Martin Semple has specialized in public and private sector labor and employment law for over 40 years and also represents school districts, cities, special districts, credit unions and nonprofits. He has extensive experience in trial and appellate courts, published numerous articles and lectured in Colorado and nationally on employment law, school law and legal ethics. He has served as Adjunct Faculty member at the University of Denver College of Law, and the Graduate School of Public Affairs, University of Colorado at Denver.
Education:
- Graduate of St. Patrick’s College, Tipperary, Ireland
- J.D., University of Denver
- J.C.D. Catholic University of America
Bar Admissions:
- Colorado
- U.S. District Court for Colorado
- 10th Circuit Court of Appeals
- U.S. Supreme Court
Member:
- Denver, Colorado and American Bar Associations (Section on: Labor and Employment Law)
- Colorado School Attorneys Council (Chairman, 1984)
- National School Boards Association, Council of School Attorneys, (Chairman, 2000 – 2001; Board of Directors, 1992 – 2004)
- Fellow, American Bar Foundation
- Doyle Inn of Court, Master Bencher Emeritus
Notable Cases:
- National Labor Relations Board v. Fire Alert Company, 566 F.2d 696 (10th Cir. 1977)
- Frankmore v. Bd. of Education of Adams Ct. School Dist. No. 14, 589 P.2d 1375 (Colo. App. 1978)
- Bell v. IML Freight, Inc., 589 F.2d 502 (10th Cir. 1979)
- Carpenters District Council of Southern Colorado v. Reid Burton Construction, Inc., 614 F.2d 698, 103 LRRM 2475 (10th Cir. 1980), cert. den’d, 449 U.S. 824 (1981)
- Intermountain Rural Electric Association v. NLRB, 732 F.2d 754, 116 LRRM 2068 (10th Cir. 1984), cert. den’d, 469 U.S. 9352 (1984).
- Rosenberg v. Board of Education, School District No. 1, Denver Public Schools, 710 P.2d 1095 (Colo. 1985).
- Opie v. Denver Classroom Teachers Assoc., 701 P.2d 872 (Colo. App. 1985)
- People v. Adams Cty. School Dist. No. 50, 732 P.2d 1222 (Colo. App. 1986)
- Roberts v. Madigan, 702 F. Supp. 1505 (D. Colo. 1989), aff’d 921 F.2d 1047 (10th Cir. 1990), cert. den’d, 112 S.Ct.3026(1992)
- Adams Ct. School Dist. v. Dickey, 791 P.2d 688 (Colo. 1990)
- Allen v. Denver Public Schools, 928 F.2d 978 (10th Cir. 1991).
- Intermountain Rural Elec. Ass’n v. N.L.R.B., 984 F.2d 1562 (10th Cir. 1993)
- Denver Classroom Teachers Association v. School District No. in the City and County of Denver, 911 P.2d 1144 (Colo. App. 1996).
- Stackhouse v. School Dist. No. 1 County of Denver, 919 P.2d 902 (Colo. App. 1996)
- Adams County School District No. 50 v. Heimer, 919 P.2d 786 (Colo. 1996)
- Villanueva v. Carere, 85 F.3d 481 (10th Cir. 1996).
- Pierce v. St. Vrain Valley School District Re-1J, 981 P.2d 600 (Colo. 1999)
- Denver Association of Educational Office Personnel v. School District No. 1 in the City and County of Denver, 972 P.2d 1047, (Colo. App. 1998)
- Sanchez v. Denver Public Schools, 164 F.3d 527 (10th Cir. 1998).
- Compass Insurance v. City of Littleton, City of Englewood, 984 P.2d 606 (Colo 1999)
- Klinger v. Adams County School District No. 50, 130 P.3d 1027 (Colo. 2006)
- Englewood Employees Association v. City of Englewood, 07 CA 1774 (Colo. App. 2008)
- Lyons v. School District No. 1, 2011 CA 259 (Colo. App. 2011)
- Intermountain Rural Electric Association v. Colorado Public Utilities Commission, et al, 298 P.3d 1027 (Colo. App. 2012)
- Aurora Fire Fighters, Local 1290 and Aurora Police Association v. City of Aurora, et al, 2013WL 6510909 (Colo. App. 2013)
Awards
- Lifetime Achievement Award of National School Boards Association Council of School Attorneys 2017
Boards and Community Activities
- Board of Trustees of the Denver Center for the Performing Arts (2007 – present; Chairman 2017 – 2022)
- Board of Trustees of the Helen G. Bonfils Foundation (2007 – present; President 2015 – 2017)
- Board of Directors of National Jewish Health (1994 – present)
- Board of Directors of the Colorado Senior Golfers Association (2011 – 2018; President 2016 – 2017; 2022 – present)
- Board of Directors of Denver (now Colorado) Children’s Hospital Foundation (1985 – 1995; Chairman, 1990 – 1992)
- Board of Directors of National School Boards Association (2000 – 2001)
“Alternate Compensation and Methods,” NSBA Council of School Attorneys, 2014 School Law Practice Seminar, October, 2014
“Alternate Performance Pay Negotiations,” National Association of Educational Negotiators, March, 2011
“Teacher Tenure Reform in Colorado: Practical Lessons for Other States,” (with M. Brent Case), School Law in Review, April, 2011
“Denver’s Pro-Comp System and Student Achievement,” School Law in Review, April 2007
“The Role of the Board, Administration, Audit Committee, and Legal Counsel in Light of Post-Enron Culture and Sarbanes-Oxley Governance Standards,” ABA State and Local Law News, Summer 2006
“What Boards and Superintendents should know about School Attorneys,” School Law in Review, NSBA Council of School Attorneys, 2003
“Negotiating Health Insurance Benefits in a Tight Economy,” Inquiry & Analysis, NSBA Council of School Attorneys, November 2002
“Preventing Violence in Schools,” AASA Leadership News, American Association of School Administrators, June 1999
“Charter Schools – A Legal Overview,” Chapter in School Reform: The Legal Challenges of Change, NSBA Council of School Attorneys, 1997
“Student Athletes and Insurance Issues,” Chapter in Legal Handbook on School Athletics, NSBA Council of School Attorneys, 1996
“Ethical Considerations in School Board Representation,” The School Attorney, NSBA Council of School Attorneys, 1986