Chalat Hatten & Koupal PC

View the profile as it appeared in Colorado Rising Stars 2009 (PDF)

View the profile as it appeared in Colorado Super Lawyers 2009 (PDF)

As one of Colorado’s leading personal injury law firms, Chalat Hatten & Koupal PC is proud to announce that three of its name shareholders have received Super Lawyers® or Rising Stars recognition this year. Russell Hatten has been selected for 2009 Colorado Super Lawyers, and Christopher Koupal has been included on the 2009 Rising Stars list. They join Jim Chalat, who has been listed in Super Lawyers since 2006.

The firm handles a wide range of catastrophic personal injury and wrongful death cases involving automobile accidents, trucking and aviation accidents, explosions, medical and legal malpractice claims, and ski and other recreational accidents.

Hatten received his undergraduate degree from the University of Texas and his law degree from Texas Tech University. He practiced law in Dallas from 1986 to 1999, and also served as a municipal judge and a county magistrate from 1993 to 1999. He and his family moved to Colorado in 1999. He then associated with the firm, where he quickly became a popular and successful personal injury attorney.

Hatten is now a shareholder in the firm. In 2008, he received a BV peer-review rating for ethical standards and legal ability from Martindale-Hubbell®, the pre-eminent organization that evaluates attorneys in the United States and Canada. His advocacy, attention to detail and hard work recently led to substantial private settlements in a gunshot case involving a teenager and in a near-drowning case involving a child.

Koupal is a Colorado native. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Colorado and his law degree from the University of Denver College of Law, where he was a member and general editor of the Denver University Law Review. Koupal served as a student law clerk to U.S. District Court Chief Judge Wiley Y. Daniel. He clerked for the firm and after passing the Colorado bar, he became an associate lawyer.

In 2007, Koupal received wide recognition as co-counsel with Chalat in a medical malpractice case in which a jury returned a $10.1 million verdict for their 9-year-old client. The verdict was one of the largest medical malpractice verdicts in Colorado history. In 2008, Koupal became a shareholder in the firm.

Chalat Hatten & Koupal PC handles personal injury and wrongful death cases in all Colorado state and federal courts. Chalat has a national reputation in ski accident law and he handles and accepts referrals or co-counsel arrangements in ski cases across the United States. An on-call attorney is always available to respond to emergencies and new client calls. The firm owns, maintains and updates several Web sites that offer informative articles, case studies, commentary, videos and blogs on issues relating to personal injury and ski law. The firm offers reasonable and alternative fee and cost arrangements including discounted contingent legal fees when appropriate.