L. Richard Bratton: Dick Bratton, a partner in the firm Bratton Hill, LLC has conducted a general law practice in Gunnison since 1958. He is experienced in water law, litigation, real estate, real estate development, agricultural law, mining development, probate and estate planning.

Dick is one of Colorado's leading water law lawyers. He was counsel to the Upper Gunnison River Water Conservancy District from 1961-2006, representing the district in all legal matters, including issues arising in the water court, matters involving the State Engineer and the Bureau of Reclamation and state and federal legislative issues. He first was counsel and later a witness for the Upper Gunnison River Water Conservancy District in the successful establishment of a case of first impression (right to store water and later release it for use within a stream for recreational purposes) and in the successful opposition to the attempts of Arapahoe County to claim water from the Gunnison River and its tributaries. Dick is the former Chairman of the Water Law and the Agricultural Law Sections of the Colorado Bar Association. He is also the former chairman of the Colorado Water Resource and Power Development Authority and the Colorado Water Congress. In 2002, he was appointed by President Bush as Chairman of the Upper Colorado River Commission and received the Colorado Water Congress' Aspinall Leadership of the Year Award.

Dick has been active in local, regional and state political issues and campaigns for 50 years. In 1986 he created and administered a district wide campaign to elect Mike Strange to Congress based on water issues. The effort turned around a campaign that had been struggling. In 2002, he assisted in the re-election of Senator Wayne Allard by initiating press conferences attended by the Governor and former Colorado Speaker of the House related to the Black Canyon quantification case, bringing to the forefront an issue that Allard's campaign staff believes played a significant role in Allard's victory.

In Gunnison, Dick has been active in community affairs including co-founder of the Western State College Foundation, which has raised millions of dollars to support Western State College, and the Gunnison Area Community Foundation, which supports various community needs in the Gunnison County area. He also co-founded the Western State College Water Workshop in 1975, which hosts water law experts at an annual seminar on Western cutting edge water issues, and co-founded the Agricultural and Western Law Roundup, an annual seminar sponsored by the Colorado Bar Association which focuses on legal issues relevant to agriculture and rural areas.

In 1961, Dick received the Award of Merit from the Young Lawyers Section of the Colorado Bar Association and in 1991, he was named Outstanding Alumnus of the University of Colorado School of Law in the field of small firm practice. Dick has a B.A. from Western State College (1954) and was named Outstanding Alumnus in 1989 and received an Honorary Doctorate in 1975. He graduated from the University of Colorado School of Law in 1957.