John P. Craver has been a shareholder at White and Steele since 1987 and was president of White and Steele from 2009-2017. His trial experience covers numerous areas of civil litigation, and he has tried approximately 60 jury trials. He began his practice primarily as a workers’ compensation lawyer defending employers and insurance companies. During the past twenty years, John has focused his practice in the area of insurance bad faith.
John has frequently lectured and also testified as an expert witness in coverage and extra-contractual claims. John has demonstrated an ability to control damages in catastrophic cases. In the last few years, John has successfully defended cases involving death, paralysis, drunk driving, and insurance bad faith. He has spoken for continuing legal education programs in Colorado, Wyoming, and nationally on claim handling. He has advised insurance companies in regard to claims practices and handling. In recent years, John has litigated several multi-million-dollar exposure cases on behalf of large personal and commercial line carriers. He has also been involved with several high public profile cases.
John also offers services as a neutral mediator or arbitrator.
In June of 2005, John was honored as one of three finalists to the Best of the Bar, Personal Injury Defense by the Denver Business Journal and Denver Bar Association. He has also been recognized as a Colorado Super Lawyer for the past 17 years and 5280 Magazine for the past 7 as a top injury defense lawyer.
Adam Goldstein was born in Des Moines, Iowa, and grew up in Iowa and Florida. He attended the University of Florida, graduating with honors in 1995. Adam then attended the Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, D.C., where he graduated, cum laude, in 1998.
Adam began his professional practice in Michigan, then moved to Colorado in 2000 where he has practiced ever since. Adam specializes in civil litigation, including products liability, auto/truck liability, personal injury, wrongful death, construction defect, association/HOA and general commercial liability. Adam has tried multiple cases and has extensive lead counsel experience handling all aspects of civil litigation in Colorado and Wyoming state and federal courts.
Nick focuses on defending corporate entities and individuals in personal injury, wrongful death, breach of contract, commercial trucking, construction defect, and product liability lawsuits. He also represents insurance companies in insurance coverage disputes, which often include bad faith claims, and advises carriers on pre-suit claims handling and coverage. With regard to insurance coverage, Nick has analyzed and litigated coverage under commercial general liability, builder’s risk, automobile, uninsured/underinsured motorist, disability, business owners, commercial property, and homeowner’s policies. He practices primarily in the areas of insurance defense, bad faith litigation, and insurance coverage.
Nick is a Denver native. He graduated from Colby College in Waterville, Maine, where he earned a B.A. in English. Nick attended the University of South Carolina School of Law on a merit scholarship, graduating in 2011. He was admitted to the Colorado Bar in 2011 and the Wyoming Bar in 2012. Prior to joining White and Steele, Nick practiced at a boutique insurance defense firm in Denver for over seven years.
Nick served on the City Park Jazz Board of Directors from 2012 through 2018. He was a member of the Executive Committee and served as Vice President from 2013 through 2018.
John Lebsack has been a lawyer at White and Steele since his admission to the bar in 1979. His practice comprises a wide variety of defense litigation, with an emphasis on appeals, coverage disputes, and professional liability. John has argued appeals before the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, the Colorado Supreme Court, and the Colorado Court of Appeals. He has tried cases in state courts throughout the Front Range as well as Federal court in Denver. John advises lawyers on ethical issues, and serves as an expert witness on ethical and professional issues. For several years, John was an adjunct professor at the University of Colorado Law School and taught the required course on legal ethics and professionalism.
In 2003 John Lebsack received the Colorado Trial Lawyers Association’s annual award to a member of the defense bar “for the highest standards of competency, ethics and professionalism.” He was a member of the Colorado Supreme Court Grievance Committee from 1995 to 1999 and was chair in 1998-1999. He was chair of the Colorado Appellate Discipline Commission in 1999-2000. He currently serves on the Colorado Supreme Court’s panel of hearing board members who decide attorney discipline cases. In 2006-2007 John was chair of the Ethics Committee of the Colorado Bar Association. From 2011 through 2017, John was a member of the Committee on Conduct, United States District Court for the District of Colorado, and served as chair of that committee in 2013-2014. Since 2017, John has been a member of the Colorado Supreme Court Civil Rules Committee, which makes recommendations to the court about changes to the rules of procedure that govern all civil cases in the state.
Dave J. Nowak was born in Passaic, New Jersey, and grew up in Wheaton, Illinois. He and his wife, Linda, and their children, Doug, Scott and Katlyn, live in Broomfield, Colorado.
Dave joined White and Steele as an associate in 1983 and became a shareholder in 1989. He served on the firm’s Management Committee for 25 years and as president of White and Steele from 2018 - 2020. He has handled a variety of cases, with the focus on professional liability, product liability, and insurance law. He has represented physicians, nurses, hospitals and chiropractors in malpractice actions and licensing board complaints. He has defended drug manufacturers in federal court multi-district personal injury litigation. Dave has unique experience in mass toxic tort litigation as counsel for major asbestos manufacturers. He defends insurance carriers in first and third party bad faith suits and their insureds in automobile accidents, premises liability, and other personal injury cases. He has several reported cases including Qwest v. Blood, 252 P.3d 1071 (Colo. 2011) where he successfully defended Xcel Energy in a landmark case involving a $40 million personal injury verdict against co-defendant Qwest.
Dave has tried cases in the Colorado and Wyoming Federal Courts and the Colorado State Courts. He has arbitrated a variety of cases and has served as an arbitrator.
Keith R. Olivera became associated with White and Steele in January 1995 and was named a shareholder in December 2003. He is currently one of the managing shareholders of the firm. His practice involves insurance defense litigation, including claims/cases involving uninsured/underinsured coverage, statutory delay, bad faith, auto liability, homeowners´ liability, commercial liability disputes and ski litigation. As both lead counsel and local counsel, Keith has defended numerous class action cases involving automobile insurance coverage issues and Colorado law.
Keith provides in-house seminars to insurance carriers regarding major changes in Colorado law affecting automobile insurance carriers.
He has been involved in a number of cases defending ski areas, ski area employees and individual skiers as defendants. Keith has been a member of the volunteer ski patrol at Winter Park Resort for over 30 years and has also received a National Appointment from the National Ski Patrol.
Andrew A. Scott has practiced the last 11 years in Colorado and prior to that has had extensive trial experience in Arizona and Wisconsin. As an undergraduate at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Andrew developed a strong interest in the behavioral sciences, and determined to apply that interest to the practice of law. He received a Bachelor’s degree with a double major in Psychology and in Law & the Behavioral Sciences in 1986, after completing his Senior Thesis investigating jury decision-making behaviors. Since obtaining his Law Degree from the University of Wisconsin in 1989, he has utilized that Social Sciences background to obtain favorable jury verdicts on behalf of a diverse client base in Wisconsin, Arizona, and now in Colorado Courts. Excellent research, analysis and writing skills have resulted in a successful motions practice as well as appellate court outcomes.
Cati Shadakofsky assists her clients in understanding the legal and/or administrative processes, evaluating risk, and preparing strong defenses to claims asserted against them. She focuses her practice in the areas of insurance coverage, appellate advocacy, insurance bad faith and breach-of-contract, and defense of professional liability and personal injury matters.
Before joining White and Steele, Cati earned her J.D. from the University of Minnesota Law School, where she served as the Editor-in-Chief of the Minnesota Journal of International Law, Volume 26. She also clerked for the Honorable Matthew E. Johnson, John R. Rodenberg, Diane B. Bratvold, and Michael L. Kirk at the Minnesota Court of Appeals.
Cati earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish Literature from the University of Wyoming. She studied abroad in Malaga, Spain, and she interned for Wyoming Senator Michael B. Enzi in Washington, D.C. Outside the office, Cati enjoys hosting dinner parties, traveling to cheer on the Rockies in other ballparks across the country, and taking her husband and golden retriever on hikes in the foothills.
Attorney Jack Stokan defends clients in a wide variety of industries, providing valuable assistance through all facets of litigation. His practice primarily consists of construction defect litigation, commercial litigation, personal injury, and representing real estate professionals.
Jack attended the University of Colorado at Boulder where he earned a Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Studies in 2013. He remained in Colorado to attend the University of Denver Sturm College of Law, and graduated in 2017. During law school, Jack earned the Hartje Objective Writing Award for his exceptional legal writing and research. He also participated as a Senior Staff Editor with the Denver Law Review, and worked as a Student Attorney with the Denver Law Environmental Clinic.
Prior to joining White and Steele, Jack clerked for the Honorable Susan Blanco, the Chief Judge in Larimer County District Court, and worked as an associate for a well-known Denver law firm focusing on complex commercial litigation.
