Government Defense

We Have Represented Government Entities in Utah for Over 60 years

Government entities operate in a highly competitive, highly scrutinized environment, and compliance with complex legal requirements is essential.  The failure to follow applicable government contracting or other regulatory requirements may have serious consequences.

Our highly experienced team of reputable government defense lawyers represents cities, counties, municipalities, water districts, police officers and police departments, and other governmental agencies involved in a wide range of matters.  This includes public contracting, employment, land use and zoning, liability and immunity claims, employment matters, and alleged civil rights actions (including those arising under Section 1983).

One area of our government defense practice for which we have significant experience involves representation of police officers and police departments accused of civil rights infractions.

Over decades of providing representation, we have developed the unique experience necessary to handle these, potentially high profile, matters.  We appreciate the trust placed in us on behalf of the public entities that we represent.  We understand their concern in retaining legal counsel who are not only experienced in this area but who are cognizant of budgetary concerns.

Defending Individuals Under Immunity Protections

In many cases,  government entities, as well as government employees and officials, are immune from suit.  We not only understand the nuances of this law, but we were also active in the bipartisan group that drafted the Reenacted 2004 Governmental Immunity Act (which clarified this law following a Utah Supreme Court case that had restricted immunity).

Representative Public Entity Representation

We have represented numerous cities, counties and local districts, including water districts in Utah.  Among other public entities, we represent the University of Utah, the Metropolitan Water District of Salt Lake & Sandy, and the Unified Police Department of Greater Salt Lake.

We Understand the Concerns of Our Clients

We understand clients’ sensitivity to the cost of legal services and the need to maintain public trust while still ensuring that the public is properly protected.  We also understand the ever-changing political reality in which these clients operate.  We offer no-cost seminars exclusively for our governmental entity clients, along with other continuing education information and resources to assist in their training efforts.

We Invite You to Learn More

For more information about our Government Defense practice and the services we offer, please contact Heather S. White.

Practice Contacts

Heather S. White

Bryson R. Brown

Dani N. Cepernich

Ben J. Cilwick

Robert C. Keller

Nathanael J. Mitchell

Andrew L. Roth

Nathan R. Skeen

Richard A. Vazquez

Richard Van Wagoner

Scott Young