Utah Local Counsel

Manning Curtis Bradshaw & Bednar serves as local counsel for firms outside Utah with matters in the United States District Court for the District of Utah and in the Utah state courts. The firm sponsors out-of-state attorneys for pro hac vice admission in both court systems and appears as counsel of record.

Local counsel arrangements vary widely, and the firm does not impose a single model. Some engagements are limited to sponsorship and filing support: pro hac vice sponsorship, appearance of record, electronic filing, service, and compliance with local rules and standing orders, with lead counsel running the case. Others call for working local counsel who also cover hearings, local motion practice, discovery disputes, and depositions in Utah, and who can say how a particular judge is likely to receive an argument. Others are full co-counsel engagements with shared responsibility for strategy, briefing, expert work, and trial, allocated by agreement.

The firm does not limit its local counsel work by practice area. It arises most often in commercial and business litigation, including contract, partnership, non-compete, trade secret, intellectual property, and construction disputes. It also arises in ERISA and employee benefits litigation, insurance coverage and bad faith, employment matters, bankruptcy proceedings, and personal injury defense.

Practice in Utah turns on familiarity that does not travel. Judges in the District of Utah maintain distinct standing orders and expectations on briefing, discovery conferences, and motion practice. The Utah state courts run on their own scheduling and disclosure rules, and Utah’s expert disclosure regime in particular differs from the federal rules in ways that have caught out-of-state counsel who assumed otherwise. Local counsel who already know those things save lead counsel the cost of learning them mid-case.

To discuss a local counsel engagement, contact Matt Church at mchurch@mc2b.com, Trevor J. Lee at tlee@mc2b.com, or Mitch M. Longson at mlongson@mc2b.com.