Utah

Akerman Senterfitt Opens New Office in Salt Lake with 2 Partners from Van Cott Bagley

Adding another two attorneys to a rapidly growing consumer finance team that has increased by 50 lawyers over the past 12 months, Akerman Senterfitt today announced that it is opening a Salt Lake City office with two former partners of Van Cott, Bagley, Cornwall & McCarthy. Robert Scott and Chandler…

Aug 9, 2011 5:17 PM CDT

John Doe Prisoner Is Identified, and He’s Not a Missing DA

A John Doe prisoner in Utah is not a missing Pennsylvania district attorney declared dead on Monday. Tipsters had alerted Utah police that the John Doe prisoner resembled missing Centre County District Attorney Ray Gricar, who disappeared six years ago. But the mystery prisoner has since been identified as a…

Jul 27, 2011 1:44 PM CDT

After Missing DA Is Declared Dead, Some Note His Resemblance to a John Doe Prisoner

Detectives are investigating whether a missing Pennsylvania district attorney declared dead on Monday is alive and in jail in Provo, Utah. A judge declared Ray Gricar dead on Monday, six years after his disappearance, the Patriot-News reported. The Centre County DA was 59 when he vanished in April 2005, leaving…

Jul 26, 2011 4:21 PM CDT

Holme Roberts Expands in Calif., Plans to Close Gap Between Last Year’s $380K PPP and $450K RPL

With a new managing partner at the helm and advice from a well-known legal consultant, Denver-based Holme Roberts & Owen expects to reverse a downsizing trend that saw the firm’s attorney roster decrease from 192 lawyers at the outset of the year to about 165 now, reports the Am Law…

Jul 7, 2011 11:50 PM CDT

Holland & Hart Expands by 29 Lawyers in Salt Lake City

Holland & Hart is expanding in Salt Lake City while Holme Roberts & Owen is shrinking there. Seven more partners have jumped from Holme Roberts to Holland & Hart, after nine partners made the move in March, the Am Law Daily reports. In all, 29 lawyers have joined Holland &…

May 19, 2011 1:38 PM CDT

DOJ Lawyer Denies ‘Nefarious, Secret’ FBI Records System; Judge Isn’t Satisfied

Updated: A federal judge in Utah has asked the FBI to explain why it hasn’t searched all possible databases and evidence rooms for surveillance tapes related to the 1995 bombing of the federal building in Oklahoma City. U.S. District Judge Clark Waddoups ruled in response to a freedom of information…

May 13, 2011 11:00 AM CDT

Judge Tosses Suit Against Pranksters Who Issued Fake Press Release

A federal judge has tossed a cybersquatting suit filed by Koch Industries against pranksters who issued a fake online press release claiming the company had changed its stance on global warming. U.S. District Judge Dale Kimball of Utah ruled (PDF) against Koch in a decision seen as an important test…

May 10, 2011 1:26 PM CDT

Artist-Turned-Lawyer Highlights Typographic Detail in Legal Docs

Anyone who has seen a recent Utah Supreme Court opinion may have noticed that something is different. The court’s opinions look more readable and just may be more convincing thanks to the typographic wisdom of graphic artist-turned-lawyer Matthew Butterick. Click to see how the Utah Supreme Court opinions looked before…

May 1, 2011 9:00 AM CDT

Hair Braider Challenges Law Requiring 2,000 Hours of Cosmetology Classes

Updated: A hair braider in Utah has filed a lawsuit challenging a state law that requires her to complete 2,000 hours of coursework to ply her trade. The Institute for Justice filed suit on behalf of Jestina Clayton, the Associated Press reports. In a YouTube video, Clayton says she wants…

Apr 28, 2011 11:00 AM CDT

Prosecutors and Judges to Join Police at DWI Checkpoints to Enforce New ‘No Refusal’ Law

In what is billed as a first-of-a-kind law enforcement effort in Jasper County, Mo., prosecutors and judges will be joining police at drunken-driving checkpoints, starting tonight, to enforce a new “no refusal” statute in the state. If motorists who seem to be driving while intoxicated refuse to take a breath…

Apr 1, 2011 10:21 PM CDT

Latest Howrey News: Top Antitrust Partner Is Leaving, Salt Lake City Office to Close

After news earlier this week that two intellectual property partner groups had announced plans to exit Howrey during a single day, one including a rainmaker with a reputed $20 million book of business, comes word of more contractions there. A top antitrust partner is leaving the law firm’s Brussels and…

Jan 20, 2011 10:33 PM CST

Law Grad Who Reportedly Faked Bar ID Is Charged with Stealing $176K From Indian Tribe

A graduate of Brigham Young University’s law school who reportedly served previously as a military lawyer after faking his membership in the California bar has been charged with stealing from an Indian tribe in Utah. Jeffrey Zander served as general counsel for the tribe, according to the Deseret News. However,…

Jan 14, 2011 2:21 AM CST

App Tracks Document Delivery in 2 States

View a video about CivilMap. Mike Kingery and Tyrel Lasley, process servers in Montrose, Colo., are using iPhone technology to move an often troublesome part of the legal practice into the 21st century. Their software program and iPhone app, called CivilMap, is designed to bring efficiency and certainty to the…

Jan 1, 2011 7:50 AM CST

Jury Reaches Verdict in Elizabeth Smart Child-Kidnap Case: Guilty

Despite an insanity defense, a street preacher accused of kidnapping a then-14-year-old girl from her bedroom at knifepoint in 2002 and keeping her in hiding for nine months as his “celestial wife” before she was freed in 2003, has been convicted in federal court in Utah. Brian David Mitchell was…

Dec 10, 2010 6:34 PM CST

Ruling: State Can Be Sued Over Fatal Bear Attack at Campground

A Utah woman whose child was killed by a bear while they were camping near American Fork Canyon in 2007 can sue the state for not warning her family about a bear attack that took place earlier that day. Eleven-year-old Sam Ives was pulled from his tent by a bear…

Nov 24, 2010 7:03 PM CST