Scott S. Barker 

In over 30 years of private practice, Scott Barker has tried over 80 cases for international, national, and Western regional companies in industries as diverse as energy, manufacturing, construction, financial services, recreation, and technology.  He is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and a Member of the American Board of Trial Advocates.  Scott is consistently listed in Best Lawyers, Chambers USA, and Colorado Super Lawyers and has appeared multiple times on Super Lawyers' lists of the top 10 and the top 50 lawyers in Colorado.  In 2003, he was selected in a poll of his peers as the best business litigator in Denver. In 2013, Mr. Barker was selected as the Best Lawyers Bet-the-Company Litigation Denver Lawyer of the Year.

Prior to joining the firm in July 2010, Scott practiced law at Holland & Hart LLP, where he was the firm's chairman from 1996-2001 and the chairman of its litigation department in 2009-2010.  At WTO, Scott focuses his practice on complex civil litigation and class-action law suits involving commercial, environmental, natural resources, product liability, toxic tort, and personal injury defense matters.

Following is a representative sampling of cases Scott has handled:

Amoco Production Company -- Lead counsel in major groundwater contamination case in southwest Colorado and northwest New Mexico, in which plaintiffs alleged that the client's gas production operations had contaminated their domestic water supplies. The case began as a putative class action, the geographic area of which was the size of Rhode Island and, if certified, would have produced potential exposure in the billions of dollars. Defeated class certification, then successfully tried the named plaintiffs' cases to a jury.

ARCO/Thunder Basin Coal Company – Obtained defense verdict in antitrust case involving real estate development incident to client's coal mining operations in Campbell County, Wyoming.

Asarco, Inc. - Lead trial counsel in six-week class action jury trial in Denver District Court involving allegations of heavy metals contamination in the area surrounding Asarco's cadmium refinery.

Aspen Skiing Company - Lead trial counsel for over a decade, handled more than 30 cases, including ten defense verdicts.

AT&T - Lead counsel in complex telecommunications dispute in federal court in Colorado.

BP America Production Company - Lead defense counsel in 10 class actions, including successfully resisting class certification in a major groundwater contamination case and defeating named plaintiffs' claims before a jury, and a jury trial against a certified class of royalty claimants in March 2011.

Computer Associates - Lead counsel in complex business tort jury trial in federal court in Utah.

Exxon – Headed up Underground Storage Tank litigation team. One case successfully tried to verdict; supervised team that handled approximately twelve other cases.

International Paper - Lead counsel in family of insurance coverage cases in state court in San Francisco, including bench and jury trials.

Kerr-McGee/Anadarko – Lead trial counsel in federal False Claims Act jury trial involving oil royalties on off-shore federal leases; and in federal jury trial involving allegations of misappropriation of seismic data.

Lockheed Martin – Defense counsel in major federal False Claims Act case in federal court in Idaho, involving allegations of false claims associated with client's contract for management of the United States Department of Energy facility in Idaho Falls, Idaho, seeking approximately two billion dollars in damages. Vast majority of the potential exposure was resolved in favor of the client by summary judgment. Remainder of case settled.

Valero - Lead counsel in series of four arbitrations in cost sharing disputes over environmental cleanup at gasoline refinery in Denver. 

Other Experience
Holland & Hart LLP
    Partner, 1987-2010
    Associate, 1981-1987
United States Air Force
    Active duty, including assignments in Southeast Asia and The Pentagon, 1970-1978
    Honorably discharged as Captain, 1978

Community Memberships Activities, and Honors
Past President, Board of Trustees, Denver Christian Schools
Lay Assessor, Ecclesiastical Proceeding for the Episcopal Diocese of Colorado
Vestry Member, St. John's Episcopal Cathedral