Litigation

Being served with a complaint can be scary. Knowing you may have to file suit can be scarier. In either case, you need an attorney with real litigation experience to advise, help you formulate a plan, and then execute that plan. You need an attorney who can tell you what motions to expect, how discovery is likely to go, and ultimately, how your case will be perceived by a judge or jury. You need an attorney who can see the merits of your case and the likely time and expense of litigation. That’s the kind of attorney that can negotiate a favorable settlement that saves you that time and expense and gets you what you need.

I’m Rick Mortensen, and I’m that kind of attorney. I started my career as a litigation associate. The partner over me was near retirement, so I was given a lot of autonomy; I drafted pleadings, argued motions in court, took and defended depositions, served and responded to paper discovery, and won two bench trials. I also “second chaired” a jury trial, which resulted in a $720,000 award for our client. Later in my career, I spent three and a half years as a solo practitioner focused on civil litigation, much of it complex and multi-party. During this period, I took cases from complaint through jury trial. I also won an appeal, overturning the trial court’s dismissal of my client’s suit in Ockey v. Club Jam, 2014 UT App 126. Throughout my 12 years as an in-house attorney, litigation was part of my portfolio. In several matters I represented the company directly, as the attorney of record. In others, I engaged outside counsel but played an active role in crafting strategy and drafting pleadings. I also responded to subpoenas, led internal investigations, and worked directly with state and federal regulators to resolve matters without formal enforcement action.
I can represent you or your company, or if a matter requires more resources than my office can provide, I can help you find the right firm and make sure they handle your matter competently and economically.

Call or email, and let me know how I can help with your litigation matters. ‍ ‍