Top best W Lawyers in ZIP 84106 | 18 available

PLEASE click "READ MORE" if you want to know more about the disciplinary action:. My elderly client was dealing with a rift in her relationship with her son and asked me to assist her with estate planning and administration of her trust. She wanted to leave some money for charity, leave money to her deceased daughter's son, and this was contrary to what her son wanted. In advocating for my elderly client I was so concerned with protecting her and assisting her that I failed to adequately protect myself. While I met several elements of Rule 1.8 of the Utah rules of professional conduct for attorneys, including but not limited to referring my client to another attorney to consult with them about the situtation and about her request to me to serve as her co-trustee, I failed to do was an important but techincal requirement. I failed to execute a writing illustrating the agreement that my client asked for me to be her co-trustee, and I agreed. I respected and cared deeply for this woman and what she was facing and wanted to help her. So I chose to be there for her in person, have discussions, review documents etc. rather than spend time proteting myself with cya writings.. The 2018 disciplinary action referred to in the profile is a "public repremand". This means that the Utah State Bar has made public a situation where an opposing party made a complaint and the Utah State Bar investigated the situation.. My client was a 92 year old woman whom I had represented from 2011 to 2016.  She had received a letter from her son in 2012, which she felt was a complete abandonment. As a result of a lifetime of issues with her son (with that letter being the "straw") she asked me to be a CO-Trustee with her. This means we would always have to work together unanimously in every transaction on a trust which she funded herself. I chose to accept this job as Co-trustee by using a owned by myself and my husband, which we called Family Fiduciary Services LLC.  This was designed to give her not only my assistance as co-trustee but also to take advantage of his expertise as a reegistered investment advisor. When her son found out that Family Fiduciary Services LLC was my husband and myself he objected. At first I didn't resign because my client wanted me to help her, but I resigned eanyway telling her that I could asist from the background through advice.. It is not against the rules of professional conduct to go into business with a client. This serving as co-trustee is considered going into business with your client. If a lawyer goes into business with a client, then the lawyer is obligated to to inform the client in writing of the situation, advise them to seek other lawyer's advice, and then if the business will be going forward then get the client's approval in writing. My client asked me to serve as her co-trustee. I told her to talk to another lawyer and gave her a referral and contact information.  Two years later she came back to me and asked for me to serve with her again. I have a sworn affidavit from my client stating that she did ask me to serve as co-trustee and agreeing that I had asked her to seek another attorney's advice. Further to be a Co-trustee on her trust it required a court action. So she and I actually sought the court to appoint my company as co-trustee with her over her trust. Keep in mind that a co-trustee meant that she and my company (me) had to work unanimously to do anything for her trust. When her son learned that I was a co-trustee, her son contested the matter. Again I resigned and received no compensation for that time as co-trustee. Her son sued her. Then came the complaint at the Utah Bar.. What I failed to do, (and admitted) and the reason I have the public reprimand is that I failed to have my client sign a writing acknowledging the situation (the conflict of interest which was my company serving as her co-trustee). But I think it is important for those reading this to know that I was never paid. Not even for the 3-5 weeks of having been named to her trust. In fact my client insisted that I still work with her to complete her estate plan (Will and Trust and a video Will because of her son and his contentous actions) and aid her in the background with her new co-trustee which was a bank. Her estate plan was validated by the court and probated.. I believe that part of the reason that I failed in the inquiry and hearing with the Utah State Bar is that my client died before my hearing and I had no one to testify that my client and I had talked about all relevant issues many times before she sought the court order to name me as a co-trustee. They told me that my husband's testimony was not sufficient.. I am not regretful that I advocated for an elderly lady who felt abandoned by her son and needed help. I had known her for some years and cared about her.  She was wicked smart and such a lovely person. I am regretful that I didn't track every step of my communications with her in writing. She and I would meet person to person very often. I have however learned that every step I make with clients shall be in writing, as I can be brought to task by others, not just the client, and I need a written record.. I hope this helps those who are seeking to find an attorney and helps those who don't know what the attorney discipline means in my case.. Please note that all disciplinary matters are different. Unfortunately the Utah State Bar and AVVO do not distinguish from something fairly insignificant or technical as having a writing, which is what I did, from a lawyer who stole from his client or evaded taxes as many have done who bear the same label AVVO has put on me.  So ask the lawyer!!!. Thank you for taking the time to review the situation.

Phil Wormdahl graduated with honors in economics and obtained his law degree from the University of Utah in 2009, launching his criminal defense career immediately thereafter. Focusing on DUI and criminal offenses, Phil has built a robust practice over the last 12 years, working as a solo practitioner, a partner at a multi-attorney law firm, and as "of counsel" for other firms. His dedication includes completing rigorous training such as the NHTSA Standardized Field Sobriety Test and Advanced Roadside Impaired Driving Enforcement (ARIDE), along with participating in various DUI seminars. Recognized for his depth of knowledge, Phil frequently speaks at the Utah Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers Annual DUI seminar, sharing valuable insights with peers. He is respected among judges and law enforcement, who often feel apprehensive when testifying in cases he defends. Phil is proud to join Schatz, Anderson, Egan & Wormdahl, establishing a prominent DUI defense team in Utah. He firmly believes in the principle that everyone accused of a crime deserves an aggressive and ethical defense.

Jason Schatz (pronounced "shots") is known by police officers, prosecutors, judges and other defense attorneys throughout the state as one of the most knowledgeable, aggressive and effective DUI attorneys in Utah, so much so that he is often asked to lecture and teach other attorneys interested in duplicating his success in defending DUIs. He even wrote a book about it.. In December of 2006, Jason was featured on the cover of City Weekly magazine as Utah’s go-to “DUI Guy!” In 2008 Jason became Utah's first Board Certified DUI Defense attorney by the National College of DUI Defense (NCDD), one of about 50 in the US and only 2 in Utah, and the youngest person to have ever done so. To further his knowledge of DUIs and police procedure, Jason has completed the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) student and instructor courses for the Standard Field Sobriety Test (SFST). He has also completed the Advanced Roadside Impaired Driving Enforcement (ARIDE) course that many officers take. With two dedicated paralegals and a full staff in both his Salt Lake City and St. George offices, he is able to concentrate on his clients' best defense.. A confirmed workaholic with a remarkable memory and astute attention to detail, Jason tirelessly and creatively works each case as a special challenge, vigorously fighting for his clients at both the administrative and criminal level to preserve his clients’ driving privileges and their freedom. You’ll get no better defense for an alcohol- or drug-related driving offense than from Utah DUI lawyer Jason Schatz.

I have handled more than a thousand personal injry cases and have obtained millions of dollars for my clients.  I will work with you and for you to obtain the best result for you, your family, and your future.  One of the greatest satisfactions I get from being a personal injury lawyer is the relationships that I am able to build with my clients.  I would love to meet with you in person to discuss your case.

D. Scott Crook’s law practice has focused largely in the areas of labor and employment law, where he has represented both large employers and highly compensated employees, executives, and professionals. Mr. Crook has won numerous trials, arbitrations, and appeals over his many years in private practice. He is consistently named as a member of Utah's Legal Elite, a Mountain State’s Super Lawyer, and one of the Best Lawyers in America in the area of Labor and Employment Litigation. Mr. Crook also has significant experience in all areas of land use, water law, and general civil litigation; and he has extensive experience in appellate practice, having appeared and argued numerous cases before the Utah Court of Appeals, Utah Supreme Court, and the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals.. Mr. Crook graduated from the J. Reuben Clark Law School at Brigham Young University in 1996, where he was Order of the Coif and graduated Magna Cum Laude. In law school, Mr. Crook was also a staff member of the BYU Law Review and an associate editor of the BYU Journal of Public Law. After graduation, he served as a law clerk to two distinguished judges—from 1997 to 1998 he clerked for Judge Norman H. Jackson of the Utah Court of Appeals and from 1996 to 1997 he clerked for Judge William H. Woodland in the Idaho Sixth Judicial District Court. Since that time, Mr. Crook has been in private practice. Prior to forming Crook Legal Group PLLC, Mr. Crook was a founding partner and past president of a medium-sized Salt Lake City law firm and a member of another well-respected small law firm located in Salt Lake City.. Mr. Crook, the son of a career military man, has lived throughout the United States, including stops in Arizona, Mississippi, Washington, California, and New Mexico. Because he lived for his entire teenage years in Alamogordo, New Mexico, he claims it as his hometown.. Mr. Crook enjoys spending time with his family, doing family history research, and sports.

Experienced W attorney serving clients in Salt Lake City and surrounding areas.

Experienced W attorney serving clients in Salt Lake City and surrounding areas.

Experienced W attorney serving clients in Salt Lake City and surrounding areas.

Experienced W attorney serving clients in Salt Lake City and surrounding areas.

Experienced W attorney serving clients in Salt Lake City and surrounding areas.

Experienced W attorney serving clients in Salt Lake City and surrounding areas.

Experienced W attorney serving clients in Salt Lake City and surrounding areas.

Experienced W attorney serving clients in Salt Lake City and surrounding areas.

Experienced W attorney serving clients in Salt Lake City and surrounding areas.

Experienced W attorney serving clients in Salt Lake City and surrounding areas.

Experienced W attorney serving clients in Salt Lake City and surrounding areas.