Stuart A. Ollanik
PartnerDownload VCard
Phone: (303) 431-1111
Fax: (303) 431-1633
5400 Ward Road, Building IV
Suite 200
Arvada, Colorado 80002
Stuart Ollanik was representing clients in Court even before graduating from the Georgetown University Law Center summa cum laude in 1984, working on behalf of indigent clients and juveniles in Washington D.C. through Georgetown’s legal clinics. After graduating, he worked for the Alaska Court System and Alaska’s premier litigation firm. He moved to Colorado in 1987 and served as court appointed defense counsel with Michael Bender, now a Colorado Supreme Court Justice, on a high-profile criminal defense trial. He worked for the State of Colorado as an Assistant Attorney General, serving as lead counsel in Superfund litigation and as the state’s negotiator in the Rocky Mountain Arsenal Site Natural Resources Damages lawsuit.
Mr. Ollanik is a partner of Gilbert Ollanik & Komyatte, P.C., and has been with the firm for 18 years. He serves as lead counsel in complex litigation, particularly product liability cases. He has co-authored a book on tactics to counter discovery abuses and has written book chapters and numerous magazine articles on litigation issues ranging from getting expert evidence admitted to many aspects of product liability litigation. He frequently lectures to attorney organizations throughout the country including the American Bar Association, National College of Advocacy, and state trial lawyer associations. He is the education chair of a leading Product Liability litigators group, and serves on the boards of directors of two public interest law firms. Mr. Ollanik has been designated a Colorado “Super Lawyer” by 5280’s poll of Colorado attorneys for 2006, 2007, and 2008. Mr. Ollanik is also profiled in a chapter in the book, Beyond the Big Firm (Aspen Publishers 2007), a Stanford University Law School project.
Stuart Ollanik is an outdoor and adventure travel enthusiast. He and his wife, an environmental attorney who consults with the National Park Service, live with their two sons in Boulder, Colorado. They enjoy scuba diving, hiking, rafting, playing music, and attending their sons’ sporting events and musical performances.
Education
J.D., Georgetown University Law Center, Washington, D.C., 1984
Summa cum laude
Editor, American Criminal Law Review
B.A., Political Science, George Washington University, Washington, D.C., 1981
Board of Trustees Honors Scholar
Jurisdictions Admitted to Practice
Colorado, 1987Alaska, 1985
Missouri, 1984
United States Courts of Appeals, 1985
United States District Courts: District of Alaska 1985, District of Colorado 1987, Northern District of California 1993
Professional & Bar Association Memberships
American Association For Justice
Colorado Trial Lawyers
Attorneys Information Exchange Group
Trial Lawyers for Public Justice
American Bar Association
Colorado Bar Association
ABA Tort and Insurance Practice Section
Boulder County Bar Association
Law Practice
Gilbert, Ollanik, and Komyatte, P.C., Arvada, Colorado
Product liability litigation, 1991-present
Colorado Department of Law, Denver, Colorado
Assistant Attorney General
Environmental enforcement litigation, 1988-1991
Gilmore and Feldman, Anchorage, Alaska
Civil, criminal, administrative litigation, 1985-1987
Alaska Court of Appeals, Anchorage, Alaska
Law Clerk to Hon. Robert G. Coats, 1984-1985
Legal Services Corp., Washington, D.C.
Law Clerk, Migrant Legal Action Project, 1984
Georgetown University Juvenile Justice Clinic and Center for Applied Legal Studies,
Washington, D.C., Student Attorney, 1983-1984
Publications
Books:
“The Trouble with Sport Utility Vehicles,” and “Conversion Van Litigation” in Products Liability Litigation: Product Studies (West-ATLA Press 1997)
Full Disclosure: Combating Stonewalling and Other Discovery Abuses (West-ATLA Press 1994)
"Evidence Destruction - Legal Consequences of Spoliation of Records," in Legal Medicine 1994, (Butterworth 1994)
"Pretrial Discovery Abuse and Sanctions" in Excellence in Advocacy (West-ATLA Press 1992)
Articles:
Conversion Vans – Luxurious and Convenient, But at What Cost?, Trial, April 2002
Defeating Daubert Challenges in Auto Defect Cases, Trial, September 2001
Products Cases: An Uphill Battle for Plaintiffs, Trial, Nov. 2000
“Hide the Ball:” A Plaintiff’s Attorney’s Views on the Amendments to the Discovery Rules, TortSource (ABA), Spring 2000
The Multifront Attack on Products Liability Plaintiffs, ABA Tort and Insurance Practice Section Committee News, Winter 2000
Conversion Vans: Woodsheds on Wheels, Trial, Jan. 2000
Expert Testimony: Defeating the Kumho Challenge, Trial, November 1999
“Recognizing The Auto Restraint Defect Case,” Trial Talk, Dec., 1989/Jan., 1999
Other “Dissimilar” Incidents, The Product Liability Manufacturer’s Defense DeJour, Trial Talk, Dec., 1997
Overcoming Juror Bias in Voir Dire, Trial, July 1997
Product Litigation: Using Other Similar Incident Evidence, Trial Talk, Dec., 1996
The Trouble with Sport Utility Vehicles, Trial, Nov., 1996
Recognizing and Investigating Crashworthiness Cases, Trial, Nov., 1995
From Discovery to Disclosure: The Pretrial Exchange of Information in the New ERA, Trial Talk, Dec. 1994
Escaping Implied Preemption, Trial, Nov. 1994
The Price of Silence, Trial, June 1994
Compelling Testimony in Alaska: The Coming Rejection of Use and Derivative Use Immunity, 3 Duke University - Alaska Law Review 229 (1986)
Expert Testimony: defeating the Kumho Challenge, Trial, November 1999
Seminar Papers and Presentations
Rollover Litigation, Kansas Trial Lawyers Association, Summer Meeting, Jackson Hole, Wyoming, June 18-20, 2003
Litigation Institute, Colorado Bar Association, Denver, Colorado, October 10 & 11, 2002
Rollover Crashworthiness Litigation, Colorado Trial Lawyers Association Annual Convention, Snowmass, Colorado, August 10, 2002
Case Assistance Workshop, National College of Advocacy, San Diego, California, April 61 - 29, 2001 (faculty – focus group training)
Supporting Your Experts’ Methods in Practice: An Introduction to Getting Your Experts Admitted, Speaker and Program Co-Chair, National College of Advocacy Seminar, Expert Evidence: Daubert And Its Progeny, Las Vegas, Nevada, March 9 – 10, 2001
"Discovery abuse: Find it, Foil It, and Make the Perpetrators Pay for It", Association of Trial Lawyers of America Internet Teleseminar, February 21, 2001
Kumho-Proofing Your Case, Minnesota Trial Lawyers Association, Minneapolis, Minnesota, October 13, 2000
Expert Evidence: General Litigation Strategies for Plaintiffs Counsel, National College of Advocacy, Association of Trial Lawyers of America Annual Convention, Section on Toxic, Environmental, and Pharmaceutical Torts, Chicago, Illinois, July 31, 2000
Stonewalling, National College of Advocacy, Association of Trial Lawyers of America Annual Convention, Trial Advocacy Track, Chicago, Illinois, July 30, 2000
Product Liability Seminar, Colorado Bar Association, Denver, Colorado, December 11, 1999
Product Liability Update, Colorado Bar Association, Denver, Colorado, November 4, 1999
Kumho-Proofing Your Case, Attorneys Information Exchange Group, Inc., Scottsdale, Arizona, September 23-25, 1999
Recognizing the Auto Product Defect Case, American Bar Association, Atlanta, Georgia, August 6-10, 1999 (speaker, course advisor)
Kumho Tire: Experts, Evidence, and Impact, Association of Trial Lawyers of America telephone and internet briefing, May 11, 1999
Case Assistance Workshop, National College of Advocacy, Minneapolis, Minnesota, April 21 - 25, 1999 (faculty - focus group training)
Children and Products, National College of Advocacy, San Antonio, Texas, Jan.24, 1998 (program moderator)
Direct Examination of the Plaintiff’s Auto Design Safety Expert, National College of Advocacy, Washington, DC, July 11, 1998
Recognizing the Auto Design Defect Case, National College of Advocacy Mega-Seminar, Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, Jan. 2, 1998 (speaker, course advisor)
Trial Strategies & Tactics that Work, Colorado Legal Education, Denver, Colorado, June 17, 1997
Full Disclosure, American Board of Professional Liability Attorneys, Las Vegas, Nevada, Sept. 25-26, 1997
Stonewalling: How to Fined it & How to Stop It, Wyoming Trial Lawyers Association, Cody, Wyoming, June 20, 1996
Full Disclosure: Combating Stonewalling & Other Discovery Abuses, National College of Advocacy, Chicago, Illinois, Oct., 1995 (speaker, course advisor)
Recognizing the Crashworthiness Case, Colorado Trial Lawyers Association, Auto Litigation Seminar, Denver, Colorado, April, 1995
Auto Design Defect Case Selection and Investigation, Attorney's Information Exchange Group, Spring Seminar, Atlanta, Georgia, March, 1995
Discovery Techniques for Paralegals, National College of Advocacy, Orlando, Florida, March, 1995
Mandatory Disclosures, Federal Rules Workshop, Association of Trial Lawyers of America, Annual Convention, Chicago, Illinois, July, 1994
Overview of Discovery Abuse, Attorney's Information Exchange Group, Discovery Seminar, Houston, Texas, March, 1994
The Law Prohibiting Unnecessary Secrecy, Association of Trial Lawyers of America, Annual Convention, Washington, DC, July, 1992
Discovery & Production of Documents: Consultants, Experts, and Confidentiality Orders, National College of Advocacy, New Orleans, Louisiana, May, 1992
Asserting Privileges on Behalf of the Government in Civil Discovery, Colorado Attorney General's Office, Denver, Colorado, Aug., 1988
Volunteer Activities
Earthlaw, Inc., Board of Directors, 1993-present
The Brief (ABA) Editorial Board, 1997-1998
Tort and Insurance Law Journal (ABA) Editorial Board, 1995-1997
Association of Trial Lawyers of America: ATLA Press Advisory Board 1998-present; Committee on Courts, 1994-1997; Const. Litig. Committee, 1994-1996
Colorado Trial Lawyers Association: Product Liability Editor, 1998-Present, Amicus Curiae Committee, 1993-1996 (chair, 1995-1996); Case Assistance Committee, 1994-Present; Committee on Proposed Civil Rule Changes, 1994
Advisor, Wheat Ridge High School Trial Advocacy Team, 1997-1999
Boulder, Colorado Toxics Advisory Group, 1995
Boulder County Partners, Inc., Longmont, Colorado: "Senior Partner" for handicapped teen, 1989-1992
United Way Colorado Combined Campaign: Advisory Board Member, 1991; Department of Law Coordinator, 1990
Alpine Alternatives, Inc., Anchorage, Alaska: Board Member - Chairman of the Board of nonprofit organization providing recreational opportunities for handicapped youth, 1986-1987
Boy Scouts of America, Anchorage, Alaska: Troop leader for developmentally disabled boys, 1984-1985