Caleb Durling focuses his practice on complex civil and commercial litigation and appeals. He is an experienced case manager and enjoys the strategy and problem solving involved in his litigation practice.  Caleb is skilled at identifying and planning for issues that can arise in high stakes litigation.  As he has been in case management roles early in his career, he has developed the knowledge necessary to manage personnel and coordinate strategy both at Reilly Pozner and with other law firms.  Caleb’s legal abilities were recognized by the legal community in 2012 when he was named one of Law Week Colorado’s Up-and-Coming Lawyers.  He had been a finalist for this designation in 2010 and 2011.  In 2013, Caleb was named to the Rising Stars list published nationwide in Colorado Super Lawyers® magazine.

He is also a devoted advocate for his clients and stays attentive to their needs through the resolution of their matter. In this regard, he serves as an objective counselor and advises individuals and businesses about cost-effective solutions while giving them realistic assessments about the benefits and disadvantages of strategic choices.

Caleb has an active pro bono practice and in 2013 was part of the RP team that was given an Award of Special Recognition from the Colorado Lawyers Committee for their pro bono work in the Center for Legal Advocacy v. Bicha matter. He has also served as Special Counsel for the State Public Defenders Office. He is committed to improving diversity in the Denver legal community and is actively involved in the Diversity & Inclusiveness Committee at Reilly Pozner LLP. He serves as the firm contact for the Colorado Pledge to Diversity and annually interviews diverse law students at the Rocky Mountain Legal Diversity Career Fair.

Before joining the firm, he served as a law clerk for Chief Justice Mary Mullarkey of the Colorado Supreme Court where he gained valuable research and writing experience as well as exposure to diverse areas of civil and criminal law.

At Northwestern University School of Law, Caleb graduated with honors. He was a research assistant and a teaching assistant as well as executive editor of the school’s Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, winning that publication’s “Best Comment” award. While in law school, he served summer internships in the Colorado Attorney General’s appellate division, for a Judge on the Cook County (Illinois) Circuit Court, and with a boutique Denver law firm specializing in information security and civil litigation.

Prior to law school, Caleb taught for two years at an inner-city Atlanta elementary school through Teach for America, before teaching an additional year at an elementary school located on a housing project near London, England. A native of New Hampshire, Caleb earned his undergraduate degree with honors in American Studies (with a minor in French) from Northwestern University.  Caleb has stayed connected with the Teach for America program and enjoys serving as a mentor for young teachers who are interested in attending law school.

Matters that are representative of Caleb’s practice include:

• In a public racketeering case, Reilly Pozner attorneys represented Adams County, Colorado, in its suit against former public employees and government contractors in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado.
• A group of automobile dealerships face a purported class action claiming that new cars were equipped in violation of the Colorado Consumer Protection Act and hired Reilly Pozner to defend its interests. After winning landmark reversals at the Colorado Court of Appeals and Supreme Court, the firm is again defending class certification in the trial court.
• Reilly Pozner has been approved by the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy court to act as Lehman’s national coordinating and lead trial counsel in prosecuting claims against mortgage loan originators that sold Lehman defective loans, and to respond to billions of dollars in claims filed against the Lehman estate. This is a significant representation—involving several hundred cases in 26 states.
• Reilly Pozner attorneys represent the Colorado Public Employees' Retirement Association in a case with nationwide significance.  In that class action lawsuit, the plaintiffs have claimed that PERA and the Colorado General Assembly violated the Contract Clauses of the Colorado and federal Constitutions by changing the cost of living adjustment for retirees on their pension benefits.  The case is currently on appeal.
• Caleb was a member of the Reilly Pozner team of attorneys who worked pro bono for the non-profit Legal Center for People with Disabilities and Older People.  On behalf of the Legal Center, they filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Colorado alleging that presumptively innocent men and women with serious mental illnesses languish in Colorado jails for months awaiting court-ordered mental health evaluations and mental health treatment to so that they can participate in their criminal proceedings.  The lawsuit alleged that the excessive delays violate the United States Constitution.  In some cases, pretrial detainees waited in jail for court-ordered mental health evaluations and treatment longer than they would have otherwise been confined for their alleged offense.  The Colorado Department of Human Services and the Colorado Mental Health Institute at Pueblo were named as defendants in the suit.

“I learned that, if you work hard enough, anything is possible. I bring that approach to my practice of law.”