Jen Milne was recently named partner at Hailey | Hart. We sat down to discuss her current cases, what makes the right case for her, and what she enjoys most about her work. Read on for her take on what separates a routine insurance dispute from one worth litigating, and who she’d love to hear from.

Congratulations on making partner, Jen! For people who know you from earlier in your career, how has your practice evolved?

Thank you! I still practice in the same two primary areas of law: plaintiff-sided insurance bad faith and complex personal injury. My insurance cases are most often on behalf of residential or commercial property owners. But what has changed is how selective we are at Hailey | Hart about the cases we take. We’re a small firm, and we want to ensure we provide an extremely high level of service and value to every client in every case. 

What does the right case look like at Hailey | Hart?

The right case is one where we can really add value for a client, and this is true in both personal injury and insurance bad faith cases. Complex cases are expensive to litigate and take years to resolve. So we have to think carefully about whether, by the time experts are paid for, court reporters are paid for, and general litigation costs are covered, we can truly bring value to the client. We think about whether the outcome would put them in a better position than they were in before, and make it worth the time, stress, and expense of going through years of litigation, both for the clients and the firm.

For a first-party property insurance dispute case, I’m looking for a significant benefit amount in dispute or an unreasonable delay in paying a substantial amount of covered benefits. The benefits in dispute are the gap between what the client believes their repairs will cost, or what they have already paid in repair costs, and what the insurance company is willing to pay. But that starting number can grow, often substantially, once you factor in all the damages we can claim.

We are the people you call when everything else has been tried. The letters have been sent, the calls have been made, and you’ve hit a wall with the insurance company. The only thing left to do is file a lawsuit and litigate — and that’s exactly what we do.

What about on the other end, can someone come to you even if their insurance company has already paid out?

Yes, absolutely. We have worked plenty of cases where, by the time it came to us, the insurance company had paid out a significant amount in benefits. But the process the insured had to go through to get those benefits was not consistent with the insurance company’s duties. What that means under Colorado law is that the person may be entitled to substantial statutory damages on top of what they already received. So there are really two different scenarios: either a client is owed benefits that aren’t being paid, or they ultimately received benefits but had to go through an unreasonably arduous and lengthy process to get them. Often, a client’s case involves a combination of those two situations. Either way, there can be a very significant, complex case.

For the more complex property first-party bad faith insurance disputes, what does a Hailey | Hart case typically look like in practice?

For residential claims, you’re often talking about higher-end, larger homes made with higher-quality materials, or situations involving a major scope of damage across the property. A total loss (where a home needs to be fully rebuilt) can quickly become complex, even for a smaller home. Complex, high-value claims that require expert litigation are where I and the other attorneys at Hailey | Hart specialize, and where we can truly bring value to our clients.

I also want to say, though, because I think it’s important: it’s not always about the size of the home. I had a case involving a family in a relatively modest home in rural Colorado. Their home wasn’t huge, but their location meant that getting construction crews there was difficult and expensive. There was much more demand than supply for contractors out there. And the extent of the damage (replacing the roof, roof rafters, walls, interior and exterior finishes, electrical, plumbing) all came together in a way that built significant value in the claim, along with the personal details of their family’s story. So I’d encourage anyone who’s uncertain to reach out rather than assume. Our firm is always willing to gather the details of a potential case to make an educated decision on whether we would be the right fit to represent clients in litigation.

Can you tell us more about that rural Colorado residential property case?

It was a family with young children and a couple of pets, and they had a fire at their home. The insurance company brought in an engineer who attempted to minimize the scope of damage and the necessary repairs. Among other things, the engineer tried to claim that only part of the home had been impacted and that everything else was pre-existing damage.

Meanwhile, this family, who had done nothing wrong, was displaced from their home and living in a very small guest house while the insurance company dragged its feet and refused to pay the benefits they were entitled to under their insurance policy. They lived in what was sized as a single bedroom space with their whole family and their pets for years. The carrier had tried to put them in a rental that was about an hour away from their home. This would have required significant travel for the kids’ schools, the kids’ activities, and their work. So instead, they chose to stay crammed into a tiny guest house rather than uproot their whole lives, which is completely understandable.

We filed a lawsuit seeking damages for the repairs, for the stress and anxiety they suffered as a result of the carrier’s conduct, and for the statutory damages Colorado provides when an insurance company acts unreasonably toward its own insureds. We litigated the case and got a really good outcome for them: one that let them finally rebuild their home.

What I loved about that case, beyond the result, was that they were just wonderful, genuine people with a real story to tell. And I think that’s an important aspect of this work: the human component matters. There might be a case with a somewhat lower repair amount, but if there’s a powerful emotional story behind it, we can build real value around that.

Speaking of the human element, what do you love most about this work?

I love the human aspect of being a lawyer. People need an attorney because they are in a situation where they don’t know how to help themselves, or they’ve exhausted all of their own resources. And what I really enjoy is conveying their story — their experience, the struggles, what they’ve been through — to the opposing side, or a jury or a judge, in a way that gets our clients the resolution and the compensation they’re entitled to.

There are a lot of situations where money can’t fix everything. But in our system, where that is often the only available remedy, I really like telling that story in order to get clients the best possible outcome.

Do you think that sets you apart?

I like to think so. It’s very important to me that my clients feel heard throughout this process, regardless of how the case ultimately resolves. I’ve been told that I’m really good at explaining what’s going on and keeping clients informed in a way that they actually understand. I don’t just tell them something is happening; I also help them understand what it means. There are some attorneys who will go months without communicating with their clients at all. That’s just not how I or the other attorneys at Hailey | Hart  practice. People are going through something hard, and they deserve to feel informed and involved at every step.

Any final thoughts for people thinking about whether to reach out?

Just this: please do reach out. I’d much rather have a conversation and tell you that it’s not the right fit than have you assume your situation doesn’t qualify. Every case is different, and there’s so much that goes into determining what’s possible. Don’t assume we can’t help you if you haven’t reached out.