Adam Frank
Adam Frank is a civil rights and criminal defense specialist who, over the last seventeen years, has consistently achieved exceptional results for his clients.
Civil Rights
Adam gets justice for people who have been victimized by law enforcement. As of this update in August 2024, so far this year Adam has secured a $400,000 settlement for a man who had his arm broken by jail deputies, a $210,000 settlement for a woman who was tased while strapped down in a restraint chair, a $200,000 settlement for a man attacked by a police dog while he was asleep, a $195,000 settlement for a man who was wrongfully tased in a way that caused him to fall and break his clavicle, and a $100,000 settlement for a woman who was assaulted by officers after calling them to her house, among others. In 2023, Adam won the first trial in the state under Colorado's new civil rights law, C.R.S. ยง 13-21-131. He also secured a six-figure settlement for a client attacked by a police dog, a $120,000 settlement for a man who was assaulted by another inmate after guards refused to move him when he was threatened, a $90,000 settlement for a man who was wrongfully tased and dragged out of his car onto the pavement, and a $50,000 settlement for a client punched in the face by a police officer, among others. In 2022, Adam secured a high-six-figure settlement on behalf of a client nearly killed by a police dog, a six-figure settlement for a client who was subjected to an unconstitutional strip search at school, a $140,000 settlement for a client who was pepper-sprayed in the face at a protest, and a $190,000 settlement for another client attacked by a police dog, among others. In 2021, Adam secured a $400,000 settlement on behalf of a 14-year-old who was wrongfully attacked by a police dog. In 2020, Adam secured a high-seven-figure settlement in a police misconduct case that resulted in a tragic death. In 2019, Adam secured a $125,000 settlement on behalf of a 72-year-old man who police officers assaulted and wrongfully arrested in his own home. In 2018, Adam secured a $445,000 settlement on behalf of a client who was denied proper medical care in prison, a $335,000 settlement for a client who was assaulted by a police officer, a $75,000 settlement for a client who was wrongfully arrested based on prosecutorial misconduct, and a six-figure settlement for another client who was brutalized by police officers. In the lead-up to the 2016 election, Adam won a preliminary injunction against the Colorado Attorney General, Secretary of State, and the Denver District Attorney preventing them from enforcing Colorado's "ballot selfie" ban. As a career battler for the underdog, Adam lives for the opportunity to fight for the rights of people who have been wrongfully arrested, assaulted by police officers, or otherwise mistreated by public officials.
Criminal Defense
Adam devotes an equal portion of his efforts to defending people who have been accused of crimes. Adam knows that an accusation is very different from hard proof. In 2024, Adam has been litigating and shining a public spotlight on the case of Michael Clark, a man wrongfully convicted of murder based on falsified DNA testimony from a disgraced CBI analyst. In 2022, after a years-long fight, Adam won clemency for Michael Clifton, welcoming him home from prison after Governor Polis commuted the remainder of his unjust 98-year sentence for two non-violent robberies. He also joined the CJA panel, providing representation for people accused of federal crimes. In 2021, Adam successfully fought the criminal charges filed against one of the organizers of the Elijah McClain protests in Aurora, securing a dismissal of all charges, which included serious felonies. Adam has won numerous not guilty verdicts for clients facing serious accusations, including those facing life in prison. He has won not guilty verdicts on charges of first degree murder, kidnapping, aggravated robbery, and sexual assault on a child, as well as on lesser charges. He has successfully defended clients accused of serious felonies involving domestic violence, assaulting police officers, burglary, organized crime, and drug possession, among many others, regularly averting felony convictions for his clients. He also has years of experience defending people accused of misdemeanors including DUI. Adam brings the full weight of his expertise to bear on every case, understanding how any conviction, no matter the charge, can have a devastating impact on a person's life.
Background, Awards, & Recognition
From 2022 through 2024, Thompson Reuters has recognized Adam as a Super Lawyer in the field of civil rights litigation. This award followed Thompson Reuters' prior recognition of Adam as a Rising Star each year from 2017 through 2021. In 2018, 2019, 2020, and again in 2023 and 2024, 5280 Magazine recognized Adam as one of Denver's top civil rights litigators. Adam has trained other lawyers on a wide array of topics, from trial preparation to civil rights litigation to open records litigation.
Adam is a 2007 graduate of the New York University School of Law, where he was an editor of the New York University Law Review. Prior to that, he graduated from Yale University cum laude and with distinction in 2002. During law school Adam worked at the Innocence Project, helping to free people wrongfully convicted of serious crimes. He was also a summer associate at Cochran, Neufeld & Scheck, where he fought to hold cities and police forces responsible for wrongful prosecutions and to win financial recoveries for the people they had unjustly imprisoned. After graduating law school Adam joined Colorado's Office of the State Public Defender, leaving after seven and a half years as a Senior Deputy.
Community Interests
Adam was LYRIC's (Learn Your Rights In Colorado) 2016 Volunteer of the Year, teaching Denver-area high school students their constitutional rights and how to assert these rights to police officers while also staying safe. Adam also volunteers as cooperating counsel with the ACLU, bringing challenges to Colorado laws that violate the state and federal constitutions. In 2017, Adam partnered with the ACLU to get Denver's parks exclusion directive declared unconstitutional. He then successfully defended this win on appeal. From 2019 through 2021, Adam once again partnered with the ACLU and successfully challenged the constitutionality of the City of Fort Collins's prosecution of a homeless person for sleeping in his truck when he had nowhere else to go. In 2021 and 2022, Adam did extensive pro bono representation of protestors who faced wrongful criminal charges, securing dismissals of all charges for each of his protestor clients. In 2023 and 2024, Adam turned to offense for these protestors, bringing civil rights cases based on their wrongful arrests.
Bar Admissions
Adam is admitted to practice in the State of Colorado, as well as in federal court in the District of Colorado and in the Tenth Circuit.