Erin Hogan joined the litigation team at The Sawaya Law Firm in 2022. Erin is a passionate and accomplished trial attorney with extensive experience in complex civil litigation, criminal law, appellate advocacy, and intellectual property.
Erin grew up in Colorado playing competitive soccer, and graduated from the University of Colorado, Boulder, with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Film Production. She played club soccer for CU and worked as a producer on “Uncommon Goals” a feature length documentary on the US Women’s National Soccer Team that debuted on the Discovery Channel in 1996. Erin studied abroad for a semester in Australia her junior year, and as a senior she earned a coveted internship at the Cannes Film Festival in France. She was also the only member of her sorority, Pi Beta Phi, who rode a motorcycle to class every day.
Erin received her Juris Doctor from the University of Denver, Sturm College of Law in 2007, where she graduated Order of St. Ives, and in the top 2% of her class. She received American Jurisprudence Awards in Torts, Legal Writing I & II, and Advanced Legal Research, and was nominated for several objective and persuasive writing awards. Erin also served on the Executive Board of the Denver University Law Review as the 10th Circuit Survey Editor and was a member of the Denver University ABA Appellate Team.
Erin began her legal career as an associate in the Trademark, Copyright and Brand Management Group of the international law firm, Dorsey & Whitney LLP, where her practice involved a wide range of trademark and copyright-related matters, including trademark clearance searching, opinion letters, international and domestic trademark prosecution, protection of trade dress, trademark and copyright counseling and enforcement, licensing, unfair competition, rights of privacy and publicity, trade secrets and a variety of Internet issues, including domain name and key word acquisitions and disputes. As a second-year associate, she was featured as a trademark expert in the Denver Business Journal, and has had several articles published in law review journals and other periodicals.
Erin has a broad range of experience in both the private and public sectors. She has worked as a civil litigator in local boutique firms, specializing in complex commercial and employment matters. She has managed several multi-year civil litigation projects and represented clients in employment and complex civil litigation matters in private mediations, state agency proceedings, EEO and EEOC proceedings, as well as state and federal court involving wrongful death and other personal injury claims, discrimination and harassment claims under Title VII, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, wrongful discharge in violation of public policy, misappropriation of trade secrets, breach of fiduciary duty, breach of contract, and similar business torts and intellectual property disputes.
Erin has also worked as a state prosecutor where she maintained a winning record in over 45 jury trials and prevailed in several criminal and interlocutory appeals. As a deputy district attorney, she strongly believed that every human being deserved to be treated fairly and with dignity regardless of their status. She found the inequities suffered by criminal defendants who lacked the means or access to adequate legal representation concerning and eventually returned to private practice with a primary focus on criminal defense where she consistently achieved favorable results for her clients in state court, including a judgment of acquittal, the dismissal of numerous criminal cases based on various constitutional violations and evidentiary issues, and the reversal of several DMV hearing decisions on appeal.
As a Colorado native, Erin has deep roots in the community and a resolute ambition to contribute to the public welfare and administration of justice in her State. She prides herself on her superior persuasive writing, legal analysis, strategic problem solving, and oral advocacy skills. Erin’s broad-range of legal experience, creativity, unrelenting work ethic, competitive nature, intellect, and strong sense of personal and professional integrity set her apart from others in her field and have been critical to her clients’ success both in and out of the courtroom.
Erin spends most of her free time with her partner Conor, her German Hunting Terrier (or “Jagdterrier”) Milton, her parents, and her two younger sisters and their families. She is an avid movie buff and loves good fiction (and any nonfiction involving animals), craft breweries, and playing board games (let her know if you want any recommendations!), tennis, pickleball, golf, skiing and travelling. She is currently trying to complete her first screenplay, and is making progress studying chess and drawing, but still has a lot of room for improvement when it comes to her surfing and ukulele skills. Erin is also a regular ASPCA donor and volunteers with Rocky Mountain Horse Rescue in Arvada.
