Steve Ray

Steve Ray Law, PLLC

Steve Ray Personal Injury Lawyer

Steve Ray Law, PLLC

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Firm Summary

Steve Ray brings an unusually broad range of legal experience to his focused Northern Colorado practice representing people who have been injured. He has served as a lawyer and judge in the U.S. Marine Corps, and as a civilian attorney he has over 40 years of experience handling negligence, injury, and death cases.

Over the course of Steve’s legal career he has been:

• Certified as as Civil Trial Advocate by the National Board of Trial Advocacy
• Selected by Newsweek as a Best Lawyer in America
• Accepted by the American Board of Trial Advocates
• Certified & designated as a General Court-Martial Military Judge

Steve grew up in the western Nebraska panhandle, Chappell, spending much his childhood and young adulthood on the family’s farm and ranch near the Colorado border. He attended the University of Nebraska and then Colorado State University where, in 1971, he received a B.A. degree in History and at the same time was commissioned a second lieutenant in infantry through the Army ROTC program. Upon graduation, the Army deferred Steve’s active duty to attend the University of Tulsa College of Law where he received his Juris Doctorate (JD) degree in 1973.

While in law school, Steve transferred to the U.S. Marine Corps. After receiving his Juris Doctorate and completing six-month officer infantry training at Quantico’s notorious Basic School (TBS), he served on active duty as a Marine court-martial judge advocate gaining extensive and valuable trial experience.In 1977, Steve left the active duty Marines and began his civilian legal career as a lawyer in a busy general practice firm in northern Colorado. Much of his early legal work involved representing a national auto insurer defending against personal injury claims filed by those who were injured.  He made some realizations about injury cases that injured people could have used better representation – better development of their claims and willingness of their lawyer to go to trial when not enough money was offered to settle the claim.

So Steve changed the focus of his work. In the 1980s he stopped doing defense work on behalf of insurance companies and instead began to represent the people who were injured. In the ensuing years, he worked with other lawyers and also as a solo practitioner; throughout, successfully concentrating and specializing in personal injury cases and litigation.

Meanwhile, he maintained his connection to the Marine Corps, serving as a court-martial judge in the Marine Corps Reserve for 10 years. Then, following the terrorist attacks of 11 Sept 2001, he was recalled to active duty as a Marine lawyer and again later for the year of 2003 was recalled as interim Chief of Staff and Operations Officer (G-3), Marine Forces Strategic Command when US forces attacked Iraq. In 2005, he officially retired from the Corps with the rank of colonel.

Steve looks back upon a diverse career with satisfaction. “I’ve been around a long time, and I still enjoy my work. It’s challenging, and I like that,” he says, “But I think that mostly I enjoy meeting people and helping them. I feel for the people who are involved in these accidents. Most people, regardless of background, are unprepared for injuries and the added stress of managing their injury claim themselves. Many live paycheck to paycheck and all of a sudden they  can’t work and it’s scary and they don’t know what their future holds. I bring a lot of experience and good judgment to the table for them and it’s rewarding.”

His work has earned him numerous awards and recognition. He has been named as a Colorado SuperLawyer; is listed in Newsweek’s Best Lawyers in Personal Injury; and has been certified as a specialist in personal injury trial work and pretrial litigation by the National Board of Trial Advocacy. He has been on the board for Colorado Trial Lawyers, and a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA), as well as the Litigation Council of America – the latter two requiring peer approval and proven trial experience.

He has also served his community in other ways. He has served as Larimer County chair of Colorado Lawyers for Colorado Veterans, and has been a board member for Crossroads Safe House, a domestic violence shelter; board member of Hearts and Horses, a therapeutic riding center for people with special needs; board member of Front Range Community College Foundation; chair of Fort Collins Loveland Airport Authority; and currently is chair of Colorado State University ROTC Alumni Council.

Steve is a licensed pilot who flies his own plane for both work and pleasure. He enjoys outdoor activities including golf, fishing, hiking, packing into the mountains with his horse and mule. If you’re seeking representation to ensure that you gain the compensation that you deserve for your personal injury, then reach out to Steve. We’ll get started with a free consultation to learn about the details of your case.