FIRM:
Shareholder
Former Chair, Litigation Department
Leader, Employment Law Practice Group
PRACTICE FOCUS:
Courtroom Litigation
EXPERTISE:
Employment Law:
Partners with employers in many industries to prevent and solve employment problems.
Mike works with the local and national Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) and serves as the legal and legislative director for Utah SHRM and Salt Lake SHRM. For such services, National SHRM honored him with its prestigious Capital Award, given annually to one of SHRM’s 170,000 members worldwide. Utah SHRM has given him its Award for Professional Excellence.
Counsels employers on how to minimize and manage risks, including those involving: civil rights, discrimination, the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA), sexual harassment, other harassment, retaliation, the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), payment of wages, overtime pay and exemptions, employee benefits, drug and alcohol testing, workplace violence, the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), affirmative action, unemployment compensation, employee misconduct, investigations, unions, unfair labor practices, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), employment contracts, noncompetes, defamation, torts, wrongful discharge, mediation and arbitration.
Represents employers when disputes become lawsuits.
Has successfully handled hundreds of cases before administrative agencies, trial courts, juries, arbitrators, mediators and appeals courts.
Works with clients regarding preventive employment law activities, such as investigations, supervisor and employee training, policy and handbook reviews, job descriptions, human resource audits and counseling on day-to-day employee problems.
Has published numerous articles on employment law topics.
Popular public speaker, often addressing the news media and local and national employer groups on various employment law trends and issues.
Serves as an arbitrator and mediator in employment law disputes.
First Amendment Law:
Assists news and publishing organizations in obtaining access to places and records (FOIA and Utah GRAMA), and in minimizing risks (and responding to claims) of defamation, invasion of privacy, tort and other matters related to publishing.
Represents clients including The Salt Lake Tribune, CNN, the Deseret News, the Associated Press, the Newspaper Agency Corporation, Newsweek, the Society of Professional Journalists, KUTV News, the Utah Media Coalition and KSL-TV and radio.
Member of, and has received “sunshine” and freedom of information awards from, the Society of Professional Journalists and the National Association of Broadcasters.
Co-editor of the Utah Media Law Handbook published by the Utah Headliners Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists.
CAREER:
Adjunct Professor, University Of Utah S.J. Quinney College Of Law
EDUCATION:
University of Utah, J.D., 1986
- Harry S. Truman Scholar
- Utah Law Review, Member, 1984-1985 and Executive Editor, 1985-1986
University of Notre Dame, B.A., in Government/Theology, 1983
PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS:
Utah State Bar Association and the American Bar Association, Employment Sections
Board Member, Society for Human Resources Management.
Member, Society of Professional Journalists
Member, National Association of Broadcasters
Ulster Project of Utah
Wasatch Homeless Healthcare, Inc.
Catholic Business Network
St. Vincent de Paul School
PERSONAL:
Born, Orleans, France, 1961
Attended schools in Ogden, Utah.
RECENT ENVIRONMENTAL, ENERGY AND NATURAL RESOURCES MATTERS:
Advising developer in acquisition of shopping center and potential risks associated with historical and current dry cleaner tenants.
Advising landlord in connection with petroleum contamination from underground storage tanks operated by former tenants.
Advising national hotel chain in acquisition of hotel located in Prospector Square, Utah.
Advising landlord in connection with contamination caused by light industrial tenants.
Advising developer in acquisition of shopping center and potential risks associated with adjacent gasoline station with leaking underground storage tanks.
Advising petroleum pipeline owner concerning granting access for cleanup of Northwest Oil Drain Canal.
Defending manufacturing plant from cost recovery cleanup claims under CERCLA, RCRA, TSCA and state law related to recycling used oil tainted with PCBs.
Advising a state university in the acquisition of a Brownfields property undergoing RCRA cleanup.
Representation of owner/landlord of fuel distribution facility in litigation of cleanup costs.
Pro Bono representation of Utah Clean Energy.
Environmental diligence, permitting, compliance and exit strategy in connection with sale of chemical distribution business located in Utah and Idaho.
State and local environmental permitting for new energy storage facility.
Negotiating settlement with EPA and state for dry cleaning company charged with responsibility for cleanup of a contaminated groundwater Superfund site.
State permitting for gypsum mine.
Advising commercial developer in acquisition of former military base with historical environmental contamination.
Advising bank on lender liability issues related to commercial loans and foreclosures involving environmentally impaired properties and developing bank policies and procedures.
Advising numerous developers in acquisitions of industrial properties for office buildings, residential development, shopping centers and mixed use, conducting cleanups under Utah voluntary cleanup program, and negotiating environmental covenants.
Advising industrial company in acquiring brownfields property undergoing RCRA cleanup.
Advising chemical distribution company in connection with cleanup of release from underground storage tank cleanup, pursuing insurance coverage and obtaining cleanup closure from state.
Defending waste oil transporter charged with disposal of PCB-contaminated waste oil at waste oil recycling facility.
Defending former owner of dry cleaning property from cost recovery cleanup claims under CERCLA, RCRA and state law.
Defending resort located on tribal lands from EPA notice of violation of UST regulations and pursuing claims under California underground storage tank fund and insurance policies.
Advising a national retail chain in the acquisition of a bulk fuel terminal for redevelopment as commercial property and ongoing development issues.
Advising landlord on tenant’s environmental requirements under lease agreement allowing gasoline station use.
Representing a residential real estate developer in the acquisition of a historic mining property.
Advising a national retail chain with respect to acquiring a Brownfields property undergoing remediation of industrial contamination.
Advising commercial developer in connection with wetlands permitting and filing appeal of Army Corps of Engineers wetlands determination.
Advising a national retail chain in acquiring wetlands conservation easements for off-site mitigation.
WORK INVOLVING UTAH SUPERFUND AND BROWNFIELDS SITES
Lucy has represented clients in connection with many of the Superfund, Brownfields and other cleanup sites in Utah.
Superfund Sites:
Bountiful/Woods Cross PCE Plume (Bountiful)
Davenport and Flagstaff Smelters Site (Sandy)
Hill Air Force Base (Davis County and Weber County)Ogden Defense Depot (Ogden)
Jacobs Smelter Site (Stockton)
Midvale Slag Site (Midvale)
Murray Smelter Site (Murray City)
Prospector Square (Park City)
Sharon Steel Site (Midvale)
Toole Army Depot (Tooele)
Utah Barrel and Scrap (Salt Lake City)
Utah Voluntary Cleanup Program and Other Brownfields and Cleanup Sites:
300 West Town Center (Salt Lake City)
Bradshaw Auto Parts (Provo)
Country Square Shopping Center (Sandy)
Empire Pass Site (Park City)
Former Geneva Steel Site (Vineyard)
Mt. Olivet Cemetery Site (Salt Lake City)
Ninigret/Engelhard Site(Salt Lake County)
North Temple Landfill (Salt Lake County)
Union Pacific Railroad Northwest Oil Drain (Salt Lake City)
Utah Barrel and Scrap (Salt Lake City)
Best Lawyers In America, “Salt Lake City Best Lawyers Employment Law Lawyer Of The Year,” 2011-2012
Best Lawyers In America, First Amendment Law, Labor And Employment Law, 2005-2012
Chambers USA, Labor & Employment, 2003-2011
Employment Lawyer Of The Year, Utah State Bar, 2001
Human Resources Executive, Nation’s Most Powerful Employment Lawyers In America, 2010
Mountain States Super Lawyers, 2007-2012
Utah Business Magazine, Legal Elite, 2006-2013
