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

Svetlana V. Scherr

Senior Associate

Svetlana Scherr defends employers and insurers in a variety of legal matters stemming from workers’ compensation claims.  Ms. Scherr is also experienced with trusts and estates, employment agreements, tax compliance, business valuation, accounting, financial reporting, and auditing.

Before her legal career, Ms. Scherr spent a decade in the accounting and tax arenas.  She is a Certified Public Accountant and is Accredited in Business Valuations.

Bar Admissions

  • Colorado, 2022
  • Utah, 2024
  • South Dakota, 2025
  • U.S. District Court, District of Colorado

Location

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

Education

JD: University of Denver Sturm College of Law, 2021
BS: University of South Alabama, 2012, Business Administration, cum laude

Contact

scherrs@hallevans.com

More About
Svetlana

Professional Associations
  • American Institute of Certified Public Accountants
  • Colorado Society of Certified Public Accountants
License
  • Certified Public Accountant
  • Accredited in Business Valuation by the AICPA
Languages
  • Russian

Taylor Feero

Senior Associate

Taylor Feero joined the Hall & Evans workers’ compensation practice group in 2022.  Before joining Hall & Evans, Mr. Feero served as a Law Clerk for the Honorable Judge Shelley I. Gilman with the Second Judicial District in Denver, Colorado.

While attending the University of Denver Sturm College of Law, Mr. Feero was an Editor of the Denver Law Review and a student attorney with the Criminal Defense Clinic.  He also served as a Judicial Intern for the Honorable Judge Ben Leutwyler with the Eighteenth Judicial District, a Student Intern with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and was a Law Clerk with a small immigration firm in Denver.  Prior to law school, Mr. Feero was an English instructor at Southwest Petroleum University through the Peace Corps in Xindu, Sichuan, China.

Practice Areas

Bar Admissions

  • Colorado, 2019

Location

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

Education

JD: University of Denver Sturm College of Law, 2019
BA: University of Colorado, 2012, English & Film Studies
Certificates: Basic Legal Research and Advanced Legal Research, Constitutional Rights and Remedies Law, 2019

Contact

feerot@hallevans.com

More About
Taylor

Career Distinctions & Honors
  • Denver Law Review; Associate Editor, 2018-2019; Staff Editor, 2017-2018

Articles & Publications // Presentations // Webinars
  • Author, “A Small but Significant Reform that Could Have Put the Cap Back on Misdemeanor Sentencing for Colorado’s Noncitizens,” 95 Den. L. Rev. (online), 2018
Professional Experience
  • Law Clerk, Honorable Judge Shelley I. Gilman, Second Judicial District, Denver, CO, 2020-2022
  • Student Intern, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity, Denver, CO, 2018
  • Judicial Intern, Honorable Judge Ben Leutwyler, Eighteenth Judicial District, Centennial, CO, 2017

Kendra G. Garstka

Member

Kendra Garstka’s practice focuses on the representation of insurance carriers and employers in Colorado and Utah workers’ compensation and subrogation cases.  Ms. Garstka defends and argues cases before the Colorado Division of Workers’ Compensation, the Utah Labor Commission, and the Colorado Court of Appeals.

Prior to joining Hall & Evans, Ms. Garstka was an Associate for insurance defense firms in Denver and Chicago.  Ms. Garstka began her legal career in Chicago, Illinois as a Staff Attorney for the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission where she drafted opinions and decisions on review, orders, and dissent consistent with the Commissioner’s rulings.

Practice Areas

Bar Admissions

  • Colorado, 2017
  • Utah, 2018
  • Illinois (inactive), 2012

Location

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

Education

JD: Chicago-Kent College of Law, Illinois Institute of Technology, 2012
BA: American University, 2009, Journalism and Political Science, magna cum laude

Contact

garstkak@hallevans.com

More About
Kendra

Professional Associations
  • Professionals in Workers’ Compensation

  • ALFA International, Steering Committee, Workers’ Compensation Practice Group

  • Colorado Bar Association
  • Denver Bar Association
Articles & Publications // Presentations // Webinars
  • Panelist, “Emerging Trends in and Around Workers’ Compensation,” ALFA International Future Leaders Seminar, 2023

  • Presentation, “Marijuana and Colorado Workers’ Compensation,” Client Seminar, 2018
  • Presentation, “Evaluating Compensability and Causation Issues (Including the Role of Diagnostic Testing),” Client Seminar, 2018
Career Distinctions & Honors
  • Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch® in America; Workers’ Compensation Law, 2021-2025
  • Colorado Super Lawyers®, “Rising Star,” Workers’ Compensation, 2024-2025

Business & Community Service
  • Co-Vice Chair of Administrative Law Committee, Chicago Bar Association, December 2013 – June 2016
  • American University Alumni Association, Leadership Team, Chicago Chapter, July 2013 – April 2017
  • Office of the Governor, Clemency Backlog Elimination Project, September 2012- December 2014
  • Field Associates, Program Committee Member, Field Museum, July 2013 – April 2017

Ryan P. Browne

Member

Ryan Browne practices in our Montana office.  He has maintained a diverse civil litigation practice over the past nine years.  His experience includes representing individuals; local, regional, and national businesses; public entities; and non-profit organizations.  Mr. Browne’s practice areas include construction and design defect and deficiency, premises liability, workers’ compensation, realtor/broker professional negligence, fire suppression system ITM professional negligence, transportation, and general tort defense.

Mr. Browne has successfully defended large national retailers in complex and high exposure cases.  He has successfully obtained the dismissal of claims and cases by way of dispositive motion practice on numerous occasions.  Mr. Browne has represented clients in the justice, tribal, state, and federal courts across Montana and at all stages of litigation including mediation and trial.

Mr. Browne has been on the Board of Trustees for the Yellowstone County Bar Association since 2017 and has been Montana’s Young Lawyer Delegate to the ABA House of Delegates since 2019.

Bar Admissions

  • Montana, 2010
  • U.S. District Court, District of Montana

Location

Billings Office

175 North 27th Street
Suite 1101
Billings, MT 59101

Education

JD: University of Montana School of Law, 2010
BA & BS: Regis University, 2007, History & Political Economy, Dean’s List

Contact

browner@hallevans.com

More About
Ryan

Career Distinctions & Honors
  • Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch® in America; Construction Law, Litigation ­­- Real Estate, and Transportation Law, 2022-2025
Professional Experience
  • Law Clerk, Hon. Susan P. Watters, Montana’s 13th Judicial District, 2010-2011
  • Clinical Intern, United States Attorney’s Office, Billings, MT, 2009-2010
  • Special Deputy County Attorney, Yellowstone County Attorney’s Office, Billings, MT, 2008-2009