Nathan A. Crane

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Nathan Crane is a Utah criminal defense lawyer who primarily represents individuals and companies accused of criminal activity anywhere in the country.  He has successfully defended individuals charged in both state and federal court for many offenses, including theft and fraud charges, sexual assault, tax and securities fraud, violent crime, drug offenses, and other serious and complex felonies.

Nathan aggressively represents adult and juvenile clients, responding to search warrants, government investigative demands, summonses, service of subpoenas, and in trial.

On matters involving cryptocurrency blockchain, Nathan has the experience and knowledge needed to support your legal rights.  He has also represented student-athletes on variance, transfers, and eligibility issues.  He has presented before local school boards to address UHSAA denials and assisted in guiding parents through the complicated process from start to finish.

Before private practice, Nathan served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the District of Nevada and a Deputy District Attorney in Clark County, Nevada, where he prosecuted more than 1,000 felony cases (including white collar, fraud, sex crimes, and violent crime).  This experience has given Nathan an exceptional perspective in defending his clients.

A unique area of Nathan’s practice involves representing Utah and Nevada residential treatment facilities, including assisted living and hospice care centers.  This work includes conducting internal investigations, assisting the centers’ leadership and staff on how best to manage difficult residents, and determining when to involve local law enforcement (and then coordinate involving them).  He also assists the centers in responding to subpoenas and, when needed, serves as a media spokesperson for all media inquiries relating to investigations and accusations.

Nathan appears regularly in court and has conducted multiple felony jury trials and numerous misdemeanor trials.  He has handled cases and appeared in courtrooms across the country, including Utah, Arizona, California, Florida, Idaho, Nevada, New Hampshire, New York, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Washington, DC.

Nathan has also argued criminal appeals before the Nevada Supreme Court and the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals.  He also applies his wide-ranging courtroom experience to the firm’s SnowTrial Consulting work.  This unique service, provided with four other SCM trial partners, offers the full range of comprehensive trial preparation and strategic trial consulting to corporations and other law firms nationwide (in civil and criminal cases).

Additionally, Nathan represents victims of crimes, including individuals seeking protective orders and those involved in civil stalking injunctions.

Nathan is an adjunct associate professor at the University of Utah School of Law, where he teaches the white-collar crime class.  He previously served on the executive committee of the Utah Chapter of the Federal Bar Association and was the co-chair of the FBA’s annual Criminal Law Seminar.

His experience in the area of federal criminal law led him to testify as an expert witness in a criminal case before the Central Criminal Court in Dublin, Ireland.  He is a Federal Criminal Justice Act Panel member and is often appointed to defend indigent defendants in federal criminal court.  He is a member of the American Society of Trial Consultants.  Nathan has been a legal commentator on KSL Radio’s “The Night Side Project.”

Nathan is included on the list of The Best Lawyers in America in Criminal Defense: White Collar.  He is recognized in Mountain States Super Lawyers in the category of criminal defense and is a Utah Business Magazine “Legal Elite.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

Education

  • J.D., George Mason University School of Law, 2004
  • B.A., Utah State University, cum laude, 2001

Bar & Court Admissions

  • Utah State Bar
  • Nevada State Bar
  • U.S. District Court, District of Utah
  • Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals
  • Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals
  • United States Supreme Court
  • Speaker, Anatomy of a Murder, American College of Trial Lawyers, April 2023
  • Speaker, Preparing for the Verdict: Pre-trial Research and Juror Focus Groups, Utah Defense Lawyers AssociationAnnual Meeting, May 2019
  • Speaker, War Dogs: A Case Study of United States v. Efraim Diveroli, et al. The Case That Inspired The Major Motion Picture And The New York Times Best Selling Book, Federal Bar Association Criminal Law Seminar, May 2017
  • Speaker, Benefit of Using Trial Prep Consulting Services for Significant Cases, Utah State Bar Summer Convention, July 2016
  • Author, Congress Should Follow Utah’s Lead on Sentencing Reform, Salt Lake Tribune, February 2016
  • Author, Criminal Justice Reform Merits Bipartisan Support, Las Vegas Review-Journal, January 2016
  • Speaker, Preserving The Chain of Custody for Trial Evidence, Governmental Law Seminar, 2015
  • Speaker, You Have Received A Subpoena For Your Client’s Records, Now What?, Avoiding Legal Trouble for Accountants CPA Seminar, 2013
  • Moderator, Points, and Pointers Regarding Bureau of Prison Placement, Federal Bar Association, Criminal Law Seminar, Speaker, Law Enforcement: Warrantless Search and Seizure, Governmental Law Seminar, 2013
  • Speaker, Ethics Presentation – The Sarbanes-Oxley Act: Avoiding Obstruction of Justice, Federal Bar Association, Criminal Law Seminar, 2012
  • Speaker, Advising Clients Facing Federal Criminal Charges, Federal Bar Association, Southern Utah Law Symposium,2012
  • Speaker, Interdiction Tactics – Nevada Highway Patrol, Nevada, 2008
  • Speaker, Methamphetamine: A Deadly Drug – Boy Scouts of America, 2008
  • Speaker, Laws of Arrest: Miranda and Terry Stops – Nevada Department of Public Safety, 2007
  • Speaker, Search and Seizure – Henderson Police Department, Nevada, 2007
  • Speaker, Narcotics Laws and Clandestine Methamphetamine Labs – Nevada Department of Public Safety, Nevada, 2007
  • Utah Bar Association
  • Utah Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
  • Federal Bar Association – Chair, Criminal Law Section
  • Federal Bar Association Utah Chapter – Executive Committee Member
  • Criminal Justice Act Panel
  • National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
  • American Society of Trial Consultants
  • Volunteer Coach – Youth Basketball, Football, and Soccer
  • Adjunct Professor SJ Quinney College of Law University of Utah, August 2015- Present
  • Listed in Best Lawyers in America® for Criminal Defense: White-Collar
  • Recognized as Utah Legal Elite for Criminal Law by Utah Business Magazine
  • Recognized as a Utah Super Lawyer by Super Lawyers® Magazine for Criminal Defense
  • National Trial Lawyers: 40 Under 40, invited for national membership

Unique Recognition – Education

  • Undergraduate: Utah State University, 2001
    • Golden Key National Honors Society
  • Helped secure the return of over $809,000 seized by the government to the client in a high-profile case.
  • Obtained dismissal of all sexual assault charges prior to trial.
  • Obtained release from custody and six months of probation for a juvenile selling drugs in a high school.
  • Negotiated a plea in abeyance, return of all property seized, and eventual dismissal of all charges for a client accused of running illegal gaming machines in a high-profile case.
  • Secured the return of the client’s vehicle that was seized by federal agents.
  • Obtained a hung jury in a high-profile, eight-week felony trial in Miami, Florida, for client charged with major fraud against the United States.
  • Obtained client’s release from custody pending appeal.
  • Obtained client’s release from custody, pending trial, in multiple cases.
  • Obtained probation for client charged with possession of child pornography.
  • Obtained dismissal of all causes of action against client in Las Vegas, Nevada.
  • Obtained acquittal after three-day jury trial for doctor accused of insurance fraud.
  • Obtained dismissal of dating violence protective order that had been filed against client.
  • Obtained an order vacating the conviction and dismissing the case of a client that retained Mr. Crane after being convicted.
  • Obtained a dismissal of all charges prior to trial for juvenile charged with using a knife in a fight at school.
  • Obtained probation for client charged with multiple drug trafficking felonies.
  • Obtained dismissal of four felonies after conducting a preliminary hearing.
  • Obtained dismissal of temporary protective order.
  • Obtained probation, in high-profile case, for former elected official charged with communications fraud.
  • Obtained a dismissal, in a high-profile case, of all charges prior to trial for client accused of starting a large fire.
  • Obtained a reduction of charges from two felonies to misdemeanor and probation.
  • Obtained a sentence of probation for a client who was facing 87 months under the federal sentencing guidelines.

Outside of the office, Nathan enjoys all things related to his family and sports including scuba diving, snowboarding and coaching his boys in soccer, basketball and football.