Practice Areas & Industries: Holland & Hart LLP

Practice/Industry Group Overview

From its beginning in 1986, the personal injury defense practice has grown to represent more than 40 percent of the litigation handled by the Cheyenne office of Holland & Hart. Attorneys in the Cheyenne office, Don Schultz, Pat Day, Brad Cave, and Bill Dabney; and Joe Teig and Paula Fleck in our Jackson Hole office, have over 25 years of combined experience in personal injury defense, including a number of defense verdicts against nationally-known plaintiffs' counsel. With a client base predominated by oil, gas, mining, and other energy-related companies, the transition from commercial litigation to the defense of these same clients in personal injury actions was natural.

In 1987, Holland & Hart was retained by the Union Pacific to handle all of its personal injury litigation in Wyoming, expanding this area of its practice beyond the oil fields and mines into fixed-base industrial accidents, crossing and traffic accidents, and into the area of industrial disease, including hearing loss, asbestosis and chemical exposure. With the appearance of the "toxic tort" in Wyoming, Holland & Hart lawyers were at the forefront in defending companies against claims brought by whole communities alleging contamination from industrial activities. This particular practice area has recently expanded to include leaking underground storage tank litigation.

Services Available

Today, Holland & Hart can boast experience in almost every type of personal injury litigation, including products liability, medical malpractice, engineering and design failure, fire and explosions, highway trucking accidents, industrial falls, chemical exposure, toxic gas knockdowns, equipment failures, safety standard violations, product manufacturing accidents, heavy equipment operation, industrial disease, and emotional injury. Holland & Hart is prepared to represent defendants from initial accident investigation through discovery, settlement, trial, and appeals where necessary. Holland & Hart lawyers are familiar with the federal and state court judicial systems in Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, Idaho and Montana and are known in each of the numerous judicial districts.

Catastrophic accidents with multiple injuries and fatalities often demand immediate response in anticipation of personal injury litigation. As a result of several instances in which Holland & Hart lawyers were called out to an accident scene within hours of its occurrence, by clients who recognized the value of counsel at this critical stage, Holland & Hart has recently formed an Emergency Response Team, equipped with the commitment, training, experience, and equipment (video cameras, computers and document management systems) to respond immediately to client emergencies.

The Torts and Insurance Practice Group lawyers of Holland & Hart are active members of the American Trial Lawyers Association, Wyoming Association of Defense Trial Counsel, and the Wyoming Trial Lawyers Association, and stay abreast of trends, developments, and changes in personal injury tort law. Complex tort litigation is managed with a team approach, ensuring that the right lawyer, with the proper experience and expertise, is assigned each case and task. Whether faced with a simple slip and fall, or a catastrophic explosion and fire, care is taken to ensure that the level of resources committed matches the level of exposure and meets the client's needs.