For Spencer Kontnik, practicing civil rights and plaintiff-side disability law is a calling rooted in his own experience as a person with a hearing disability. A founding partner at Kontnik Cohen, he aims to “level the playing field for individuals facing systemic bias.”
He explained, “For the longest time, I wanted to keep an arm’s distance from anything disability related. It’s come full circle because I realized that I’m in the unique position to actually help and make a difference.”
Interning for former Sen. Mark Udall ignited Kontnik’s interest in law. As he noticed how much weight the senator gave to the guidance of his staff attorneys, Kontnik realized he, too, wanted to be able to offer feedback that mattered.
Today, his caseload centers on combating a pervasive trend: the lack of education and awareness surrounding disability accommodations. He finds that employers and public entities often view individuals with disabilities as obstacles, he said, with legal obligation to provide even minor accommodations dismissed in favor of preconceived notions.
Kontnik experienced bias firsthand when he was dismissed from a Denver jury pool due to his hearing loss. His subsequent civil rights lawsuit against the city, he said, forced local public defender and district attorney offices to re-evaluate their internal practices.
Kontnik has expanded his work into legislative reform and high-impact appellate litigation. He was appointed by the governor to a state task force to rewrite the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act, where he successfully fought to increase the financial remedies available to victims of public accommodation discrimination. Previously, due to restrictive court precedents, individuals discriminated against based on a disability could often recover only up to $3,500 under state law. Kontnik hopes the revised cap of $50,000 will incentivize private practitioners to take on complex civil rights cases.
A desire for reform also led Kontnik to a recent landmark victory in the Colorado Court of Appeals. His firm sued the Office of Attorney Regulation Counsel, the branch of the Colorado Supreme Court that controls legal licensing, to force them to permit extra testing time for a bar exam applicant with a disability.
“It took a lot of self-reflection to decide to even sue the entity that controls our license,” Kontnik recalled. “And then to win and then win in the Colorado Court of Appeals, that was a pretty significant victory.”