O’Hagan Meyer  is excited to announce the opening of our new office in Denver, CO.

Led by Managing Partner Alice Powers, our Denver office includes Partners Ben Hase, John Michels, Meredith McDonald, Meryl Mills, and Associate Brian DeMocker. These exceptional employment lawyers and trial attorneys have a proven track record of success in representing our clients in Colorado and  allow us to better support our clients with their employment and other litigation needs out West. Learn more about this talented team of new O’Hagan Meyer attorneys here.

Meet the team:

Alice Powers, Managing Partner of Denver Office
Alice Powers’ practice focuses on general employment counseling and employment litigation, in both Colorado and California. Ms. Powers represents clients in all aspects of employment litigation in both federal and state courts. She has litigated both traditional labor and employment cases before federal and state judges in several bench trials. Ms. Powers has tried a variety of employment claims and received a decision in the employer’s favor in binding arbitration. She has extensive proficiency in meeting clients’ needs in pre-litigation demands, from the administrative arena to state and federal courts. Ms. Powers has substantial experience appearing before state and federal administrative agencies, including the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement, the Department of Fair Employment and Housing, the Colorado Civil Rights Division and the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Ms. Powers frequently speaks at continuing education events on a variety of employment topics, and trains companies on employment best practices. She is also the past Chair of the Employment Law Committee for the Colorado Defense Lawyers Association.
Learn more about Alice.

Ben Hase, Partner
Ben Hase has worked in the labor and employment legal sector for almost 20 years.  For the past decade, Ben has primarily worked to counsel employers and management and defend their claims with respect to discrimination, medical leave, pay practices, benefits, immigration, trade secrets defense, and more. In addition to advice and counseling work, Ben is an active litigator.  As a trusted advisor on labor and employment topics, Ben has often been asked to speak before audiences both large and small, including the National Labor Relations Board and groups of 1,000 or more at annual employment law conferences.
Learn more about Ben.

John Michels, Partner
After graduating from the Air Force Academy as a distinguished graduate, Mr. Michaels flew some 2800 hours with the Strategic Air Command before attending law school at Duke under an Air Force program. He served as a military attorney in the active duty and Reserve force for the next 18 years. His 30-year civilian practice includes litigating employment and labor cases in local, state and federal courts. He has developed a particular expertise in litigating issues involving technology-based and startup companies, focusing on trade secret and non-compete litigation, as well as high level investigations of claims involving corporate malfeasance.
Learn more about John.

Meredith McDonald, Partner
Meredith has 20 years of experience defending and advising private entities in a variety of matters. She represents clients in all aspects of litigation, both in state and federal court, and has successfully mediated a large number of complex cases. As part of her practice, Meredith’s focus includes the defense of corporate and public entities and representatives in claims related to discrimination under federal and state law, wrongful termination in violation of public policy, and wage and hour violations. Outside of her employment law practice, Meredith also has experience in defending a wide range of civil rights, tort and contract matters, including the defense of public entities, professional architects and engineers, construction professionals, and other private entities in all aspects of litigation.
Learn more about Meredith.

Meryl Mills, Partner
Ms. Mills focuses her legal practice on management-side employment advice and counseling. She advises employers on all aspects of the employer-employee relationship, including wage and hour compliance, paid sick leave laws, performance documentation and management, leaves of absence, the interactive process, hiring, and terminations.  She conducts wage and hour and Human Resources best practices audits, and revises and updates employee handbooks, company policies, and employment agreements.  Ms. Mills also regularly provides training on a number of topics, including employment law updates, a survey of legal issues affecting the workplace, performance documentation and management, legal issues for managers, harassment prevention, and leave law compliance.
Learn more about Meryl.

Brian DeMocker, Associate
Brian’s practice centers around the defense of employers and businesses, including with claims of discrimination, harassment, retaliation, failure-to-accommodate, wrongful termination, breach of contract, and violations of wage and hour law. Mr. DeMocker handles all stages of litigation and pre-litigation, from the administrative phase to litigation and through trial and beyond. He ensures that his clients are well-informed at every step of the process. Mr. DeMocker also advises clients on strategy, both during and aside from court cases. Outside of employment law, Mr. DeMocker also has experience in trade secrets matters and complex business litigation.
Learn more about Brian.