Charles R. Mendez has devoted his career to representing victims of sexual abuse and medical malpractice, and he has helped secure millions of dollars for his clients. Since 2018, he has been selected each year by Colorado Super Lawyers as a Rising Star and has additionally been awarded “Ones to Watch” by Best Lawyers each year since 2021. Charles is a frequent lecturer and has published several articles, including a chapter in Colorado Civil Claims practice guide. He received the American Inns of Court, Warren E. Burger Prize for writing, which was presented by the late Justice Ginsburg at the Supreme Court of the United States. He was the winner of the 2014 Smith-Doheny Legal Ethics Writing Competition, administered by Notre Dame Law School. One of his recent articles was cited by the Supreme Court of Tennessee.
Charles attended the University of Denver, Sturm College of Law, where he served as a faculty fellow following his graduation. During law school, he was an award-winning member of the National Trial Team, a student attorney for the law school’s clinic, and a clerk for the Colorado Supreme Court, Office of Attorney Regulation Counsel.
Among other associations, Charles is a member of the Colorado Trial Lawyers Association, where he serves as an editor for Trial Talk, and is he is on the Young Professionals Committee of the Colorado Judicial Institute (CJI).
Awards & Achievements
- Winner, 2014 Notre Dame Smith-Doheny Legal Ethics Writing Competition
- Winner, 2014 American Inns of Court, Warren E. Burger Prize for Writing, presented by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg of the United States Supreme Court
- Selected to Best Lawyers, Ones to Watch, 2021-present
- Selected to National Trial Lawyers, Top 40 under 40
- Selected to Super Lawyers, Rising Stars, 2018-present
- Regional Finalist, American Association for Justice National Trial Tournament, Seattle, March 2013
- Most Professional Team, Lone Star Mock Trial Tournament, San Antonio, October 2012
Presentations
- CLE Presenter, Recent Updates in Professional Malpractice Law, Annual Tort Law Update
- CLE Presenter, Disqualification of Counsel, Colorado Bar Association CLE, February 2017
- CLE Presenter, Client Autonomy for Organizational Clients, Denver City Attorney’s Office, January 2015
- CLE Presenter, Client Autonomy and Professionalism, Trial Advocacy Department, University of Denver, February 2015
Publications
- A Medical & Legal Preview of Cranial Compression Ischemic Encephalopathy (CCIE), AAJ Birth Trauma Litigation Group, February 2021
- Battery in COLORADO CIVIL CLAIMS: ELEMENTS, DEFENSES, AND SAMPLE PLEADINGS (2019)
- The Impact of the Affordable Care Act on the Colorado Collateral Source Rule, 94 DENV. L. REV. ONLINE 1 (2017)
- Deflating Autonomy, 66 SOUTH CAROLINA LAW REVIEW 401 (2014)
- Is it More Than a Dream?, 17 LEGAL ETHICS 132 (Summer 2014) (reviewing Robert K. Vischer, Martin Luther King Jr. and the Morality of Legal Practice: Lessons in Love and Justice)