Nancy Kardon - Boulder, CO
Attorney at Kardon Law
Criminal Defense Lawyers in Boulder, CO
4770 Baseline Road Suite 200 Boulder, CO 80303
- Free Consultation
- 1 Super Lawyers®
-
35
Years
Experience
Boulder Criminal Defense Lawyer
Updated: 10/28/2026
Areas of Practice
- Criminal Defense
- Domestic Violence
- Federal Crimes
- Sex Crimes
- Drug Crimes
- DUI
- Violent Crimes
Attorney Information
Overview
Nancy received her undergraduate degree at the University of Pennsylvania where she was a member of the University’s varsity women's lacrosse team. During her sophomore year at Penn, Nancy interned with the Philadelphia District Attorney’s office, and worked directly with the District Attorney (Edward G. Rendell – who later served as the Governor of Pennsylvania), researching and examining the overcrowding of Pennsylvania prisons. With an ignited interest in criminology, she took as many classes as possible on the subject.
After graduating with honors and a double degree in Classical Studies (Latin and Greek) and Italian, Nancy headed west to study law at UCLA. After her first year in law school, she worked as a summer clerk for the prestigious Los Angeles firm Hughes, Hubbard and Reed. During her second year, she worked as a clerk for the late honorable United States District Court Judge William Matthew Byrne, Jr., and the summer after her second year led to an internship at the office of Paul Hastings, Janofsky and Walker – one of the premier employment discrimination law firms in the nation. This resulted in Nancy’s permanent hire at the high-profile firm in the labor and employment law department.
As an Associate at Paul Hastings, Nancy represented employers in numerous aspects of employment law including class actions, wrongful discharge, discrimination, sexual harassment and labor-management litigation. Her clients included major financial institutions, retailers, technology companies, manufacturing companies and entertainment companies.
While working at Paul Hastings, Nancy either won or successfully negotiated deals on 100% of her federal discrimination cases. It was there that she developed a desire to take on complex cases in federal court, so she ended her four-year stint at Paul Hastings in exchange for behind-the-scenes prosecution experience. With that in mind, she interviewed with the United States Attorney’s Office and was hired as an Assistant United States Attorney specializing in the prosecution of violent crimes.
At the United States Attorney's Office, Nancy prosecuted a broad range of offenses including violent crimes (such as murder-for-hire, threats-to-kill, arson and kidnapping), large-scale drug trafficking, child exploitation, international contraband and human smuggling, fraud, computer crimes, and immigration. Her work on a landmark federal case earned her a nomination for a United States Attorney General’s Award for Excellence in Prosecution.
As a federal prosecutor, Nancy received over a dozen commendations, certificates of appreciation and other service awards relative to her outstanding performance as a prosecutor, including one from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) which acknowledged that her actions “were in the highest traditions of the Department of Justice,” and one from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) which recognized her “dedication and professionalism to the undercover investigation.”
For six years, Nancy was assigned to coordinate all prosecutions under the Violence Against Women Act. This included lecturing to law enforcement and to local, state and federal prosecuting agencies about guns and violence. She also led the Sexual Assault Felony Enforcement (SAFE) Team, which prosecutes all federal child exploitation crimes.
After September 11, 2001, she began working on the Terrorist First-Response Task Force (the team responsible for responding to all domestic and international terrorist threats). After the 9/11 attacks, she worked the night shift hours as the Chief Information Officer (CIO) – liaising with all local, state and national law enforcement agencies – at the Central District of California Command Center.
Awards and Honors
Awards
Honors
- Super Lawyers
- Top Women Litigators in California, Los Angeles and San Francisco Daily Journal
- Award for Outstanding Prosecution, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
- Award for Service, State Bar of California, Executive Committee Section
- Outstanding work in Investigations & Prosecutions, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms
- Outstanding Contributions in field of Drug Enforcement, DEA
- Outstanding work in the Organized Crime & Terrorism Section, United States Attorneys Office
Other Sources of Feedback About Nancy Kardon
Included on the 2026 Southern California Super Lawyers list
Past Lists
- 2022 Southern California Super Lawyers list
- 2021 Southern California Super Lawyers list
- 2020 Southern California Super Lawyers list
- 2019 Southern California Super Lawyers list
- 2018 Southern California Super Lawyers list
- 2017 Southern California Super Lawyers list
- 2016 Southern California Super Lawyers list
- 2015 Southern California Super Lawyers list
- 2014 Southern California Super Lawyers list
- 2013 Southern California Super Lawyers list
- 2012 Southern California Super Lawyers list
- 2011 Southern California Super Lawyers list
- 2010 Southern California Super Lawyers list
Education
Legal Education
-
University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) School of Law, Los Angeles, California
J.D.
Non Legal Education
-
University of Pennsylvania
Honors: With Honors
Current Employment Position(s)
-
Attorney
Past Positions
- United States Attorney's Office, Assistant United States Attorney, 1995 - 2006
- Paul Hastings, Janofsky and Walker, Intern
- Paul Hastings, Associate
- Hughes, Hubbard and Reed, Summer Clerk
- Hon. William Matthew Byrne, Jr., United States District Court Judge, Law Clerk
- Philadelphia District Attorney's Office, Intern
- Central District of California Command Center (post-9/11 assignment), Chief Information Officer (CIO)
Languages
-
English
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Italian
Bar Admissions
- Colorado
- California
Other Affiliations
- National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (Member)
- California Attorneys for Criminal Justice (Member)
- Los Angeles County Bar Association (Member)
- State Bar of California, Criminal Law Section, Executive Committee (Advisor)
Photo
Contact
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