Steven P. Johnston

Senior Associate

Steven Johnston has over 20 years of civil litigation experience in Colorado state and federal courts. He focuses on medical malpractice and defends medical and dental providers along with hospitals and other healthcare facilities.

Outside of his healthcare practice, Mr. Johnston has extensive experience with insurance defense, premises liability, and business related matters. He has also managed mass tort litigation involving pharmaceutical product liability and environmental contamination.

Bar Admissions

  • Colorado, 2003
  • 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: Brigham Young University J. Reuben Clark Law School, 2003
BS: Brigham Young University, 1998, Business Management

Contact

johnstons@hallevans.com

More About
Steven

Articles & Publications // Presentations // Webinars
  • Presenter, “Drafting the Complaint: Why It Controls Your Entire Case and Using the Amended Civil Rules to Your Advantage,” Colorado Trial Lawyers Association Blockbuster, 2016

Marcella Alvarez Morgan

Associate

Marcella Alvarez Morgan has a broad range of civil litigation experience representing individuals, businesses, and insurers. Ms. Morgan’s practice includes premises liability, construction, trucking, employment, and environmental matters. She is also experienced with commercial real estate, business transactions, trademark, and copyright matters.

Prior to joining Hall & Evans, Ms. Morgan was a litigator at firms in Albuquerque, NM and Boston, MA. While attending Northeastern University School of law, she served as an intern with a global financial services company, a real estate investment trust company, the Massachusetts Department of Revenue, and a legal aid foundation. Ms. Morgan is licensed in New Mexico, Massachusetts, and Texas.

Bar Admissions

  • New Mexico, 2023
  • Massachusetts, 2020
  • Texas, 2022
  • U.S. District Court, District of New Mexico
  • U.S. District Court, District of Massachusetts

Location

Santa Fe Office
125 Lincoln Avenue
Suite 225
Santa Fe, NM 87501

Education

JD: Northeastern University School of Law, 2019

BA: Colorado College, 2012, Russian and Literature

Contact

morganm@hallevans.com

More About
Marcella

Professional Associations
  • State Bar of New Mexico, Young Lawyers Division
Articles & Publications // Presentations // Webinars
  • Co-author, “New Media and Advocacy,” Understanding Nonviolence, Chapter 6, Wiley, 2015
Languages
  • Russian

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.

Lucas J. Myers

Counsel

Lucas Myers is a seasoned litigator with over a decade of experience handling a wide variety of commercial claims. As a member of the firm’s Construction & Design Practice Group, he focuses his practice on disputes and accidents arising from design, construction, and environmental projects. Lucas prides himself on efficiently obtaining the best possible outcome for his clients.

Prior to moving to Colorado, he was a partner for several years at a respected insurance defense firm in Michigan, where his expertise as a litigator led to the successful resolution of hundreds of lawsuits against insurers in some of Michigan’s least hospitable forums. Before that, Lucas began his practice at one of Hawaii’s premier law firms. There, in addition to an array of other commercial claims, he successfully litigated two class actions as lead counsel. In one, he represented the class of property owners adjacent to Enchanted Lake in Kailua against a developer and its construction contractors. That action settled for policy limits and resulted not only in compensation for the property owners, but also in Enchanted Lake’s complete remediation.

Originally from Wisconsin, Lucas received his bachelor’s degree in political science from Arizona State University, which he attended on a full National Merit Scholarship. He was also named one of one hundred U.S. Senate Scholars. After college, Lucas worked as a claims adjuster for over two years before attending law school. He then obtained his juris doctorate from the Michigan State University College of Law, graduating summa cum laude. In law school, he was the only member of his class selected for both moot court and law review. After winning the regional competition in New York, his moot court team took third overall at the ABA’s National Appellate Advocacy Competition in Chicago. Following law school, Lucas further focused on litigation by obtaining a masters in Litigation & Dispute Resolution from the George Washington University School of Law, the only program of its kind in the nation.

Bar Admissions

  • Colorado, 2023
  • Michigan, 2011
  • Hawaii (inactive), 2013
  • Virginia (inactive), 2010
  • U.S. District Court, District of Colorado

Location

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

Education

LLM: George Washington University Law School, 2011, Litigation & Dispute Resolution, magna cum laude

JD: Michigan State University College of Law, 2010, summa cum laude

BA: Arizona State University, 2004, Political Science, magna cum laude

Contact

myersl@hallevans.com

More About
Lucas

Career Distinctions & Honors
  • National Merit Scholar

  • United States Senate Scholar, Wisconsin

  • Robert C. Byrd Scholar

  • All-State Honors Scholar, Wisconsin

  • Dean King Memorial Scholar

  • Associate Editor, Michigan State Law Review

  • Captain, Michigan State Moot Court Team

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