Chris Ponce, Esq. is an attorney licensed to practice law before all Colorado county and district courts, the Colorado Court of Appeals, the Supreme Court of the State of Colorado, and United States District Court. Mr. Ponce’s focus is criminal justice, defense, and litigation.
Prior to joining Hampton & Pigott in January 2021, Mr. Ponce spent from 2015 to 2021 serving as a prosecuting attorney for the 19th Judicial District Attorney’s Office in Weld County, Colorado, and then at the 1st Judicial District Attorney’s Office in Jefferson County, Colorado. As a prosecutor, he has handled cases ranging from minor traffic citations all the way up to violent crimes such as first-degree murder, aggravated robbery, and sexual assault. Throughout his career as a prosecutor, he has advised local law enforcement on the legality and propriety of obtaining search and arrest warrants, productions of records, and subpoenas; he has served as the legal advisor to detectives and investigators for ongoing investigations of serious crimes; and he has trained prosecutors and police officers in the techniques of investigating and prosecuting impaired driving and related crimes. Mr. Ponce’s prosecutions have received media attention by the local as well as national news outlets. He has over 45 cases to verdict and maintains a winning record.
Mr. Ponce attended the University of Wyoming College of Law, where he obtained his juris doctorate in 2014. Prior to studying law, he attended Colorado Christian University. At CCU, he was named president of the university’s chapter of Sigma Tau Delta, an international English honor society; he completed the reserve officer’s training corps program of Colorado University; and he graduated in 2011 with a bachelor’s degree in English Literature.
Mr. Ponce also spent years of service in the United States Army and the Wyoming Army National Guard, from which he was discharged honorably at the rank of captain in 2018. During his time in the Army he served a tour in Iraq during the Obama administration (2007 – 2008), and he was an awarded recipient of the “Green to Gold” scholarship, which led to his later commissioning as a second lieutenant in 2012.
You may find that perhaps the most intriguing detail about Mr. Ponce’s life is the fact that he grew up as a child in a trailer house in a poor community, with dysfunction and alcoholism as a part of daily life. He had first hand exposure to the effects of alcoholism on family and in the community, to the deleterious effects of drugs on a community, and to racism. He understands better than most how an impoverished minority can escape the cycle of violence, of drugs, of alcohol, and of social obstacles.
When not practicing law, Mr. Ponce enjoys spending time with his wife and kids, running, gravel cycling, and writing and playing music.
