Geoffrey T. Cunningham

Senior Associate

Geoffrey Cunningham’s litigation practice includes premises liability, construction defect, employment law, real estate litigation, HOA litigation, probate litigation, business litigation, and appellate work. He also represents insurers with bad faith and coverage matters.

Before joining Hall & Evans, Mr. Cunningham practiced insurance defense, criminal defense, corporate litigation, and family law in both Montana state and Federal District Court at a small firm in Billings, MT. Additionally, the broad nature of his practice included regular appellate cases at the Montana Supreme Court.

Mr. Cunningham is a Billings native who attended Billings Central Catholic High School and earned his bachelor’s degree from Montana State University. After graduating from the University of Wyoming College of Law, he returned to his hometown to begin his career as a litigator. He is licensed in Montana and Wyoming.

Bar Admissions

  • Montana, 2015
  • Wyoming, 2017
  • U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit
  • U.S. District Court, District of Montana

Location

Billings Office

175 North 27th Street
Suite 1101
Billings, MT 59101

Education

JD: University of Wyoming, 2015
BA: Montana State University, 2011, History

Contact

cunninghamg@hallevans.com

More About
Geoffrey

Appeals
  • Hanson v. Town of Fort Peck, 2023 MT 208, 414 Mont. 1, 538 P.3d 404
  • First Nat’l Props., LLC v. Joel D. Hillstead Tr., 2020 MT 211, 401 Mont. 59, 472 P.3d 134
  • B.D. v. Deming, 2020 MT 205N, 401 Mont. 556, 468 P.3d 815
  • Oldman v. State, 2015 WY 121, 359 P.3d 964
Professional Associations
  • American Bar Association
  • State Bar of Montana
  • Wyoming State Bar
  • Yellowstone Area Bar Association
  • Montana Defense Trial Lawyers

Jacob Gudenkauf

Associate

Jacob Gudenkauf is a litigator with a broad range of experience in construction and design, premises liability, health care, employment, toxic torts, commercial litigation, catastrophic injury, and coverage matters. Mr. Gudenkauf defends a variety of licensed professionals including architects, engineers, and design professionals involved with construction defect claims, as well as doctors, nurses, and health care providers facing medical malpractice claims. He counsels employers with investigations of harassment, retaliation, and discrimination and defends public entities in matters involving Constitutional torts, governmental immunity, and local governance.

Mr. Gudenkauf’s focus is on first seeking to understand his client’s goals and story. Whether through facilitating an early resolution or pursuing a matter through trial and final judgment, he always seeks to find creative solutions to the problems that face his clients and to help them reach their goals.

Mr. Gudenkauf graduated cum laude from Willamette University College of Law. During law school, he served as a Judicial Extern for the Honorable Elizabeth Weishaupl in Colorado’s 18th District and clerked with the Trial Division of the Oregon Department of Justice.

Bar Admissions

  • Utah, 2022
  • Colorado, 2016
  • U.S. District Court, District of Utah
  • U.S. District Court, District of Colorado

Location

Salt Lake City Office
175 South Main Street
Suite 500
Salt Lake City, UT 84111

Education

JD: Willamette University College of Law, 2016, cum laude
BA: University of Colorado, 2012, History and Political Science

Contact

gudenkaufj@hallevans.com

More About
Jacob

Decisions
  • Won summary judgment on behalf of general contractor construction defect, defamation, and breach of contract case.
Professional Associations
  • Claims and Litigation Management Alliance
Other Activities
  • Mr. Gudenkauf enjoys spending time with his family, playing golf (poorly), and cheering for the University of Colorado Buffaloes.

John F. “Jack” Peters

Member

Jack Peters is a trial and appellate litigator. He has first chaired over fifty jury trials, tried cases to judges and arbitrators, and handled multiple appeals to state and federal appellate courts. His practice focuses on the defense of civil rights and other claims against public entities; representing school districts in a wide variety of claims, including Title IX, Title VI, IDEA, and Section 504; labor and employment litigation and counseling; administrative complaints before state and federal regulatory bodies; professional liability claims against real estate brokers and medical professionals; probate, guardianship, and other fiduciary litigation; and general commercial litigation, including securities fraud and contract disputes, including real estate broker commission disputes.

Before joining Hall and Evans, Mr. Peters was a prosecutor in Boulder County where he tried dozens of cases to verdict, handled extensive appellate work, and supervised the District Attorney’s Office law clerks. Mr. Peters graduated from Vermont Law School magna cum laude in the top 5% of his class. He served as articles editor of the Vermont Journal of Environmental Law, worked in the chambers of Justice Denise Johnson of the Vermont Supreme Court, and was a summer associate in the Shanghai office of an international law firm. He continues to mentor law students and is actively involved in the legal community. Before law school, Mr. Peters was a licensed real estate salesperson in New York City and a middle school teacher in Denver.

Bar Admissions

  • Colorado, 2012
  • Kentucky (inactive), 2011
  • U.S. Court of Appeals, Tenth Circuit
  • U.S. District Court, District of Colorado

Location

Denver Office
1001 17th Street
Suite 300
Denver, CO 80202

Education

JD: Vermont Law School, 2011, magna cum laude
BA: University of Chicago, 2004, Classical Languages and Literatures

Contact

petersj@hallevans.com

More About
Jack

Appeals
  • People v. Penn, 32, 379 P.3d 298 (Colo. 2016)
Professional Associations
  • Colorado Bar Association
  • Boulder Bar Association, Member, Board of Directors 2017 – 2020
  • Faculty of Federal Advocates
Career Distinctions & Honors
  • Senior Articles Editor, Vermont Journal of Environmental Law, 2010 – 2011
License
  • New York State Real Estate Salesperson License, inactive
Articles & Publications // Presentations // Webinars
  • Presenter, “Diverse Juries Reach Better Verdicts: How Litigators can Create Diverse Jury Panels and Prevent Bias in Deliberations” Colorado Bar Association Litigators’ Summit, November 2023
  • Presenter, “Qualified Immunity and the Basics of Civil Claims Against Law Officers,” Boulder County Bar Association CLE, September 2020
  • Presenter, “The Legal Effect of Turning 18,” Monarch High School, 2014 – present
  • Presenter, “Finding and Using Digital Evidence,” Kentucky Prosecutors Conference, 2017
  • Trainer, Colorado District Attorney’s Council, 2014 – 2018
Professional Experience
  • Deputy District Attorney, Twentieth Judicial District, Boulder, CO, 2012 – 2019
  • Intern, Hon. Justice Denise Johnson, Vermont Supreme Court, Montpelier, VT, 2009
Languages
  • Conversational in French, Italian, and Spanish. Knowledge of Mandarin Chinese, German, and Swedish.

Adam R. Knecht

Member

Adam Knecht concentrates his practice on both transactional and business/civil litigation. Mr. Knecht’s civil work encompasses all aspects of civil trial work, including business litigation, landlord/tenant disputes, non-competition litigation, transportation law, premises liability, and insurance defense. His civil practice includes defending catastrophic injury and wrongful death cases, defending healthcare professions against medical malpractice and nursing home lawsuits, workers’ compensation defense, defense of civil rights claims, and defending the manufacturers of various products including building products and medical products. Mr. Knecht’s transactional practice involves mergers and acquisitions, general business transactions, real estate law, and securities law.

Mr. Knecht represents clients in a wide variety of litigation and appellate matters in Federal and State courts in Nevada and Utah. He has successfully defended and prosecuted cases through trial, serving as lead trial counsel in more than 20 cases generally involving complex commercial, business, premises liability, personal injury, and real estate issues. Mr. Knecht has also been recognized by Mountain States Super Lawyers® for his business litigation law practice.

Prior to law practice, Mr. Knecht had many years of business management experience in both the technology and construction industries. He also advised and provided management consulting services for various mid to large companies while working for global consulting firms Accenture and Bridge Strategy Group. Subsequent to that, Mr. Knecht was the general manager of a construction and real estate development company.

Bar Admissions

  • Nevada, 2013
  • Utah, 2021
  • New Mexico, 2022
  • U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals, Tenth Circuit
  • U.S. District Court, District of Nevada
  • U.S. District Court, District of Utah

Location

Las Vegas Office
1160 North Town Center Drive
Suite 330
Las Vegas, NV 89144

Education

JD: University of Nevada-Las Vegas, William S. Boyd School of Law, 2013

BS: Brigham Young University, 1998, Finance and Information Systems, Minor in Spanish

Contact

knechta@hallevans.com

More About
Adam

Career Distinctions & Honors
  • Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch® in America; Corporate Law, 2024-2025
  • Mountain States Super Lawyers®, Business Litigation, 2022
  • Outstanding Academic Achievement Full Scholarship
  • CALI Excellence for the Future Award: Legal Writing I (2010), Legal Writing II (2011), and Evidence, (2012)
Professional Associations
  • State Bar of Nevada
  • State Bar of Utah
  • Southern Utah Bar
  • State Bar New Mexico
  • Nevada Contractors Association
  • National Association of Home Builders
Business & Community Service
  • Volunteer, Boy Scouts of America, 2000-present
  • Volunteer, Habitat for Humanity, 1989-present
Other Activities
  • Outside of work, Mr. Knecht enjoys spending time with his wife and children, running, boating, climbing, and hiking.
Languages
  • Spanish

Nadia H. Patrick

Member

Nadia Patrick is a trial lawyer with experience in litigating complex cases at the state and federal levels. She focuses her practice on civil litigation with an emphasis in catastrophic casualty, transportation law (including trucking and railroad defense), employment law, and toxic tort defense. Her unique experience allows her to help employers navigate workplace accidents, regulatory inspections, personal liability investigations, and crisis management and prevention. Nadia represents Fortune 500 companies in the transportation and medical sectors, and has significant experience representing insurance clients in high-value personal injury cases.

Nadia began her career litigating cases on behalf of the U.S. Department of Labor and was able to hone her skills as a litigator by trying numerous cases on behalf of the Secretary of Labor. She went on to work for the Colorado Office of the Attorney General, where she represented the Marijuana Enforcement Division (MED) and assisted with drafting some of the first retail marijuana regulations in the nation.

Bar Admissions

  • Colorado, 2011
  • Montana, 2016
  • U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals, Tenth Circuit
  • U.S. District Court, District of Colorado
  • U.S. District Court, District of Montana
  • U.S. District Court, Northern District of Texas

Location

Denver Office
1001 17th Street
Suite 300
Denver, CO 80202

Education

JD: Texas A&M School of Law, 2010
BS: Towson University, 2005, English

Contact

patrickn@hallevans.com

More About
Nadia

Career Distinctions & Honors
  • The Best Lawyers in America®, Transportation Law, 2025
  • Colorado Super Lawyers®, “Rising Star,” Transportation/Maritime, 2019
Professional Associations
  • Colorado Bar Association
  • Denver Bar Association
  • National Association of Railroad Trial Counsel
  • Rhone Brackett Inn of Court
Languages
  • Urdu
Articles & Publications // Presentations // Webinars
  • Presenter, “Flipping Favor: How to Turn Plaintiff’s Physicians Into Your Experts,” Association of Defense Trial Attorneys, 2021

  • Presenter, “Finding False Claims – An Introduction to Qui Tam Litigation,” National Association of Railroad Trial Counsel, 2019

  • Presenter, “Blurry Vision: How Rheumatological Conditions Can Present as Interstitial Fibrosis in Occupational Claims,” Association of Defense Trial Attorneys, 2019

  • Co-Author, “Red Light/Green Light: Ethics in the Age of ‘Legal’ Marijuana,” Hall & Evans, LLC, 2015

  • Presenter, “Where the Reefer Meets the Road: A Practical Approach to Pot Regulations,” Rhone Brackett Inn of Court, 2015

  • Presenter, “Implications of Unwarrantables in MSHA’s Pattern of Violations,” U.S. Department of Labor, Office of the Solicitor, 2013

  • Presenter, “Navigating the D-Chain,” U.S. Department of Labor, Office of the Solicitor, 2012

  • Presenter, “MSHA Safeguards: A Primer,” U.S. Department of Labor, Office of the Solicitor and Mine Safety Health Administration, 2011