Partner
Rudy E.
Verner
Rudy Verner’s practice focuses on complex commercial disputes, federal and state appeals, and privacy and data security law. As a litigator he has successfully handled matters relating to insurance coverage, business torts, contractual disputes, employment, construction, real estate, land use and natural resources. He is an experienced appellate practitioner as well as a trial lawyer. In the appellate arena, Mr. Verner has appeared before numerous federal and state appellate courts, briefed issues of first impression under Colorado and other states’ law, and served as local advisory counsel in significant matters before the Tenth Circuit.
As part of his insurance coverage practice, Mr. Verner has represented companies and individuals seeking to enforce coverage or recover policy proceeds under general liability, directors and officers, first-party property, business-interruption, environmental site liability, cyber liability and other specialty policies. Mr. Verner also assists clients in conducting insurance audits and obtaining specialty insurance coverage for businesses with unique risk profiles, including companies in the cannabis, hemp and CBD industries.
Mr. Verner is a member of the International Association of Privacy Professionals and regularly advises clients in the emerging areas of on-line privacy, data security, and e-commerce law, with a particular emphasis on the digital advertising industry.
Before entering private practice, Mr. Verner served as a law clerk to Judge Timothy M. Tymkovich on the Tenth Circuit and to Judge Sandra I. Rothenberg on the Colorado Court of Appeals. At the University of Colorado School of Law, Mr. Verner was an associate editor on the University of Colorado Law Review and Managing Editor of the Journal on Telecommunications and High Technology Law.
Outside the office, he is a father of two, an avid cyclist and skier, and a climate change advocate.
Legal Assistant
EDUCATION & ADMISSIONS
JURIS DOCTOR
UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO SCHOOL OF LAW, 2002
MASTERS OF ARTS
BOSTON COLLEGE, 2006
BACHELOR OF ARTS
KENYON COLLEGE, 1996
U.S. Court of Appeals, Tenth Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit
U.S. District Court, District of Colorado
U.S. District Court, Northern District of California
U.S. Supreme Court
Colorado
2008
Publications
“Short Term Solutions, Interim Surplus Guidelines, and the Future of the Colorado River Delta”, Colorado Journal of International Environmental Law and Policy, Colorado, 2003, Volume 14, p. 241.
Rudy E. Verner and Steven D. Zansberg. “Expanded Media Coverage in Colorado Courts”, The Colorado Lawyer, September 2011, Volume 40, No. 9, p. 39-46. Read Article
Pro Bono
Assisted Washington D.C. based Center For International Environmental Law on project concerning the relationship between pension fund investments and climate change, 2015
Assisted Colorado’s largest bicycle advocacy organization, Bicycle Colorado, in opposing City of Black Hawk’s municipal bike ban, 2010
Teachings
Introduction to Climate Change, Regis University (guest lecturer)
Community Involvement
Board of Directors, Conservation Colorado, present
Member, Colorado Conservation Voters, 2010 – present
Board of Directors, Bicycle Colorado, July 2011 – July 2015
Moot Court Volunteer Judge, University of Colorado and University of Denver
Professional Associations
Colorado Bar Association, Appellate Practice Subcommittee
The International Association of Privacy Professionals
Reported Appellate Decisions
Johnson v. VCG Rests. Denver, Inc., 2015 Colo. App. LEXIS 2039 (Colo. App. Dec. 31, 2015)
United States v. Greenwood, 2014 U.S. App. LEXIS 23282 (10th Cir. Dec. 11, 2014)
United States v. Garcia-Ruiz, 521 Fed. Appx. 702 (10th Cir. 2013)
United States v. Hopkins, 509 Fed. Appx. 765 (10th Cir. 2013)
United States v. Darton, 595 F.3d 1191 (10th Cir. 2010)
United States v. Rollen, 355 Fed.Appx. 166, 2009 WL 4547798 (10th Cir. 2009) (unpublished)
Barrett v. Investment Management Consultants, Ltd., 190 P.3d 800 (Colo. App. 2008) (on the briefs)
Kilgore v. Attorney General of Colorado, 519 F.3d 1084 (10th Cir. 2008)
Level 3 Communications, LLC v. Liebert Corp., 535 F.3d 1146 (10th Cir. 2008) (on the briefs)
Morris v. Goodwin, 185 P.3d 777 (Colo. 2008) (on the briefs)
Old Republic Ins. Co. v. Ross, 180 P.3d 427 (Colo. 2008) (on the briefs)
United States v. Rollen, 239 Fed.Appx. 451, 2007 WL 2372370 (10th Cir. 2007) (unpublished)
United States v. Flowers, 464 F.3d 1127 (10th Cir. 2006)
Ross v. Old Republic Ins. Co., 134 P.3d 505 (Colo. App. 2006) (on the briefs)
State ex rel. Salazar v. General Steel Domestic Sales, LLC, 129 P.3d 1047 (Colo. App. 2005) (on the briefs)
Honors & Awards
Rising Star, Civil Litigation Defense, Colorado Super Lawyers List for 2012 and 2013.

Rudy’s Blog

Partner Peter Nichols Talks Super Ditch Project at the Colorado Law Conference on Natural Resources
The University of Colorado Boulder hosted the 42nd Annual Colorado Law Conference on Natural Resources on June 16th and 17th. The Colorado River was the focus of this year's conference given the dramatic decline in the levels of Lakes Powell and Mead. Low Water At...

Rudy Verner Moderates A Panel On Climate-Action at BizWest’s Net Zero Cities
Partner Rudy Verner joined four panelists in kicking off BizWest's Net Zero Cities event held at The Ranch Event Complex in Loveland, CO this morning, May 4, 2022. The session titled 'Climate-Action Bootcamp' was geared toward the private sector and went beyond the...

BHGR Files Motion to Intervene on Behalf of Marshall Together
Berg Hill Greenleaf Ruscitti has filed a motion to intervene and complaint on behalf of Marshall Together in Demanding Integrity in Govt Spending v. Boulder County in Boulder County District Court. Attorneys Rudy Verner, Josh Marks, and Andrew Fischer...
In the News
Merritt Named Co-Chair of the Firm’s Trusts, Estates, Probate, and Tax Practice
Shelly Merritt, a partner at Berg Hill Greenleaf Ruscitti, has been named the co-chair of the Firm's Trust, Estates, Probate, and Tax Practice. Merritt has over thirty years of experience representing individuals, families, closely-held businesses, executives, and...
BHGR Introduces the Women’s Leadership Committee
Just in time for Women's History Month, Berg Hill Greenleaf Ruscitti LLP formed and formally introduced the BHGR Women's Leadership Committee. The Women's Leadership Committee is comprised of sixteen female attorneys and was established to recognize and cultivate a...
BHGR Partnership Expands with 2023 Elections
The Berg Hill Greenleaf Ruscitti partnership gathered at our Boulder office on January 31, 2023. In that meeting, attorneys Geoff Williamson and Benjamin Wilson were elected Equity Partners, and Elizabeth Froehlke and DJ Goldfarb were elected Non-Equity Partners,...
Firm Happenings
Updates in California Employment Law: Additional Requirements for Pay Data Reporting and Pay Transparency
Updates in California Employment Law: Additional Requirements for Pay Data Reporting and Pay Transparency On September 27, 2022, Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law Senate Bill 1162 ("SB 1162"), expanding California's data reporting requirements under Government...
Client Alert: What Employers Must Convey Upon Employee Termination or Separation
Colorado's most recent legislative session, concluding in early May, pushed through several new employment-related laws that concern employers and employees alike. Senate Bill (SB) 22-234 should be of particular interest to employers, as it requires employers to...
Client Alert: Colorado Places New Restrictions on Non-Compete Agreements Between Employers and their Employees
Colorado has long disfavored non-compete agreements within the state. Historically, under C.R.S. § 8-2-113, restrictive covenants were void and unenforceable except for under specific circumstances, including: the purchase and sale of a business or the assets of a...