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Meet Our Team of Attorneys and Consultants

Matthew A. Haltzman – Attorney

Attorney, Matthew Haltzman portrait
Matthew A. Haltzman, the founder of Haltzman Law Firm, P.C. concentrates in criminal law, personal injury law, and civil rights. In all three practice areas, he has extensive experience and has achieved notable successes. Matthew has been selected as a Super Lawyers Rising Star consecutively for the last five years. Matthew’s legal commentary and representative cases have been featured in The Wall Street Journal, The Associated Press, The Denver Post, and NBC News. Matthew formerly served as the President of the Larimer County Bar Association (YLD) and is the founding member and Vice President of the Larimer County Bar Association Criminal Justice Section. In 2023 Matthew was confirmed by the Colorado Supreme Court as a board member on the Legal Regulation Committee (LRC) which acts as the gatekeeper for all attorney disciplinary proceedings.

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Matthew spent the early years of his career working in government, including the Department of Justice and the United States Attorney’s Office. Matthew worked for the United States Attorney’s Office, Capital Crimes Unit, in the District of Puerto Rico, where he assisted the United States government in the prosecution of violent felons and offenders. Matthew also served as a SLIP prosecuting attorney with the United States Attorney’s Office in the District of Wyoming. As a SLIP prosecuting attorney Matthew obtained a “Confidential” level national security clearance and practiced federal criminal prosecution in Yellowstone National Park and Grand Teton National Park. Prior to working for the United States Attorney’s Office Matthew served as a federal judicial law extern to the Honorable Judge Richard L. Bourgeois, Jr. in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana.

Since being admitted to the Colorado Bar, Matthew has successfully defended thousands of clients in complex criminal cases prosecuted by the State of Colorado in all stages of litigation, through trial. Matthew has been nationally recognized for his innovative and perceptive strategies in criminal defense and relishes the opportunity to take on what other lawyers may consider an "impossible" case.

Matthew also dedicates a considerable amount of his practice litigating on behalf of severely injured victims involved in personal injury, wrongful death, and automobile cases in Colorado and in the Western United States. Through his civil litigation work Matthew was inducted into the Million Dollar Advocates Forum; an organization recognizing attorneys who have won million and multi-million dollar verdicts and settlements in which less than 1% of attorneys nationwide are eligible for membership.

Prior to founding Haltzman Law Firm, P.C. Matthew practiced federal and multi-jurisdiction civil litigation with a national law firm in Cheyenne, Wyoming and spent four years after that as a senior trial attorney for an established boutique litigation firm in Fort Collins.

Matthew earned his Juris Doctor and Graduate Degree in Comparative Law, cum laude, from Paul M. Hebert Law Center at Louisiana State University. While in law school, Matthew was awarded the Chancellor's Scholar Award and selected for the Chancellor's Honor Roll. In his third year of law school Matthew served as the Research Assistant to Vice Chancellor Raymond Diamond. While in law school Matthew was elected as the Vice President of Trial Advocacy External Affairs and was a back-to-back recipient of the Ira S. Flory Top Oral Advocate award for trial advocacy. Matthew also competed nationally at the George Mason (Costello) Trial Advocacy Competition in Washington D.C. where he placed first and fourth respectively, as a member of one of the top criminal defense teams in the country.

Prior to law school, Matthew earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and a Bachelor of Arts in History from Louisiana State University and was inducted into the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi his junior year.
Bar Admissions:
• Colorado
• United States District Court of Colorado
• Wyoming
• United States District Court of Wyoming
• Alaska
• United States District Court of Alaska
• United States Court of Appeals, 10th Circuit

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V. Kohl Watson – Attorney

V. Kohl Watson is a born fighter. Whether it is fighting on the battlefield, grappling in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, or battling in the courtroom, Kohl was built to fight as hard as possible.

Raised by a retired FBI agent and a former United States Attorney Kohl felt a strong obligation to serve his country after graduating high school. Kohl joined the United States Army at seventeen years old, deploying to Afghanistan as an infantryman. Kohl served as a machine-gunner, as well as dismounted security for twelve months in Afghanistan. Shortly after turning twenty-one, Kohl was promoted to the rank of Sergeant and was put in command of a group of soldiers. While thoroughly enjoying the Army, Kohl knew his talents lie elsewhere, namely: the Courtroom.

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After retiring from the Army Kohl attended University of Colorado at Colorado Springs where he obtained a bachelors in Political Science and Philosophy. After completing his undergraduate degrees he attended University of Wyoming College of Law and graduated with honors.

After law school and passing the Wyoming and Colorado Bar Exam Kohl took a position as a Juvenile Attorney with the Albany County Attorney's office in Wyoming and then as a Deputy District Attorney at the 8th Judicial District Attorney’s Office – Fort Collins. In his time there, Kohl handled hundreds of criminal cases and took several cases to trial through verdict. After his time at the DA’s office Kohl joined Haltzman law firm as an associate attorney where he works tirelessly to protect the constitutional rights of those accused of crimes in Colorado and Wyoming.

Kohl is an active member of the Northern Colorado legal community. He was awarded a prestigious Alternative Defense Counsel (ADC) appointment in 2023 and proudly provides representation for indigent persons in complex criminal prosecutions in which the Public Defender’s office determines that an ethical conflict of interest exists. Kohl is currenlty serving as the elected President to the Larimer County Bar Association - Young Lawyers Division.

Bar Admissions:
• Colorado
• Wyoming
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Lance P. Thibert – Attorney

Attorney, Lance P. Thibert
Lance P. Thibert knows that criminal cases do not occur in a vacuum and are often a snapshot of a person’s worst day. Often times the criminal legal process can feel judgmental, humiliating, and dehumanizing. Lance fiercely believes that the dignity of each person must be respected regardless of the accusation against them.

Lance’s career as a criminal defense trial attorney has involved representation of clients in nearly 4500 cases to date. Lance spent 6 years working as a Senior Deputy Public Defender in Larimer County and in that time gained extensive litigation and trial experience working cases encompassing Driving under the Influence, Theft, Domestic Violence, firearm-related charges, Drug Possession/Distribution, Arson, Burglary, Assault, and Homicide. Lance has taken innumerable cases to trial and achieved a favorable outcome.

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Lance’s experience is not limited to the trial courtroom. Lance has been responsible for submitting briefs to the Court of Appeals that went on to produce published opinions along with writing hundreds of legal motions in County and District Court dealing with complex legal issues.

Lance has also acted as a mentor and instructor to aspiring and newly minted lawyers. He has trained several attorneys who have gone on to become excellent trial attorneys. Lance has acted as the subject matter expert in the area of DUI Litigation for the Fort Collins Regional Public Defender Office and has taught many training sessions on nearly every aspect of DUI litigation.

Lance also worked as one of the Public Defender representatives in the DUI Recovery Court in Larimer County. Lance has also filled the same role in a substitute capacity for similar treatment courts including Drug Court, Wellness (Mental Health) Court, and Juvenile Drug Court.

Lance earned his Juris Doctorate from University of Nebraska School of Law and has a Bachelor’s of Arts in Political Science and History from the University of Colorado, Denver. Lance is of counsel to Haltzman Law Firm and is a Fort Collins native. In his spare time Lance enjoys hiking, outdoor rock climbing, and playing ice hockey.
Bar Admissions:
• Colorado

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Mark S. Haltzman – Attorney

Mark S. Haltzman joined Haltzman Law Firm, P.C. in 2023 in his role as Of Counsel to the firm.

Mark's educational background and "real world" business and legal experience makes him uniquely qualified to handle any business related matter, from simple corporate formation and contracts, to complex commercial litigation.

Mark's legal career started as an attorney with two of the largest Philadelphia law firms where he represented businesses from their initial formation, to the drafting of contracts and agreements, to complex mergers and acquisitions. After obtaining a Masters in Business Administration, Mark spent several years as an investment banker helping businesses arrange equity and debt financing. Thereafter, Mark took his vast business work and legal experience and expanded his area of legal practice from representing businesses in the formation and development of their businesses, to representing businesses in litigation matters. For the last 30 years, Mark has not only been a business attorney, but a "trial attorney." Mark's extensive business background provides him with a "competitive edge" in the representation of clients in litigation involving business matters.

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Mark has gained a reputation as being an attorney that is able to creatively craft complex legal arguments in a manner which jurors can easily comprehend. As a result, Mark has been extremely successful in representing his business clients in a variety of business related litigation. Further, Mark's experience in litigating business disputes gives him the ability to draft, review and negotiate business documents so that, in the event litigation ever evolves out of the business relationship, his clients are properly positioned to be successful in such litigation. Recently, Mark gained national recognition for his successful representation of students who had claimed their privacy had been violated by the School's use of computer software that enabled the School to activate the student's webcam and take pictures, or capture a picture of whatever was on the student's computer screen (see Robbins v. Lower Merion School District).

Mark's broad range of legal experience includes commercial litigation, real estate, general corporate/transactional work, bankruptcy and creditors' rights, mergers and acquisitions, and banking. Mark represents clients in both federal and state courts in Colorado, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, as well as numerous other courts throughout the United States when his clients in other states require his services in Court. Mark has handled numerous jury, non-jury and arbitration matters, and, where appropriate, negotiated favorable settlements for clients even before initiation of a lawsuit. Mark has also represented individuals that have suffered severe and life altering injuries as the result of the negligence of individuals and businesses.

Bar Admissions:
• Colorado
• United States District Court of Colorado
• Pennsylvania
• United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
• United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania
• United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania
• New Jersey
• United States District Court for New Jersey
• United States Court of Federal Claims
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Get in Touch
  • Zero Stress!

    “Matt was amazing! When I hired him I was in a pretty bad situation. He took care of everything, I continued with my life and knew that he was working hard to sort it out. Long story short. In less than a month everything was sorted out. Couldn’t ask for more. Good guy with great efficiency. Thank you, keep up the awesome practice.”

    – Mayuran

  • Brilliant

    “The way Matthew handled my case was truly impressive. He’s a true strategist, tactician and advocate. He consulted with me on every legal move and had ideas that I would have never thought of. Matthew was very knowledgeable and shared his expertise upfront in the process regarding my case. He set proper expectations and provided excellent advice along the way. Matthew knows the court system very well and is an excellent communicator. I would venture to guess he’s the best lawyer in Northern Colorado and one of the only Super Lawyers who practices PI and Criminal Defense in Colorado.”

    – Ryan

  • The Best Attorney

    “I’m so glad we found Matt Haltzman to take care of our case. He was so easy to work with, kind, and really listened to us. It was such a pleasure working with him. He was so professional and all my worries were gone. I had complete faith in him and he got our entire case dismissed. It would have been devastating to us had he not been such a great lawyer. We barely had to do anything, one meeting and one court appearance and the whole thing was thrown out. I would recommend him to anyone. He worked really hard for us. He is very bright and excellent at what he does. Thank you Matt! You truly saved us.”

    – Natalie

Scott Haltzman, M.D. – Medical Consultant

Scott Haltzman, M.D. – Medical Consultant
Scott Haltzman, M.D., serves as a medical consultant to Haltzman Law Firm. He is board certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology and is a Distinguished Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association. He is a graduate of Brown University and received his medical degree from the Warren Alpert Medical School at Brown University. He completed his psychiatric training and chief residency at Yale University, and then practiced psychiatry as part of the Brown University faculty for more than 20 years. From 2012-2015 he served as the senior outpatient psychiatrist at The David Lawrence Center, in Naples Florida, where he was appointed a Clinical Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Florida State University. He currently serves as the Medical Director of Fuller Hospital in South Attleboro, Massachusetts and is a member of the Boston University School of Medicine Faculty.

*Dr. Haltzman is not an attorney and does not provide legal advice. In his role as a consultant Dr. Haltzman does not treat, make medical recommendations or render medical diagnosis.
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Gregory Bertoncini, Pharm.D. – Toxicology Consultant

Dr. Bertoncini, Pharm.D., serves as an alcohol forensic toxicology and analytical alcohol toxicology consultant to Haltzman Law Firm. Dr. Bertoncini is a licensed pharmacist and holds a Doctorate in Pharmacy. Dr. Bertoncini has expertise in clinical pharmacology consulting, alcohol toxicology and the alcohol metabolism process in humans. The scope of Mr. Bertoncini’s expertise includes toxicology, alcohol injury causations, adverse alcohol reactions, and forensic aspects of alcohol intoxication.

*Dr. Bertoncini is not an attorney and does not provide legal advice. In his role as a consultant Dr. Bertoncini does not treat, make medical recommendations or render medical diagnosis.
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Craig Randall, Pharm.D. – Toxicology Consultant

Dr. Randall joins the Haltzman Law Firm as a pharmacology and toxicology consultant with seven years of experience as a clinical pharmacist. He is a graduate of the University of Rhode Island Doctor of Pharmacy Program, followed by postgraduate residency training. Dr. Randall has expertise in clinical pharmacology, toxicology, adverse drug reactions, medication errors, and forensic aspects of alcohol and drug intoxication. He has experience specifically related to analysis of toxicology results in the emergency department setting, as well as medication errors leading to injury or hospitalization.

*Dr. Randall is not an attorney and does not provide legal advice. In his role as a consultant Dr. Randall does not treat, make medical recommendations or render medical diagnosis.
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Haltzman Law Firm is Fort Collins’ only firm with a team comprised of highly-skilled Trial Attorneys, a Medical Doctor, and a Toxicologist.
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Haltzman Law Firm
204 Maple Street Suite 101
Fort Collins, CO 80521
45 Ski Idlewild Rd
Winter Park, CO 80482
(970) 692-3440
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