Tess Hand-Bender

Tess Hand-Bender is a business litigator who represents clients in the telecommunications, energy, medical device, pharmaceutical, financial services, and real estate sectors in a variety of business litigation, including contract disputes and business torts.  She is committed to building deep relationships with her clients, striving to become an expert in their business.  In addition to her business litigation work, Tess is a member of the firm’s White Collar Defense & Investigations Group, where she assists clients in navigating internal investigations and government enforcement actions.

Tess has a longstanding commitment to pro bono practice, reflected in her service on the Executive Committee for the Colorado Lawyer’s Committee, as well as various impact litigation over the years, including recently representing Denver Public Schools in challenging the revision of the Protected Spaces Policy under the Trump administration.  She also first-chaired a pro bono misdemeanor trial for an indigent client and served on the trial team representing nine Colorado couples who successfully challenged the constitutionality of Colorado’s ban on same-sex marriage. Tess and the team were honored with a Special Recognition Award from the Colorado Lawyers Committee and the Visionaries in Action Award from the GLBT Community Center of Colorado.

Tess also serves on the Board of the Colorado Judicial Institute, as well as the Lawyers Council for IAALS (Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System). In these roles, she works to develop practical solutions to challenges within the legal system. Tess is passionate about furthering diversity in the legal profession and serves as the co-chair of the firm’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee and its Women’s Network. Tess is a member of the 2018 Colorado Bar Association’s Leadership Training Class (COBALT) and has been recognized as a Super Lawyer since 2022.

Before joining Davis Graham, Tess practiced at a boutique litigation firm in Denver. She also served as a law clerk to the Honorable Neil M. Gorsuch of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit and the Honorable Philip A. Brimmer of the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado. Tess graduated from Berkeley School of Law, where she was Order of the Coif and served as the submissions editor for the Criminal Law Journal.

Representative Experience

• Represents major telecommunications company in a variety of commercial disputes nationwide
• Won summary judgment eliminating over $400 million in damages and hundreds of alleged trespass sites
• Obtained a favorable defense verdict after a multi-week jury trial in Denver District Court against claims for wrongful death and other negligence
• First chaired bench trial in breach of contract matter involving $9 million counterclaim and prevailed on all issues
• Prevailed in fee dispute arbitration
• Won acquittal for client after jury trial in felony criminal matter