Jennifer Gokenbach is a Colorado employment defense lawyer who represents employers in workplace disputes, employment litigation, and regulatory matters throughout Colorado. Drawing on more than two decades of experience, she provides strategic counsel and practical solutions to help business clients resolve employment claims and navigate complex workplace challenges.

Prior to founding her boutique law firm in 2012, she led the employment practice group at a large regional law firm and served as a shareholder at a national Am Law 100 management-side labor and employment law firm with more than 700 attorneys and offices nationwide.

Ms. Gokenbach has been rated AV Preeminent® by Martindale-Hubbell since 2013, the organization’s highest peer rating for legal ability and professional ethics. She has been recognized among Colorado’s Top 100 Lawyers and Top 50 Women Lawyers by Super Lawyers and has also been named a Top Rated Lawyer in Labor & Employment Litigation and a Woman Leader in the Law by publications of ALM Media, including Corporate Counsel, The American Lawyer, and The National Law Journal.

Ms. Gokenbach is also active in mentoring and professional development. She serves as a faculty member with the National Institute of Trial Advocacy (NITA), where she teaches trial advocacy skills in the Building Trial Skills: Colorado program and the Women in Trial program. She currently serves as the Chair of the Amicus Committee and the Diversity Committee for Worklaw® Network and regularly speaks at employment law conferences and Worklaw Network programs nationwide on emerging issues affecting employers.

Representative Matters

  • Secured a $1.9 million jury verdict for a physician client following a six-day jury trial involving breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing under a Partner Agreement and Stock Agreement against private equity healthcare consolidators; the verdict was affirmed on appeal by the Colorado Court of Appeals in February 2026.
  • Obtained a defense verdict for a media company in a five-day jury trial involving a sexual harassment claim and prevailed on a counterclaim for civil theft against the plaintiff employee.
  • Successfully defended a real estate developer in a three-day bench trial involving claims for unpaid wages.
  • Successfully argued before the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit to affirm dismissal of a collective action brought under the Fair Labor Standards Act against a catering company and to invalidate a tip-credit regulation promulgated by the U.S. Department of Labor that exceeded statutory authority.
  • Successfully argued multiple matters before the Colorado Court of Appeals, including obtaining reversal of a district court’s dismissal of a staffing company’s appeal of government fines based on the plain meaning of statutory language and due process principles, and reversal of a government agency’s tax liability determination involving worker classification for a pet care company.
  • Defeated claims for worker misclassification and unpaid overtime wages against an insurance broker following a two-day arbitration, and represented employers in numerous mediations resulting in favorable resolutions of wrongful termination and other employment disputes.
  • Obtained summary judgment for an energy company in a race discrimination case brought under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and 42 U.S.C. § 1981.
  • Secured early dismissal of national origin and age discrimination claims brought against a restaurant franchisee under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act.
  • Obtained dismissal of a misappropriation of trade secrets claim brought by a competitor against a software developer.

Education

  • J.D.., University of Denver Sturm College of Law
    • General Editor, University of Denver Law Review
    • President, Moot Court Board
    • National Trial Advocacy Champion (ATLA Student Trial Advocacy Competition, now AAJ STAC)
  • M.B.A., University of Denver Daniels College of Business
  • B.S., Statistics, San Diego State University

Bar Admissions

  • Colorado
  • Florida
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
  • U.S. District Court, District of Colorado
  • U.S. District Court, Southern District of Florida
  • U.S. District Court, District of Minnesota
  • U.S. District Court, District of North Dakota
  • U.S. District Court, District of Utah