Meet The Team
Chris Halsor
Founder & Trial Attorney
Former felony prosecutor, statewide Traffic Safety Resource Prosecutor, and recognized national expert in DUI, toxicology, and cannabis law. Chris brings over two decades of courtroom, medical, and forensic experience to build formidable, tech-driven criminal defenses for clients across Colorado.
Rooted in Service, Precision, and Preparation
I am a Colorado native, born and raised in Lakewood. I earned my bachelor’s degree in history from Western State College, now Western Colorado University, in 1994. While in college, I served on the school’s mountain rescue team, conducting search-and-rescue operations for lost hikers and hunters, as well as high-angle vertical rock rescues. Operating in high-risk environments at a young age taught me deep responsibility, the value of precise preparation, and respect for human life.
During this time, I also earned my Emergency Medical Technician (EMT-B) certification and worked for the local ambulance service. My background as an EMT has proven invaluable to my work as a criminal defense attorney, providing me with a strong foundational understanding of medicine, anatomy, physiology, pharmacology, and medical terminology.
After college, I spent time working in outdoor retail, selling specialized mountaineering and camping gear. While it might seem unrelated to law, this experience taught me essential client-service skills: listening to what people truly need, translating complex technical information into easy-to-understand terms, and answering every question with patience. My passion for high-risk sports like mountaineering and ice climbing reinforced those same core values: preparation, precision, and care for others, virtues that directly guide how I manage my clients’ cases today when their freedom is on the line.
Constituent Advocacy & Legal Education
Before entering law school, I served as a constituent services caseworker in the Grand Junction district office for the U.S. House of Representatives, eventually rising to head of the office. My role focused entirely on solving complex problems for everyday people who could not navigate federal bureaucracies on their own. It instilled in me a deep desire to help others and the resolve to find creative, multi-angle solutions to difficult challenges.
I attended the University of Denver Sturm College of Law, where I competed on the Appellate Team, served as Managing Editor of the student newspaper, The Student Writ, and received the Amjur Award for the highest grade in Trial Practice. During law school, I gained hands-on judicial and prosecutorial experience through internships with the Colorado Court of Appeals and the Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office. I earned my Juris Doctor in 2000.
Prosecutor Experience: Knowing How the Other Side Thinks
In the fall of 2000, I was hired as a Deputy District Attorney for the Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office. Over eight years, I prosecuted everything from minor traffic violations to first-degree murder, developing specialized knowledge in felony strangulation cases. Having stood in the prosecutor’s shoes, I know exactly how the state views a case, builds evidence, and navigates internal policy decisions. This insight allows me to anticipate their moves and uncover weak points that others might miss.
In late 2008, I became Colorado’s first Traffic Safety Resource Prosecutor at the Colorado District Attorneys’ Council (CDAC). In this statewide role, I developed and delivered specialized training to law enforcement officers and prosecutors on all aspects of DUI/DWAI litigation, drug-impaired driving, investigative tactics, and toxicology. I also served as a Special Prosecutor on high-profile cases and conducted Shreck hearings to evaluate the scientific validity of expert evidence.
Through thousands of hours of teaching and deep immersion in administrative rules, scientific standards, and forensic methods, I learned a simple truth: the best way to protect my clients is to walk into the courtroom with more technical knowledge and preparation than the prosecutor across the aisle.
Pioneering Cannabis & Impaired Driving Expertise
When Colorado pioneered state-sanctioned medical and recreational marijuana, I became one of the state’s leading legal experts on cannabis policy and impaired driving. I served on gubernatorial committees, contributed to task forces addressing grow limits and edible regulations, and educated stakeholders across the country.
In 2014, I founded Understanding Legal Marijuana to provide training to law enforcement, public health officials, and legal professionals nationwide. I contracted with the Colorado Attorney General’s Office to develop the state’s curriculum on how marijuana legalization impacted law enforcement procedures.
Recognized as a national authority on cannabis-impaired driving, I launched the groundbreaking Marijuana Impaired Driving course in 2015. This curriculum featured the “Green Lab,” the first recurring training of its kind in the nation, where volunteers consumed precise doses of cannabis so officers could observe actual physical indicators during standardized field sobriety tests. In 2016, the Nevada Attorney General’s Office brought me in to assist policymakers and public safety officials across all 17 Nevada counties as they launched their recreational market.
Over more than a decade at the forefront of evolving cannabis legislation, I accumulated thousands of hours of technical experience, giving me unparalleled insight into the flaws and subjective assumptions often present in drug-related DUI arrests.
Educator & Defense Advocate
Since 2013, I have served as an Adjunct Professor of Law at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law, where I developed and taught Day One: Criminal Practice Lab, a course designed to teach aspiring defense attorneys and prosecutors the practical mechanics of courtroom practice.
My decades of experience as a teacher and public speaker directly benefit my clients. Whether I am telling a compelling story to a jury, demonstrating procedural flaws to a prosecutor, or highlighting the humanity of my client, my practice is built on hundreds of hours of persuasive communication.
In 2018, I returned to courtroom practice as a criminal defense attorney, launching my solo criminal defense practice in 2019. Today, I represent clients across Colorado facing traffic offenses, misdemeanors, and complex felonies. I draw on every chapter of my career, from emergency medicine and mountain rescue to high-level prosecution and forensic research, to deliver elite legal defense paired with genuine compassion and clear communication.
Jessica Nata
Legal Assistant, Operations Support & Case Sleuth
Jessica keeps our defense operations running with discipline, precision, and care. Managing discovery, client communications, and daily case workflows, she plays a vital role in ensuring no detail in a client’s defense is overlooked.
Backed by a background in engineering and military service, Jessica approaches every case file with high-level problem-solving skills and a meticulous process mindset. As a former small business owner and professional dog trainer, she combines technical rigor with clear communication, adaptability, and high-touch client support.
A true case sleuth, Jessica has developed specialized expertise in leveraging advanced AI tools and conducting in-depth cell phone forensics review to analyze discovery and identify key evidence. To further deepen her investigative capabilities, she will begin studying forensic analysis at the University of Colorado in Fall 2026.
Based in the Arkansas Valley, Jessica enjoys skiing, mountain biking, backpacking, and spending time outdoors with her dogs.