Expertise & Efficiency

I am a sole practitioner focusing on Colorado water rights. I started Merrill Law with more than a dozen years of experience in the field. I believe water rights matters deserve careful study and analysis of the history, geography, hydrology, and often geology. I create customized solutions that maximize value and minimize risks. I provide representation to all types of water users.
La Plata Mountains Panorama
Water rights are too important for poor planning. Let's get creative.
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Years of Experience
$0M+
Water Rights Transactions
Squaw Creek and willows
Stilling Well-Plan

Profile

Merrill Law is an efficient modern law practice with competitive rates. Traditional offices have high overhead driving high billing rates. Yet most water law issues do not require a large office or a team of lawyers. Instead, clients want the most economical and efficient way to manage their water rights so they can focus on their business. I am listening.

I am based out of a home office. I meet with clients at their offices or water project sites and rent conference space when and where it is convenient. I incorporate technology to save time and automate routine work. Limiting my overhead allows me to offer a lower billing rate.

If you have a water rights issue in Colorado, I invite you to contact me and discuss whether I can help. You will be surprised how much a driven and efficient lawyer can accomplish.

Experience

I started Merrill Law LLC after a dozen years, including 8 as a partner at the longtime Denver water law firm White & Jankowski, LLP. Our focus was large and contentious water cases — the perfect environment to learn water law and complex litigation. Working on successive cases set for multi-week trials, I spent thousands of hours strategizing, working with expert witnesses, writing briefs, taking depositions and managing discovery.

I have represented clients in district court and water court trials, including a three week trial during 2021. I have also briefed and argued cases before the Colorado Supreme Court. When litigation is necessary, I am an experienced and effective advocate.

Settlement is the best resolution for most water issues. I work directly with opposing counsel to resolve disputes and have frequently represented clients in mediation. Colorado is fortunate to have multiple former water judges working as mediators and I have learned from their techniques resolving several long-term water disputes.

Now I bring that experience and expertise to clients of Merrill Law LLC. The burden of proof falls on the party who wants to win. I always prepare to carry it.

Education

Lewis and Clark Northwestern School of Law, 2006 | cum laude
Colorado College, 2003 | Environmental Science | magna cum laude

Reported Cases

LoPresti v. Brandenburg, 267 P.3d 1211 (Colo. 2011)
San Antonio, Los Pinos and Conejos River Acequia Preservation Association v. Special Improvement District No. 1 of the Rio Grande Water Conservation District, 270 P.3d 927 (Colo. 2011)

How I approach water issues
I strive to understand and incorporate the diverse facets of a conflict—the law, the physical and hydrological systems, the history, the personalities—into a cohesive plan of action. I work frequently with engineers, hydrologists and geologists and clients to develop solutions as a team. I focus on details because they are critical to understanding the big picture.
Water Droplets on a Leaf