Dirk W. de Roos is a partner in Faegre Baker Daniels' Denver office. For three decades, he has represented employers in employment and employee benefit litigation. In state and federal court at the trial and appellate levels, Dirk has extensive courtroom experience, usually defending claims under Title VII, the ADEA, the ADA, federal and state civil rights and pay statutes, and ERISA.

Some matters representative of his litigation and trial work include the following:

• Successfully defended employer against claimed violations of the ADA by a terminated employee with sleep apnea. 
• Defended, and settled through mediation, two related multi-plaintiff cases alleging violations of Title VII, ADEA, and the Pregnancy Discrimination Act. 
• Obtained summary judgment for employer in case involving ADA and FMLA claims by a terminated employee with a heart ailment. 
• Won summary judgment for an employer against claims for $5,000,000 arising from alleged wrongful termination and denial of medical benefits coverage. 
• Obtained summary judgment for insurance company client in bad faith action arising under E&O policy in claim by insured's former employee (with HIV) that his termination and subsequent loss of medical benefits was based upon an administrative error. 
• Represent non-profit Board in six related pending cases seeking to enforce rights under E&O policy against negligent medical insurance plan administrator retained by the Board.

Some matters representative of his ERISA litigation practice include the following:

• Mertens v. Hewitt Associates, United States Supreme Court. Represented the insurer in a well-known ERISA case addressing fundamental issues of non-fiduciary liability. (1993) 
• Obtained summary judgment on breach of fiduciary duty claims for the pension plan, fiduciary and administrator of a Fortune 50 company in three related cases 
• Defeated a putative class and obtained dismissal on a Motion to Dismiss for a large western United States employer in a matter alleging partial plan termination and breach of fiduciary duty 
• Represented the plan administrator in a declaratory judgment defendant class action brought by the administrator for declaratory relief against a class of approximately 10,000 employees. The matter involved employee and retiree administrative demands for retroactive recalculation of pre-1979 maternity leaves arising from the decision in Pallas v. Pacific Bell 
• Represented the plan and trustees in a series of cases claiming benefits or breach of fiduciary duty against a regional multiple employer welfare arrangement 
• Defended the medical benefits plan of a major midwestern employer against ERISA/COBRA claims for $5,000,000 in damages arising from alleged denial of medical care. The case involved significant issues of ERISA § 514 preemption 
• Provide advice regarding E&O, fiduciary, and CGL coverage questions 
• Appointed by insurance company to defend major Midwestern employer in pending suit claiming denial of COBRA benefits was administrative negligence.

Honors

• Super Lawyers — Civil Litigation Defense, 2007; Employment Litigation, 2006 
• Go-To Lawyer for Civil Litigation Defense — Super Lawyers (Corporate Counsel Edition), 2008
• American Bankruptcy Institute Distinguished Service Award
• Outstanding Lawyers of America — since 2003
• Best of the Bar — Nominated for Insurance Law, 2004

Professional Associations

• American Arbitration Association
• American Bankruptcy Institute
• Association of American Business and Insurance Attorneys
• Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel
• International Asset Recovery Team
• Society of Insurance Receivers
• The Defense Research Institute

Presentations

Dirk is a frequent speaker on a variety of insurance, litigation and related topics for organizations such as the Colorado Bar Association, the Denver County Bar Association, the National Center for Continuing Legal Education, the Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel and the American Bankruptcy Institute. Presentations on insurance topics include the following:

• Employment Law Update
  Colorado Hospital Association Health Care Regulatory Update (2010) 
• Enforcing or Invalidating Class Arbitration Waivers
  Legal Trends and Best Practices in Class Arbitration, Colorado Bar Association CLE (2008)
• Current Issues: Insurance Problems in Litigation and Bankruptcy
  X/S Surplus Lines Association Annual Convention, Naples, FL 
• Economic Crime, Insurance and Civil Recovery Under the American System
  10th Annual Cambridge Symposium: International Legal Issues, Cambridge, England
• Insurance Insolvency Issues
  American Bankruptcy Institution, Winter Leadership Conference, Phoenix, AZ

Legal Updates

• Legal Trends and Best Practices in Class Arbitration
  The Colorado Lawyer (2011)
• Three New Laws Aim to "Rein in Health Insurance"
  Faegre.com (2008)
• Further Regulation Not the Answer to Mortgage Problem
  The Denver Post (2008)
• Weathering the Economic Downturn Successfully
  Denver Business Journal (2008)
• Current Issues in Insurance Law
  Aspatore Publishers/Thomson Business Publishing (2008)
• Insurance Defense Strategies
  Successfully Defending Insurance Litigation, Aspatore Books (2007)
• "Looking Down a Rocky Road", Winning Legal Strategies for Insurance Law
  Aspatore Inc. Publishers (2006)
• Risk Management/Managing ERISA Risks; Some Thoughts on Limiting Liability
  TRENDS (2006)
• Insurance and Tort Desk Reference Handbook
  Couch on Insurance
• Advertising Injury
  Insurance and Liability Reporter
• The Dangers of Conventional Wisdom
  Excess/Surplus Lines Claims Association
• Editorial Board
  Insurance and Liability Reporter
• Editorial Board
  Municipal Liability Reporter