goal as an insurance defense trial attorney is to develop the relevant facts as quickly and economically as possible, provide an early and accurate assessment based on the facts and law, resolve matters as soon as they can be resolved, and zealously defend those cases if necessary, before a jury.
Ms. Salg has been admitted and testified as an insurance industry standards of care expert in Colorado and has been retained in numerous cases expressing opinions on whether carriers engaged in “bad faith” or statutory unreasonable delay. She has presented and written about evidentiary problems associated with the reasonable value of medical expenses (“billed v paid”), Premises Liability, and best claim handling practices. She has written articles for the Colorado Lawyer and Claims Management Magazine. She has been a faculty presenter for the ABOTA Masters in Trial Program, and she is a Continuing Legal Education speaker for the Colorado Defense Lawyers Association, the Colorado Bar Association, the Denver Bar Association, and the National Business Institute.
In 2013 Ms. Salg was invited to be a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA), an organization with a primary mission of preserving the constitutional vision of equal justice for all Americans and our civil justice system. ABOTA is an invitation-only organization consisting of lawyers who have tried a minimum of 20 civil jury trials to conclusion.
Ms. Salg has been AV-Rated by Martindale-Hubbell since 2009. She was named as a Super Lawyers Rising Star in 2012 and has been named a Super Lawyer annually since 2014. She has been repeatedly listed as a Top Lawyer by 5280 Magazine, named to the Super Lawyers’ lists of Top 50 Women attorneys in Colorado, and the Colorado Super Lawyers Top 100 list of Colorado attorneys.
Ms. Salg is an active member of the Colorado Defense Lawyers Association (“CDLA”). She has repeatedly chaired professionalism events that are co-sponsored by the Colorado Defense Lawyer’s Association and the Colorado Trial Lawyers Association. She volunteers annually at Mock Trial events for the Colorado Bar Association.
Practice Areas
- Insurance Defense
- Litigation
- Expert Testimony
Education and Honors
- University of Denver College of Law, Colorado, J.D., May, 1998
- Honors: Recipient, Award of Scholastic Excellence in Real Estate Seminar
- University of Denver, Daniels College of Business, Denver, Colorado, M.B.A., 1998
- Fort Lewis College, Durango, Colorado, B.A. cum laude, 1993
- Major: political science
Admissions
- Colorado
- U.S. Court of Appeals of the Tenth Circuit
- U.S. District Court of Colorado
Awards
- 5280 Magazine’s Tope Lawyer 2016, 2017, 2018, 2024
- AV Preeminent Rated, Martindale-Hubbell, since 2009
- Selected to Rising Stars: 2012, and Super Lawyers: 2014-2024
- Top 50 Women: Colorado Super Lawyers: 2017-2020, 2023-2024
- US News & World Report Best Lawyers in America: 2022-2024
- Best Lawyer’s Recognized since 2022
- Selected to Top 100: Colorado Super Lawyers: 2019-2020, 2024
Presentations, Seminars, and Publications
- Bashor/Nunn Follow Up, Anticipating the Setup Attempts: June 11, 2020
- Addressing Sexism in the Legal Profession 1/30/2020 [Vol. 49, Col No 4 CO Lawyer 3/25/20]
- 3/3/20 CWBA, SABA CO, Sam Cary Joint CLE “Equity Partnership-the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly“
- 5/6/22 ABOTA Masters in Trial Program
- 10/27/22 Bad Faith Update
- Lawyering with Littles, 9/5/2019
- Presenting Speaker for the National Business Institute on Insurance Bad Faith “Set Up” in Colorado December 2017
- Presenting faculty at 2017 CDLA Trial Academy on “Examining Experts
- Chairperson and Presenting Speaker for the Colorado Bar Association 2017 Commercial Motor Vehicle Accident Law: Plaintiff and Defense Perspectives April 21, 2017
- Premises Liability Litigation 2016: Plaintiff & Defense Perspectives, 6/15/2016
- Chairperson for the Colorado Professionalism Month CLE, presented by the Colorado Defense Lawyers Association and Colorado Trial Lawyers Association, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016 and 2017
- Presenting Speaker for the National Business Institute on Insurance Bad Faith “Set Up” in Colorado, November, 2016
- Presenting Speaker for the Byron R. White Center for the Study of American Constitutional Law Constitution Day Project 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016 and 2017
- Program Chair and Speaker: A Crash Course in Motor Vehicle Accident Law for the Colorado Bar Association, May 2016
- Presenting Speaker at ABOTA Masters in Trial demonstration, April 2016
- Presenting Speaker at Colorado Defense Lawyer’s Association Summer 2015 Conference in Steamboat Springs, Colorado on Defending Bad Faith Claims
- Presenting Speaker for the National Business Institute on Insurance Coverage and Bad Faith Defense Strategies, January 2015
- Presenter with Dr. Reinhardt and Dr. Day of Biodynamic Research Corporation on the Defense of Low-Speed/Minor Impact Accidents and the Admissibility of Biomechanical Expert Opinions for the Claims and Litigation Management Alliance Greater Denver Chapter Event on October 9, 2014
- Presenting Speaker on Premises Liability at the Colorado Defense Lawyers Association Annual Conference, 2013
- Presenting Speaker at the July 2013 National Conference of Insurance Guaranty Funds (NCIGF) Legal Conference on Appellate Advocacy: Arguing a Guaranty Fund Case in a State Supreme Court
- Avoiding and Defending Bad Faith – Best Claims and Litigation Strategies. For the Claims and Litigation Management Alliance in Oakbrook Terrace, Illinois, July, 2013
- Chair and Faculty for Colorado Bar Association CLE, Premises Liability Litigation, March 21, 2013
- Faculty for A Crash Course in Motor Vehicle Accident Law 2013, February 21, 2013, on the issue of Physician Patient Privilege and Medical Record Production in Personal Injury Cases
- Presenting Speaker at the Colorado Defense Lawyers Association Billed v Paid CLE, 2012
- Presenting Speaker on Premises Liability Issues at the Colorado Bar Association CLE 2010 Annual Tort Law Update
- Annual Tort Law Update 2011, 9/22/2011
- Annual Tort Law Update 2018, 9/20/2018
- Annual Tort Law Update 2019, 9/19/2019
- Presenting Speaker at the Colorado Defense Lawyers Association Biomechanics CLE in November, 2011 Faculty for the ABA Section of Litigation / Legal Services Training Program, National Institute for Trial Advocacy, 2007
- Homestudies Motor Vehicle Accident Law 2020: A Crash Course, 4/14/2020
Associations and Organizations
- Colorado Bar Association
- Arapahoe County Bar Association
- Colorado Defense Lawyer’s Association, Board of Directors, 2010-2012; General Liability Committee Chair, 2016
- Colorado Chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA); 2013-present
- Frequent Chair of CDLA and CTLA Annual Professionalism Event
- Member of CDLA, prior Board member of CDLA and prior chair of Bad Faith Committee
- Member of ABOTA
Paralegals
Becky Guinn
Kristin Adams