Areas of Practice

Corporate

Our corporate transactions practice is focused on serving and advising private businesses and investors from start-up to exit and everything in between.  We pride ourselves on providing timely, cost-effective services for common corporate transactions and agreements, and serving as general counsel to our clients where due to the size or complexity of a transaction we need to reach out to specialist attorneys or firms.  Common examples of the transactions and agreements we handle include:

  • Advising regarding entity choice and structure

  • Preparing and negotiating entity formation documentation (including limited liability company and shareholder agreements)

  • Preparing and negotiating employment and non-competition agreements

  • Preparing and negotiating financing related agreements

  • Advising and negotiating merger, acquisition and company reorganization related transactions and preparing the related documentation.

Most importantly, we value long-term relationships with our clients, where we come to know the people as much as the businesses involved, which helps us understand and approach opportunities and challenges as if they were our own.

 

Employment

Litigation

Our litigation practice is centered on assisting our clients achieve their goals.  Whether taking a case to trial or developing practical solutions to difficult problems, we strive to work efficiently through all phases of the litigation process.  

 Our litigation practice mainly focuses on the following areas:  

  • Commercial and Contract Litigation

  • Municipal Government Defense

  • Land Use and Zoning

  • Employment Litigation (employer side)

  • Real Estate Litigation

  • Constitutional Law  

Real Estate

Southwestern Utah is one of the fast growing areas in the United States, and to accommodate that growth requires a substantial amount of real estate related development.  The attorneys in Blanchard Pattison’s real estate transactions practice have been involved or continue to be involved in a large proportion of the real estate projects in Southwestern Utah. Our involvement typically commences from the acquisition and/or joint venture stage, and continues through financing, development, leasing and disposition. 

Our real estate practice includes assisting our clients in creating planned communities.  Our projects have ranged from residential condominiums, to commercial centers, to large master planned golf course communities.

Tax

In connection with our real estate and corporate transactional practices, we assist our clients to structure their real estate and business transactions in a tax efficient manner, with particular expertise with respect to (a) properly structuring joint venture or partnership transactions (typically organized as limited liability companies) and drafting the interrelated contribution, distribution and allocation provisions, (b) 1031 exchanges, and (c) tax impacts of sales and reorganizations involving flow-through entities (S-corporations and partnerships including limited liability companies taxed as S-corporations or partnerships).  We also have significant experience forming and advising not-for-profit and tax-exempt organizations. 

Appellate Practice

Our employment law practice is mainly devoted to representing public and private employers. We have significant experience representing employers in litigation involving wrongful termination and discrimination, and wage and hour claims.  We also routinely handle discrimination and harassment claims before the UALD and EEOC. 

Aside from litigating employment issues, we work closely with our employer clients in creating workplace environments where employees can thrive.  That includes

  • Drafting policies, procedures, and employee handbooks

  • Conducting harassment and discrimination training

  • Risk management, including counseling on compliance issues

  • Wage and hour issues

  • Conducting internal investigations on harassment and whistleblower issues

Appellate advocacy is a separate discipline with its own rules and nuances, both written and unwritten.  It requires a different philosophy and approach than one would take with litigation at the trial level.  We recognize these distinctions.  We understand that effective appellate advocacy is about careful issue selection, understanding the applicable standards of review, and the ability to communicate and persuade through the written word. 

Our approach to appellate advocacy combines meticulous and thorough legal research, careful framing of the issues, and uncompromising attention to detail.  This approach has met with demonstrated success.  Our philosophy is proactive.  We do not simply live appeal to appeal.  We are constantly in motion in search of new ways to improve our craft – honing and developing effective briefing techniques and monitoring new cases and rules to determine current trends in appellate practice and procedure. 

The services we provide to both litigants and attorneys include:

  • Briefing and arguing appeals as lead or co-counsel

  • Brief editing

  • Consultations on appellate strategy and procedure

  • Assistance with oral argument preparation

  • Amicus representation

 In addition to handling matters at the appellate level, we also assist trial counsel in developing legal strategy, ensuring preservation of issues, and motions practice on potentially dispositive issues. 

 Representative Appeals

Bohman Aggregates LLC v. Gilbert, 2021 UT App 35, 486 P.3d 77 (trial advocacy; rules of professional conduct)

Eskelsen v. Theta Inv. Co., 2019 UT App 1, 437 P.3d 1274 (fraudulent transfer)

Mike’s Smoke, Cigar & Gifts v. St. George City, 2017 UT App 20, 391 P.3d 1079 (statutory interpretation – drug analog statute; constitutional law)

JENCO LC v. Perkins Coie LLP, 2016 UT App 140, 378 P.3d 131 (contracts)

Cheney v. Hinton Burdick, 2015 UT App 242, 366 P.3d 1220 (contracts)

Mike’s Smoke, Cigar & Gifts v. St. George City, 2015 UT App 158, 353 P.3d 626 (standard of review applied to business license revocation)

Cloud v. Washington City, 2012 UT App 348, 295 P.3d 181 (governmental immunity)

Thorpe v. Washington City, 2010 UT App 297, 243 P.3d 500 (municipal employee appeals; whistleblower statute; statutory interpretation; jurisdiction)

Estate Planning

When it’s time to plan for the future, we can help you decide how to care for your heirs. We’ve helped clients prepare wills, various trust agreements and health care declarations. We also work through probate cases.