Gordon “Skip” Netzorg

Member

Denver, Colorado

Phone: 303.299.8381

Fax:

[email protected]

Education

  • J.D., Syracuse University (1976)
    • With Honors
    • Syracuse Law Review, articles editor 
  • B.A., University of Pennsylvania (1970)

A member of the firm’s Arbitration and Mediation practice, Gordon “Skip” Netzorg focuses on resolving difficult commercial disputes.

Skip is frequently selected as the arbitrator or mediator because of his extensive trial experience on both the plaintiff and defendant sides, his reputation for fairness, and his ability to get to the heart of the matter for quick resolution of even the most contentious cases. He has served as an arbitration panel chair, panel member, or sole arbitrator in dozens of major cases where arbitration demands have ranged from the tens of thousands of dollars to multibillion-dollar figures. He is a member of the American Arbitration Association’s (AAA) National Panel and is often selected by the AAA to teach panel member courses. He is also a member of the National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals.

He has been repeatedly recognized in many areas of law. Year after year, he is listed as a Top 10 Super Lawyer and a Best Lawyers in numerous categories. He is a fellow of both the highly selective and prestigious American College of Trial Lawyers and the International Academy of Trial Lawyers.

MEDIATION

A former litigator of complex, multiparty commercial disputes, Skip brings the perspective of a trial lawyer and an arbitrator, along with a cutting-edge methodology to conduct mediations effectively and efficiently. Emphasizing the importance of informational exchanges, he encourages the parties to meaningfully evaluate and deal with the risks, strengths, and weaknesses of their cases and those of their adversaries. Skip talks with counsel before the start of mediation to determine how he can best facilitate resolution. He is proactive in steering cases toward settlement. He also employs a number of especially effective strategies to move the parties along when they reach an impasse.

ARBITRATION

Skip was a member of the Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System (IAALS)/American College of Trial Lawyers Joint Task Force on Discovery and has been at the forefront of efforts to reduce costs, complexity, and time to trial while maintaining fairness to all parties. As an arbitrator with this knowledge and experience, he guides parties in conducting discovery to ensure they obtain the information they need to make their claims and defenses without the abuses discovery can entail. When discovery disputes arise, he handles them quickly and informally, often convening telephone conferences within hours of a dispute or during a disputed deposition. He is able to streamline the process and help contain costs while maintaining a level playing field for the parties.

In addition to serving as an arbitrator and a mediator, Skip helps counsel structure mock arbitrations to test the effectiveness of arguments, case theories, evidence, and witness testimony in advance of an actual hearing. Skip is also available for pro bono mediations for those who represent a client on a pro bono basis.

Experience

MEDIATION

  • Breach of fiduciary duty; fraud; breach of trust; registered representative (stockbroker) misconduct; entity breakups; corporate governance; professional malpractice; insurance coverage; breach of contract; virtually all aspects of business disputes; divorce; auto accidents; and large, complex estate and trust matters. Many of these cases have been multiparty mediations.

 

ARBITRATION

  • Intellectual property; computers; programming; patents; unfair trade practices; large, complex commercial contracts; banking lending practices; finder’s fees; corporate governance; breach of fiduciary duties; fraud; accounting and tax; Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA); putative class actions; collateralized debt; business breakups; employment disputes; professional liability; cannabis; healthcare; natural resources and mining; oil and gas; construction and real estate development; tribal conflicts; tribal lending entities; securities and investments; condemnation (as lead commissioner); gaming facilities; sports controversies.

 

LITIGATION

  • Typical cases have involved issues as diverse as breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duties, corporate governance, business and investment fraud, real estate, debtor-lender disputes, intellectual property, and natural resources.
  • Extensive familiarity with corporate, partnership, limited liability company, and banking statutory requirements.
  • Involved with all aspects of special litigation committees, from court appointment as special litigation counsel to counsel for corporate entities in derivative litigation.
  • Successfully tried and obtained verdicts, judgments, and arbitration awards in wide variety of complex commercial cases including eight-figure awards, nine-figure settlements, and defense verdicts.
  • Numerous other cases including shareholder and bondholder suits and class actions, representation of officers and directors in corporate investigations and lawsuits, representation of investors and brokerage firms, representation of various parties in disputed estate matters, oil and gas and mining disputes, tribal disputes, disputes among professionals, defense of Resolution Trust Corporation and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) investigations and administrative claims on behalf of officers and directors, service as court-appointed discovery and special master, and special litigation committee counsel in derivative litigation.

Publications & Presentations

PRESS

 

PUBLICATIONS

  • Significant Changes for Business Cases Under the Colorado Civil Access Pilot Project (co-author with Hon. Ann B. Frick)
    The Colorado Lawyer, Vol. 41, No. 1 page 29 | January 2012
  • Colorado at the Crossroads: Civil Access Pilot Project (co-author with Gilbert Dickenson, Natalie Brown and Hon. Ann B. Frick)
    The Colorado Lawyer, Vol. 40, No. 1 page 17 | January 2011
  • Proportional Discovery: Making It the Norm, Rather Than the Exception (co-author with Tobin Kern)
    87 University of Denver Law Review  513 | March 2010

 

PRESENTATIONS

  • Frequent Lecturer, trial practice subjects, various bar associations

Professional Activities

  • American Arbitration Association
    • National Panel of Arbitrators and Mediators
    • Large Case Committee
  • National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals, Colorado Charter member
  • College of Commercial Arbitrators, Fellow
  • American College of Trial Lawyers
    • Task Force on Discovery and Civil Justice
    • Colorado State Chair (2010 – 2012)
  • Colorado Civil Access Business Pilot Project, Co-chair
  • American Bar Foundation, Life Fellow
  • Colorado Trial Lawyers Association
    • Past President
    • Commercial Law Section, past Chair

Highlights

  • Fellow, International Academy of Trial Lawyers
  • Best Lawyers in America, Denver
    • Arbitration (2011 – 2024)
    • Bet-the-Company Litigation (2015 – 2024)
    • Commercial Litigation (1995 – 2024)
    • Litigation – Banking and Finance (2011 – 2024)
    • Litigation – Real Estate (2011 – 2024)
    • Litigation – Securities (2011 – 2024)
    • Mediation (2011 – 2024)
    • Lawyer of the Year, Litigation: Securities, Denver (2019)
    • Lawyer of the Year, Banking and Finance, Denver (2010, 2013, 2024)
  • Super Lawyers
    • Top 10 Lawyers, Colorado (2013 – 2024)
    • Top 100 Lawyers, Colorado (2012 – 2024)
    • Top 50 Lawyers, Colorado (2006 – 2024)
    • Alternative Dispute Resolution, Colorado (2021 – 2024)
    • Ranked #2 Colorado Super Lawyers (2018, 2020)
    • Ranked #3 Colorado  (2019)
  • Top Lawyer, Commercial Litigation, 5280 Magazine (2015 – 2024)
  • Rebuilding Justice Award, Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System (2015)
  • Law Week Colorado
    • Barrister’s Best, People’s Choice, Best Renewable Energy Lawyer, (2015)
    • Barrister’s Best, Mediation Lawyer, (2021)
    • Lawyer of the Year (2011)
  • Chambers USA
    • Senior Statespeople, Litigation: General Commercial, Colorado (2021 – 2023)
    • Band 2, Litigation: General Commercial, Colorado (2019 – 2020)
  • Best of the Bar Award, Securities Law