It’s hard to determine with precision the specific events that shape us into the people we are, the circumstances that influenced the paths we chose, but for Lauren Varner, it all started at home.
A Colorado native, Lauren was born to Dr. Lawrence Varner, a prominent orthopedic surgeon living in Greenwood Village, Colorado. From a very young age, Lauren observed, and later sought to emulate, her father’s drive, work ethic, and sense of duty when it came to helping others. A significant portion of Dr. Varner’s practice involved helping those who had been injured. As Lauren got older, she would help her father at work, witnessing firsthand the havoc these events brought upon the patients’ lives. It was there that Lauren first felt her calling to help injured victims.
Fast forward a few years later to when Lauren was attending the University of Denver as an undergraduate with a major in sociology and a minor is women’s studies. Attuned to issues of equality and justice, the women’s studies courses spoke to Lauren in a way that others hadn’t. Lauren began to understand how centuries of institutionalized sexism, among other forces, had made it very difficult for women to penetrate the upper levels of historically male-dominated fields like law. Never one to shy away from a challenge, Lauren decided to pursue a career in the legal field with an aim of helping others.
After graduating college summa cum laude, Lauren was accepted into the University of Denver Sturm College of Law. There, she was appointed Senior Staff Editor for the Water Law Review, President of the Elder Law Society and Health Law Society, and Vice President of the Moot Court Board. During her law school tenure, Lauren also received Scholastic Excellence Awards for attaining among the highest grades in Advanced Legal Writing, Advanced Legal Research, and Medical Malpractice, as well as the coveted Student Leadership Award.
Following her first year of law school, a Denver personal injury firm selected Lauren for an internship and hired her as a law clerk until graduation, when they offered her a full-time associate attorney position. Lauren remained with this firm for five years, where she handled all aspects of personal injury cases, from initial client consultations through trial. Within approximately six months of becoming licensed, Lauren conducted her first solo trial. Within two years, Lauren was arguing before the Colorado Court of Appeals.
Hungry to stand on her own two feet and determine her own destiny, in August of 2018, at the age of just 30, Lauren and her fiancé, Eric Faddis, founded Varner Faddis Elite Legal (VFEL), a now-thriving personal injury and criminal defense firm in the Denver Tech Center. A little more than a year in, VFEL has gone from two members to eight, and is retained in approximately 200 active cases. Lauren was recently selected for the Super Lawyers 2020 Colorado Rising Stars list. In addition to criminal defense, VFEL handles all kinds of personal injury cases, including wrongful death, motor vehicle collisions, slip/trip and falls, trucking accidents, motorcycle accidents, auto/pedestrian cases, auto/bicycle accidents, drunk driving accidents, assault/battery, negligent security, brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, and dog bites. Beyond its legal endeavors, VFEL also engages in significant community outreach, putting on “Know Your Rights” presentations for individuals recently released from prison and mock trials to teach high schoolers about hate crimes.
Lauren’s professional philosophy centers around good, old-fashioned hard work, producing quality work product, and treating others professionally, with dignity and respect at all times. Outside of work, Lauren enjoys spending time with her family, including her three mini-dachshunds (Turkey, PeeWee, and Craig), meditating, traveling, and weight lifting.
Things have come full circle for Lauren, as she regularly consults her father, now semi-retired, on the medical aspects of her cases, and is forever grateful to him for steering her in a direction that has become her destination.