Patrick M. Haines

Patrick Haines practices litigation of a wide variety of water, environmental, and civil matters. Mr. Haines combines broad litigation experience with the ability to quickly and efficiently learn the facts and legal nuances of a case, making him a very effective lawyer across a wide range of subject matters. His recent successes include winning trial judgments in favor of a front-range municipal water rights holder in two different cases in Colorado Water Division 1; defeating a preliminary injunction and securing the dismissal of non-compete covenant and trade secret misappropriation claims against a client’s startup therapeutic mentoring business; winning judgment for possession and money damages against the former tenant of a coveted downtown restaurant location after the tenant held over; recovery of nearly 100% of a bankruptcy creditor’s claims in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Georgia through vigorous advocacy within the bankruptcy case and innovative pursuit of payment bond claims and negotiations with the bankruptcy estate purchaser; and winning a liability judgment in the United States District Court for the District of Colorado against a large front range municipality that violated its Clean Water Act stormwater permit terms in a complex case involving environmental regulatory agencies and intervenor plaintiffs. In addition to these litigation successes, Mr. Haines has negotiated fair and cost-effective settlements of cases that include changes of water rights, water augmentation plans, irrigation ditch crossing and easement matters, air emission permit violation allegations, early lease terminations and breach of lease disputes, and applications for junior water diversion and storage rights.

Prior to joining Berg Hill Greenleaf Ruscitti LLP, Mr. Haines served as a Deputy District Attorney for the 20th Judicial District (Boulder) where he tried dozens of criminal cases to Colorado juries. Prior to working as a prosecutor, Mr. Haines clerked for former 20th Judicial District Chief Judge Maria Berkenkotter.  Before starting his legal career, Mr. Haines worked ten years as an environmental scientist for the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency and later on Colorado’s Rocky Flats Superfund Project.  Mr. Haines also served six years in the U.S. Marine Corps, where he was decorated for his service in the first Persian Gulf War.

Mr. Haines has served three terms on the Colorado Judicial Performance Commission for the 20^th Judicial District, currently serves as a Director of the YMCA of Boulder Valley, and periodically teaches trial advocacy at the University of Colorado School of Law.  Mr. Haines was a finalist for judicial appointment to the County Court of Boulder County in 2016.  He lives with his wife and three sons in Louisville, where he spends time in the basement trying to teach his kids to play electric Chicago blues on guitar and drums, with less success than he experiences in his law practice.