Iris Eytan

Phone: 303-578-4400

Fax: 303-578-4401

PROFESSIONAL BACKGROUND

Iris joined Rathod | Mohamedbhai LLC (RM) as Of Counsel to solidify their years of partnership and synergy in ensuring that Americans are protected by the guarantees of the United States Constitution and from abuse by law enforcement, prosecutors, and other governmental officials.

Iris has defended people accused of committing crimes for decades and has handled numerous high profile and high stakes cases. She has witnessed the obliteration of well-founded Constitutional guarantees to the presumption of innocence and freedoms from illegal search and seizure. Too many innocent citizens have been damaged by wide scale abuse of power by law enforcement and prosecutors.

Iris has decades of experiences representing people with mental health disabilities. Iris was also pro-bono, lead counsel, in a federal civil rights class action case filed against the Colorado State Department of Human Services, 11-CV-02285, to ensure people with mental illness, charged with crimes and presumed incompetent were no longer warehoused in jails for months and years awaiting resolution of their cases. She settled this 10-year-legal battle with a landmark ten-year Consent Decree that appointed Special Masters to implement a robust plan to eradicate these horrific circumstances. The Consent Decree also forced the state to pay up to $10 million a year for ten years in fines to assist people with mental illnesses.

Iris will utilize her decades of expertise in criminal defense trial work, civil rights, and policy to fight for people who are harmed by law enforcement and face discrimination from their employers because of their disabilities and circumstances.

Before joining RM as Of Counsel, Iris was a Senior Attorney at Disability Law Colorado, a Deputy Attorney with Colorado State Public Defender’s Office, a partner at a major law firm, and owned her own law firm. Iris has practiced all over the State of Colorado and has tried more than 60 cases. Iris’ practice focuses on civil rights violations, employment discrimination, invasions of privacy, and wrongful death.

She frequently teaches and provides presentations to locally and nationally to young lawyers, judges, and experienced trial lawyers on trial skills and prosecutorial misconduct.

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE

D., University of San Diego, San Diego, California, (1994)
A., University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, (1991)
- With Honors
- Psychology

BAR AND COURT ADMISSIONS

State of Colorado (1997)
State of California (1994)
S. District Court for the District of California, (1996)
S. District Court for the District of Colorado, (2001)

LEGAL EXPERIENCE

Of Counsel, Rathod Mohamedbhai LLC. Denver, CO (2023-Present)
Founder, Eytan Law LLC, Denver, CO (2022-Present)
Founder, Eytan Nielsen LLC, Denver, CO (2015-2022)
Partner, Reilly Pozner LLP, Denver, CO (2001-2015)
Colorado State Deputy Public Defender, Arapahoe, CO (1999-2001)
Senior Attorney, Legal Center for People with Disabilities and Older People, Denver, CO (1997-1999)
Senior Attorney, Legal Advocates for Children and Youth, San Jose, CA (1995-1997)
Trial Attorney, Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law, Washington, D.C. Wyatt Ex. Rawlins v. Sawyer, 80 F. Supp. 2d 1275 (M.D. Ala 1999) (Apr-Jun 1995)
Staff Attorney, Disability Rights Advocates, Oakland, CA (1994-1995)

PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS, MEMBERSHIPS, AND COMMUNITY SERVICE

Protect Ethical Prosecutors, Founder (2022 – Present)
- A nonprofit that works to change the law to allow innocent people who were wrongly charged or convicted to be able to sue prosecutors for intentional and knowing misconduct.

Colorado Lawyers Committee
- Board Member, Executive Committee (2014-Present)
- Chair, Executive Committee (2016-2018)
- Secretary (2014-2016)
- Treasurer (2014-2016)
Colorado Lawyers Committee Criminal Reform/Mental Health Task Force
- Chair (2016-Present)
Capitol Hill Community Services (Non-Profit serving hot meals to the unhoused)
- Board Member (2005-Present)
Colorado Criminal Defense Bar Association
- Member (2011-Present)
- Board Member (2013-2017)
Colorado Women’s Bar Association
- Member (2017-2022)

SELECT HONORS AND AWARDS

Best Law Firms, Tier 1, Colorado Criminal Defense: General Practice, US News & World Report (2016-2023)
Best Lawyers in America, Colorado Criminal Defense: General Practice, Top Lawyers in America (2020-Present)
Top 100 Lawyers, Colorado Super Lawyers (2014-Present)
Top 50 Women Lawyers, Colorado Super Lawyers (2012-Present)
Colorado Super Lawyers (2006-2007, 2009-Present)
Rated 0 Superb, Avvo (2013-Present)
AV rated 0, Martindale-Hubbell (2005-Present)
Denver’s Top Lawyers, Criminal Law, 5280 Magazine (2015-2023)
Barrister’s Best People’s Choice, Best Criminal Defense Lawyer, Law Week Colorado (2020)
Team of the Year Award, Jail Wait Litigation Team, Colorado Lawyers Committee (2017, 2019)
Raising the Bar Honoree, Colorado Women’s Bar Association Foundation (2017)
Top Woman Lawyer, Law Week Colorado (2008)

SELECT PRESENTATIONS

LECTURER, “Prosecutorial Ethics and Discovery Obligations – Changes to CRPC 8(d),” 2022 Colorado State Public Defender’s Office Conference (2022)
INTRODUCTION, Keynote Speaker Kristen Clarke, Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Justice, Colorado Lawyers Committee Luncheon (2022)
LECTURER, “Propelling Change 2021: Supporting the Social Justice Movement Through Legislative Action,” Center for Legal Inclusiveness (2021)
LECTURER, “COVID-19 & Courts Reopening – Lessons Learned in Litigation,” National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers Engage & Exchange Discussion Series (2020)
LECTURER, “Current State of Competency Law”, University of Denver School of

Law, Mental Health Clinic (2019)

LECTURER, “Current State of Competency Law,” University of Colorado Medical

School, Psychiatric Fellows (2019)

LECTURER, “Legal Challenges with Incompetent Clients,” Colorado University

School of Law Criminal Defense Clinic (2018)

LECTURER, “Cross of an Expert on Competency,” National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL), Fall Meeting & Seminar, Decoding & Litigating Mental Health Issues (2018)
LECTURER, “Effectively Presenting Forensic Evidence at Trial Using Experts and Demonstratives,” National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL), Making Sense of Science X Conference (2017)
PANELIST, “Show and Tell: A Demonstrative Approach to Expert Testimony,”

Alternative Defense Counsel and Criminal Justice Panel, Experts CLE (2017)

MC & CHAIR, Colorado Lawyers Committee Luncheon (2016)
LECTURER, “Understanding Forensic Mental Health,” National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL), 8th Annual Forensic Science and the Law Conference (2015)
KEYNOTE SPEAKER, “Top 10 Forensic Mental Health Issues” Colorado State Public Defender’s 2015 Annual Conference (2015)