Monty L. Barnett was born in Rawlins, Wyoming and grew up in a rural Wyoming community.
He began his employment with White and Steele in 1991 as a law clerk and became associated with the firm in 1992 after graduation and admission to the bars. He currently oversees the firm’s Wyoming practice group.
Monty holds a Martindale-Hubbell AV rating, the highest peer rating given to attorneys. He has also been recognized in The Best Lawyers in America since 2013 in the area of personal injury litigation. Monty has tried numerous cases to verdict in state and federal courts in Wyoming and Colorado. His practice focuses on litigation, including the direct representation of a number of insurance companies as well as the defense of those companies’ insureds who have been sued by third parties. He defends a wide variety of liability claims, including medical malpractice, product liability, construction liability, automobile and trucking accidents, premises liability, and a variety of recreational injury cases. He is a frequent speaker on a variety of topics, including bad faith, personal injury defense, automobile law, wrongful death, and liability associated with sports and recreational activities.
Monty has served on the legislative committee of the Defense Lawyers Association of Wyoming, as well as a liaison between the Wyoming State Bar and the University of Wyoming College of Law. He is currently serving as a member of the University of Wyoming College of Law Dean’s Advisory Board, and he has also been appointed by the Wyoming Supreme Court to serve on the Unauthorized Practice of Law Committee for the Wyoming State Bar.
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.
Dave J. Nowak was born in Passaic, New Jersey, and grew up in Wheaton, Illinois. He and his wife, Linda, live in Broomfield Colorado and have three children, Doug, Scott and Katlyn.
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, the Colorado State Courts, and has arbitrated a variety of cases.
Rachel E. Ryckman assists companies and individuals in the defense of professional liability and personal injury cases. She has a diverse practice with considerable experience in real estate litigation, public utility regulations, and premises liability.
Rachel is a Wyoming native. Prior to entering private practice, Rachel clerked for the Honorable Marvin L. Tyler in the Ninth Judicial District Court of Wyoming and she served as a magistrate judge in the Circuit Court of Wyoming. Ms. Ryckman previously interned at the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office and inMotion, Inc. in the Bronx, New York, a non-profit that provides legal services to low-income women in family and immigration matters.
Cati Shadakofsky assists her clients in understanding the legal and administrative processes, evaluating risk, and preparing strong defenses to claims asserted against them. She focuses her practice in the areas of appellate advocacy, insurance coverage, 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. 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 on Capitol Hill for the late U.S. Senator Michael B. Enzi. 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.
