Hon. Ben Leutwyler

General Biography

Hon. Ben Leutwyler (Ret.) has seen disputes from nearly every seat in the courtroom — as a prosecutor, as a trial lawyer for injured plaintiffs, for divorcing spouses, and for criminal defendants, and for more than 11 years as a trial judge in Colorado’s 18th and 23rd Judicial Districts. Over a career spanning three decades, he has tried or presided over more than 200 jury and bench trials and countless evidentiary hearings, giving him a rare, all-angles understanding of how cases are built, how they are defended, and how they ultimately resolve.

On the bench, Judge Leutwyler earned a reputation for being respectful, fair, well-prepared, and knowledgeable — qualities recognized by the trial bar itself when readers of Law Week Colorado voted him the People’s Choice Best Trial Court Judge in 2020. As Presiding Criminal Judge of the 18th Judicial District from 2018 to 2023, he managed one of Colorado’s busiest dockets while keeping his courtroom one where every participant felt genuinely heard. That same commitment — giving each side a full opportunity to be heard, treating everyone with respect, and applying the facts and the law impartially — now anchors his work as a neutral.

Judge Leutwyler recognizes the tremendous value of mediation and arbitration in resolving disputes while reducing the stress, delay, and expense of litigation. Having sat where the parties sit, he understands that behind every case file are people who want to be understood and a problem that needs a practical, durable solution.

Experience on the Bench

During more than 11 years on the bench, Judge Leutwyler presided over civil, domestic relations, juvenile dependency and neglect, and criminal matters, including more than 100 jury trials and numerous bench trials. Representative civil matters he tried or decided include:

• Personal injury and tort trials involving premises liability, automobile and multi-vehicle collisions, vicarious liability, matters involving non-parties at fault, and claims for exemplary (punitive) damages
• Commercial litigation involving special districts and taxation
• Real property disputes, including the interpretation and enforcement of easements
• Contract disputes arising from purchase-and-sale agreements and employment contracts
• HOA governance disputes
• Defamation claims and anti-SLAPP motions

Experience as a Trial Lawyer

Before taking the bench, Judge Leutwyler tried nearly 100 jury and bench trials as a prosecutor and in private practice, where he represented injured plaintiffs as well as defendants in personal injury, domestic relations, and criminal defense matters. Representative matters include:

• A shopper who suffered significant permanent injuries when she was struck by a lumber cart pushed by an employee at a big-box retailer
• Occupants seriously injured in a multi-vehicle T-bone collision
• Nursing home negligence claims
• An employer’s vicarious liability arising from a commercial trucking accident
• Dram shop liability claims against alcohol vendors

Approach as a Neutral

Judge Leutwyler brings the patience of a seasoned trial judge and the practical instincts of a trial lawyer to every matter. He prepares thoroughly, listens carefully, asks the questions that move parties toward resolution, and treats counsel and parties alike with the respect that earned him recognition on the bench. His goal is the same one he held as a judge — to help the people in front of him reach a resolution they can live with, efficiently and with their dignity intact.