Mr. Haines has delivered several trial judgments for water rights holders in Colorado Water Division 1 Court and has successfully settled hundreds more water application opposition matters.  Mr. Haines’ clients range from one large municipality with valuable senior water rights in need of protection in water court to several smaller Boulder County irrigators whose needs tend more toward advice to boards of directors and negotiating and drafting easements, agreements, and transactional documents.  Mr. Haines was recently part of the legal team that won a liability judgment in the United States District Court for the District of Colorado against a large front range municipality for violations of Clean Water Act stormwater permit terms, working with the Colorado Attorney General and U.S Department of Justice to protect water quality on the lower Arkansas River.  He also advocates and advises clients regarding air pollution compliance and permitting disputes.

Mr. Haines represents creditors in bankruptcy proceedings and has successfully recovered both secured and unsecured claims through vigorous advocacy and innovative pursuit of debtor resources outside of the bankruptcy estate (such as payment bonds).  Mr. Haines recognizes that some bankruptcy creditor claims may not be large enough to justify the expense of full engagement by counsel but are still significant to the client, so he has developed a practice strategy that includes advising clients, monitoring filings, and ensuring that deadlines and orders are communicated to clients to optimize client recoveries without generating prohibitive legal expenses.  Mr. Haines is admitted to the Colorado bankruptcy bar and has also represented clients in the bankruptcy courts of Georgia and Texas.

Mr. Haines is highly invested in the education, music, and sports interests of his three sons.  He serves on the Recreation Advisory Board for the City of Louisville, where he lives with his wife, kids, and the family’s Welsh Corgi. Before starting his legal career, Mr. Haines worked ten years as an environmental scientist including work on Colorado’s Rocky Flats Superfund Project, and he continues to invest time and energy into raising environmental and water resource awareness in Colorado.  In his free time, Mr. Haines enjoys biking, hiking, golf, playing blues guitar, and spending time with family.