Lucas T. Ritchie is a partner in the Denver Office of Lewis Brisbois and a member of the Directors & Officers and Securities Litigation and Government Investigations & White Collar Defense Practices.

Luke's litigation and trial practice focuses on complex business and securities disputes, government investigations, and enforcement actions involving federal and state securities laws, the False Claims Act, consumer protection laws, and corporate governance and fiduciary laws. His clients include businesses ranging in maturity from development-stage to public and across sectors ranging from fintech and traditional financial services to manufacturing, as well as their officers, directors, and compliance professionals. Luke often participates in or leads joint-defense efforts on behalf of management teams and involving some of the most respected lawyers and law firms in the country.

Luke has been interviewed or quoted in the Wall Street Journal, NPR’s Marketplace, the Denver Business Journal, the Colorado Sun, and Law Week Colorado, among other publications and he regularly presents to the legal and business communities on topics related to litigation, government investigations, and legal ethics. He is well known not only for his litigation and trial practice, but also as a leader in the legal community. In January 2022, the Colorado Supreme Court appointed Luke to serve on the Colorado Civil Rules Committee. He is also the current Chair of the Colorado Bar Association’s Business Law Section, the former Chair of the CBA’s Litigation Section, and former three-term Chair/Co-Chair of the CBA’s Securities Law Subsection.

Pro Bono & Philanthropy

Publications

Professional Presentations

• Day in the Life Series: Corporate Litigator, Supreme Court Atty Mentoring Program, March 9, 2022
• Roundtable Discussion with Affinity Bar Leaders, CBA-CLE, June 5, 2021
• Living and Leading in 2020: Safely Leading Partners, Employees, and Clients in the New Covid-19 Normal, CO Litigators’ Summit, CBA-CLE, Sept. 25, 2020
• What Business Lawyers Do that Litigators Love, Business Law Institute, CBA-CLE, Sept. 8, 2020
• The Ethics of Working Remotely, CBA-CLE, July 16, 2020
• Introducing Tung Chan: Q&A with the New Colorado Securities Commissioner, CBA-CLE, June 6, 2020
• Legal Ethics on Silver Screen 2.0, CBA-CLE, Ethics 7.0, Nov. 7, 2019
• Knowing Your Audience: Trying Your Case Outside Metro-Denver, CO Litigators Summit, CBA-CLE, Sept. 27, 2019
• Business Books & Records, Best Practices to Avoid Litigation Risk, Business Law Institute, CBA-CLE, Sept. 12, 2019
• Legal Ethics on Silver Screen, Rocky Mountain Securities Conference, SEC, May 3, 2019
• Check-In with SEC’s Regional Director, Denver Regional Office, CBA-CLE, March 15, 2019
• Maintaining Civility in the Most Heated Situations, CO Litigators’ Summit, CBA-CLE, Oct. 26, 2018
• Ethical Issues for Securities Professionals, Rocky Mountain Securities Conference, SEC, May 7, 2018
• Formation, Operation, and Dissolution: Litigator’s Perspective on LLC Divorce, Business Law Institute, CBA-CLE, Sept. 16, 2016
• Hot Topics for Public Companies in 2016: General Counsel’s Perspective, CBA-CLE, Feb. 16, 2016
• What to Do If the SEC Comes Knocking, Denver Business Journal – Managing Enterprise Risk for Your Company Series, Oct. 13, 2015

Admissions

• State Bar Admissions
  • Colorado
• United States District Courts
  • United States District Court for the District of Colorado
  • United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana
  • United States District Court for the Western District of New York
• United States Courts of Appeals
  • United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
• United States Supreme Court

Associations

• Member, Colorado Civil Rules Committee
• Chair, Colorado Bar Association, Business Law Section
• Former Chair, Colorado Bar Association Litigation Section
• Former Chair, Colorado Bar Association, Securities Law Subsection
• Faculty of Federal Advocates, U.S. District Court, District of Colorado
• Denver Bar Association

Awards & Honors

• 5280 Magazine Top Securities Lawyer 2021-2022
• America’s Top 100 Bet-the-Company Litigators, 2019
• Benchmark Litigation: Local Litigation Star – General Commercial Litigation and Securities Litigation, 2020 – 2023
• Best Lawyers: Litigation – Securities, 2020-2023; Litigation – Insurance, 2022-2023; Litigation – Banking and Finance, 2023
• Colorado Super Lawyers: Top 100, 2022
• Colorado Super Lawyers: Securities Litigation, 2018 – 2022
• Colorado Super Lawyers Rising Star: Business Litigation, 2009 – 2017
• Law Week Colorado “Barrister’s Best” Best Securities Litigator 2020, 2022
• Law Week Colorado People’s Choice “Barrister’s Best” Securities Lawyer 2021
• Martindale-Hubbell Rating: AV® Preeminent™ (highest)
• National Law Journal Trailblazers in Litigation 2021

Education

University of Denver

Juris Doctor

University of Colorado

Bachelor of Arts

Representative Matters

• Defended founders/C-Suite executives of technology company in shareholders’ derivative action claiming minority oppression and seeking dissolution and damages
• Defended construction industry executive in civil investigation alleging False Claims Act violations
• Counseled major development-round investor in protecting/enforcing rights with regard to blockchain technology company’s contentious restructuring transaction and related public offering
• Defended business consulting and credit repair enterprise and its founder/CEO in enforcement action alleging Ponzi scheme – obtained favorable settlement and dismissal
• Defended private equity fund and management team in SEC investigation alleging Ponzi scheme, and in parallel receivership action and investors’ actions 
• Represented officers and directors of national environmental and construction firm in dispute over adverse co-founder’s removal from company and affiliates
• Defended co-founder/CEO of digital asset issuer in SEC investigation alleging securities fraud – obtained termination letter
• Defended founder/CEO of architecture, design, and development enterprise in dispute over resignation and divestiture from management and ownership
• Defended (local counsel) municipal funds and former trustees in seven consolidated securities class-actions alleging securities fraud
• Defended manufacturing company, C-Suite executives, and directors in shareholder class-action and parallel dissenter’s rights action seeking to unwind complex merger transaction and damages – obtained full dismissals of both the putative class-action alleging breaches of fiduciary duties and parallel dissenter’s rights action
• Defended development company and its principal in enforcement action and parallel receivership actions alleging Ponzi scheme – obtained favorable settlement and dismissal
• Defended mutual fund’s former independent trustees in SEC investigation – obtained termination letter
• Represented defrauded equity investor in prosecuting securities fraud and civil theft claims against former business partner – obtained judgment for full investment amount plus attorney fees
• Defended mutual fund’s management team and interested trustee in SEC proceeding – obtained agreeable settlement and administrative order
• Represented registered investment advisor and its president in defending SEC enforcement proceeding alleging claims of improper registration and material misstatements – obtained favorable settlement and administrative order 
• Represented brokerage firm in defending customer dispute alleging state and federal securities fraud and breach of fiduciary duty claims - negotiated “walk away” settlement on the eve of FINRA arbitration 
• Represented local nonprofit entity and its Executive Director in defending against a wrongful termination action filed by a former employee - obtained a full defense verdict 
• Represented startup contract carrier operation in contested application proceeding before the PUC - prevailed at hearing and obtained Interim Order and subsequent Commission Order granting requested authority over intervenor’s objection 
• Represented a regional vocational college in defending against Title VII racial discrimination claims asserted by a former employee - obtained summary judgment, dismissal of subsequent appeal and denial of subsequent petition for a writ of certiorari 
• Represented seller of local business in defending against claims brought by potential purchaser and in prosecuting counterclaims and cross-claims against multiple parties - obtained full dismissal after first week of trial 
• Represented a regional business in the nutraceutical industry in defending against claims and in prosecuting counterclaims in commercial contract dispute - obtained six-figure jury verdict