R. BLAKE HAMILTON Shareholder Salt Lake City Email: bhamilton@djplaw.com Main: 801.415.3000 801.297.1419 PRACTICE AREAS R. Blake Hamilton s primary practice areas are civil rights litigation and Governmental Entity Defense governmental entity defense. He has represented governmental entities and Healthcare Law their employees through the Utah Local Government Trust, Utah Counties Litigation Insurance Pool, Utah Risk Management Mutual Association, Utah Highway Patrol Appeals Association, and Professional Law Enforcement Association. He also serves as Commercial Litigation general counsel for the Utah Peace Officers Association and the National Institute Criminal Defense of Jail Operations, as well as conflict counsel for the Utah Fraternal Order of Police. Mr. Hamilton s practice areas also include commercial litigation, complex ADMITTED TO PRACTICE criminal defense (CJA Panel member), and health care litigation including licensing United States Court of Appeals matters before the Utah Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing for the Ninth Circuit (DOPL). Mr. Hamilton is a member of Durham Jones & Pinegar s Board of United States Court of Appeals Directors and is the chair of the firm s Governmental Entity Defense group. for the Tenth Circuit United States District Court, District of Utah Utah He also has experience practicing in the areas of general civil litigation, real estate, construction, land use, landlord/tenant, business/finance, banking, tax, employment/labor and family law. Mr. Hamilton has significant trial experience in both Federal and State Courts. He has also worked on briefs and/or argued before the Utah Court of Appeals, Utah Supreme Court, the 9th & 10th Circuit Courts of Appeals, and the U.S. Supreme Court. He presently serves as the city attorney for the City of Hildale and general counsel for the Hurricane City Police Department. Mr. Hamilton has been honored as the Utah Young Lawyer of the Year in 2013; listed by the Mountain States Super Lawyers Magazine as a Rising Star from 2010-2016; has been listed by the Utah Business Magazine as one of Utah s Legal Elite from 2013-2016, has a peer rating of 5 out of 5 stars on Martindale-Hubbell.
Mr. Hamilton was born and raised in Utah. He is deeply committed to contributing to the community. While in law school, Mr. Hamilton interned at the Gonzaga University Legal Assistance Clinic, which provides legal services for elderly and low income individuals. He also co-chaired the Wills for Heroes committee, which provides wills and other estate planning services for emergency first responders and their families for the past six years. Mr. Hamilton is a member of the Executive Board of the Federal Bar Association for the Utah Chapter where he is in charge of recruiting firms to participate in the Federal Appointment Wheel, which provides representation to pro se civil rights plaintiffs at the Federal Court s discretion. In his free time Mr. Hamilton enjoys spending time with his family as well as hiking, golfing, and snowboarding in Utah s beautiful outdoors. REPRESENTATIVE CASES/DEALS Wisan v. City of Hildale, 330 P.3d 76 (Utah 2014) Cavanaugh v. Woods Cross City, 718 F.3d 1244 (10th Cir. 2013) Alpine Orthopaedic Specialists, LLC v. Intermountain Healthcare, Inc., 271 P.3d 174 (Utah Ct. App. 2012) Alpine Orthopaedic Specialists, LLC v. Utah State University, 263 P.3d 501 (Utah Ct. App. 2011) Cavanaugh v. Woods Cross City, 625 F.3d 661 (10th Cir. 2010) Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints v. Horne, 238 P.3d 1054 (Utah 2010) McKay Dee Credit Union v. Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, 2008 UT App 167 AWARDS Rising Stars, Super Lawyers (2010 2018) Legal Elite, Utah Business Magazine (2013 2018) Future Star Benchmark Litigation (2016) Utah Young Lawyer of the Year (2013) Delegate for the Utah Bar Young Lawyer Division at the American Bar Association Annual Conference (2012) Recognized by the Utah State Bar Commission with a special portrait entitled Faces of the Brave for service on the Wills for Heroes Committee (December 2011) PUBLICATIONS & PRESENTATIONS The Implications of Brady-Giglio for Law Enforcement, National Institute for Jail Operations Expert Blog, March 2016 Can Prisoners Stand Their Ground, National Institute for Jail Operations Expert Blog, December 2015 Wills for Heroes: A Rewarding Program, Utah Bar Journal, September/October 2014 Wills for Heroes: Protecting Those Who Protect Us, Utah Bar Journal, May/June 2012 Wills for Heroes: All Give Some, Some Give All, The Utah Peace Officer, Winter 2012/13
Garrity, Investigations, and Evaluations, Hurricane Police Department Supervisor Training, May 3, 2016 Use of Force and Restraints in Jails, Utah County Sheriffs Office Training, April 11 & 14, 2016 Employment Discrimination Training, Hildale, Utah, December 16, 2015 Use of Force & Death in Custody, Box Elder County Sheriff s Office Training, December 10, 2015 Accountability Training, Utah County Sheriffs Office Training, November 30, 2015 Utah Motion & Summary Judgment Practice 2.0: A User s Guide to the Upgrades, Utah State Bar Litigation Section CLE & Golf, St. George, Utah 2015 Criminal Law Update, Utah Sheriffs Association 20th Annual Corrections and Law Enforcement Training Conference, September 20-23, 2015 Civil Unrest & Law Enforcement: Mental Health, Body Cameras, and Community Outreach, Utah Sheriffs Association 20th Annual Corrections and Law Enforcement Training Conference, September 20-23, 2015 Case Law Update, Utah Counties Indemnity Pool Risk Management Conference, September 2-3, 2015 Jail Personnel Issues: Garrity Warnings, FLSA, Disciplinary Due Process, Restrictions on Speech, and Discrimination, Utah JCCA Training, August 2015 Civil Unrest & Law Enforcement: Mental Health, Body Cameras, and Community Outreach, Utah State Bar Summer Convention in Sun Valley, July 2015 Litigation & Business: Four Practical Examples from Federal Law, Utah State University Executive MBA Program Lecture, July 2015 First Amendment Rights: Right to Marriage, Right to Communicate, and Administrative Discretion, National Sherriffs Association Annual Conference, July 2015 Legal Update: PLN v. Babeu, Holt v. Hobbs, Kosilek v. Spencer, Galarza v. Szalczyk, Taylor v. Barkes, and Kingsley v. Hendrickson, National Sheriffs Association Annual Conference, July 2015 Police Video Camera Legislation, Utah Municipal Attorneys Association Spting Conference, May 2015 Protecting Yourself from Civil Liability in Sticky Situations, Cedar City Police Department / Iron County Sherriffs Office Training, March 2015 Qualified Immunity, 14th Amendment, 4th Amendment/Search and Seizure, Use of Force, Supervisory Liability, and Agency Liability, Washington City Police Department Training, March 2015 Prisoner Discipline, Utah JCCA Training, February 2015 Protecting Law Enforcement from Civil Liability, Morgan County Sheriffs Office Training, January 2015 Courtroom Technology: You Better Learn What It Is and How to Use It, Women lawyers of Utah CLE Presentation, December 2014 Proactive Jail Management, National Sheriffs Association Institute for Jail Operations, Myrtle Beach Seminar, November 2014 Protecting Yourself from Civil Liability in Sticky Situations Tasers, vehicle Pursuits, Informants, and the Mentally Ill, Utah Sheriffs Association 19th Annual Corrections and Law Enforcement Training Conference, September 2014 Legal Update of Civil Liability and Prisoner Rights, National Sheriffs Association Institute for Jail Operations, New Orleans Seminar, September 2014
Protecting Officers from Civil Liability, Sandy City Police Department Training, July 201 The Importance of Training Government Employees, URMMA s Risk Management Conference, May 2014 Common Pitfalls of Plaintiffs Bringing Civil Rights Claims, 50th Anniversary of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, April 2014 Protecting Officers from Civil Liability on the Street, Utah JCCA Training, March 2014 Protecting Patrol Officers from Civil Liability, Cedar City Police Department Training, January 2014 Use of Force Defense of Agencies/Officers, Utah Chiefs of Police Mid-Winter Conference, December 2013 Ethical Conduct and Civil Litigation, Cottonwood Heights Police Department In-Service Training, October 2013 Investigative Policies Concerning Use of Force, Utah Sheriffs Association 18th Annual Corrections and Law Enforcement Training Conference, September 21-24, 2013 The Role of the Judiciary, Utah State Bar Committee on Civics Education presentation at Sand Ridge Junior High School assembly celebrating Constitution Day 2013 Outlining the Policies of Police Officer Internal Investigations, 31st Annual State and Local Government Conference, Provo, Utah 2013 American Voter Project, Utah Bar Young Lawyer Division presentation at DaVinci Academy celebrating Law Day 2013 Realizing the Dream, Equality for All Keynote address at Law Day Luncheon, May 1, 2013 Officer Involved Shootings-Protecting the Law Enforcement Officer from Legal Liability, 40th Annual Utah Peace Officers Association Midwinter Convention, February 8, 2013 Courtroom Technology: You Better Learn What It Is and How to Use It, 2012 Annual Utah Attorney General CLE & Professional Responsibility Seminar Recent Developments in Law Enforcement Civil Rights Litigation, Law Enforcement Training & CLE, Hurricane & St. George, Utah 2012 Courtroom Technology: You Better Learn What It Is and How to Use It, Utah State Bar Litigation Section CLE & Golf, Cache Valley & St. George, Utah 2012 Recent Developments in Law Enforcement Civil Rights Litigation, 30th Annual State and Local Government Conference, Provo, Utah 2012 Protecting Law Enforcement from Legal Liability, 30th Annual State and Local Government Conference, Provo, Utah 2012 How to Draft an Effective Legal Resume, Utah Bar Young Lawyers Division Workshop, Salt Lake City, Utah 2011 PROFESSIONAL & CIVIC ACTIVITIES Treasurer, Federal Bar Association, Utah Chapter (2018 Present) Executive Board Member of the Federal Bar Association, Utah Chapter, (2013 present) Jail Advisory Council for the National Institute of Jail Operations (2016 present) Force Science Institute Certified (2015) New Lawyer Training Program Mentor (2015 - present)
Jail Training Advisory Committee for the National Sheriffs Association (2015) Member of the David K. Watkiss-Sutherland Inn II, American Inns of Court (2011- present) Member of the Utah Municipal Attorneys Association (2014 - present) Member of DRI (2014 - present) Member of the Criminal Law Section, Utah State Bar (2015 - present) Member of the Litigation Section, Utah State Bar (2014 present) Member of the Health Law Section, Utah State Bar (2014 - present) Executive Council Member of the Utah Bar Young Lawyer Division (2009 2015) Co-Chair of the Wills for Heroes Committee (2009-2015) Roy City Planning Commission, Vice Chair (2009 2014) Chairperson on the Anne Stirba Cancer Foundation (2009 2014) Member of the Rex E. Lee Inn, American Inns of Court (2006 2008) Political and Church-related Activities Volunteer youth soccer and basketball coach EDUCATION Gonzaga University School of Law Juris Doctor (2006) Moot Court Council President Member of Regional National Appellate Advocacy Competition Team Member of Regional ABA/LSD Negotiations Competition Team First place in the intra-school Negotiations Competition Semi-finalist in the intra-school Client Counseling Competition Gonzaga University Masters of Business Administration (2006) Weber State University Bachelor of Science in Economics with Departmental Honors (2003) Member of the Weber State University Supreme Court All-regional performer on school s mock trial team, which placed first in the region PRIOR PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE Stirba, P.C., (2007 2014) Smith Knowles, (2006 2007)