Erik A. Olson

Erik A. Olson is a shareholder in the Salt Lake City office and chair of the firm’s Litigation Section. During law school, Mr. Olson worked as the firm’s first law clerk, while serving as Editor-in-Chief of the Utah Law Review. After completing a one-year clerkship at the Utah Supreme Court, Mr. Olson rejoined Durham Jones & Pinegar and has established himself as one of Utah’s leading young trial and appellate lawyers. He has tried numerous cases and handled numerous appeals, which have resulted in significant Utah decisions in landlord-tenant law, employment law, and the law of damages, among other areas of law. He has been recognized by his peers as a rising star in the Utah legal community, having been listed in Utah Business’s Legal Elite six years in a row and Mountain States Super Lawyers five years running.

Mr. Olson prides himself on staying involved in his community. He has spent 10 years volunteering as a small claims judge. More than five years ago, he spearheaded the effort to create Canyon Rim Academy, which has become one of Utah’s most successful K-6 charter schools, and he has been actively involved with the school ever since. As an advocate for public education and community welfare, he works closely with state and local political representatives on campaigns and grass-roots efforts benefiting children and community. Each year he fits in time with the kids on the soccer pitch, and time on canyon roads in the dark to prepare for the annual Logan to Jackson bike race each September. Mr. Olson speaks Italian and French.

Education

University of Utah, S. J. Quinney College of Law - J.D. (1999)

  • Editor-in-Chief, Utah Law Review
  • Finalist, Traynor Moot Court Competition

University of Utah - B.A., English (1996)

Admitted to Practice

  • All State and Federal Courts in Utah
  • United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
  • United States Supreme Court

Professional and Civic Activities

  • Board Member, Utah Chapter of the Federal Bar Association
  • Named in Utah Business magazine’s “Legal Elite” (2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012)
  • Named as a Mountain States Super Lawyers “Rising Star” (2008, 2009, 2010, 2011), and Super Lawyers (2012)
  • Judge Pro Tempore, Salt Lake City Justice Court (2002-present)
  • Board Member, University of Utah,
  • S.J. Quinney College of Law Young Alumni Association (2006-2009)
  • President and Founding Board
  • Member, Canyon Rim Academy Charter School (2006-present)
  • Member of Mi Duole Road Cycling Club, a Firm-Sponsored Cycling Team Founded in 1984
  • Democratic Party Precinct Chairman and State Party Delegate
  • USSF-Licensed Volunteer Youth Soccer Coach (2003-present)

Representative Cases/Deals

  • Won a one-week trial for a large commercial tenant, defeating a landlord/partner’s eviction and treble damages claims totaling several million dollars, and winning a judgment for attorney fees and court costs.
  • Won a judgment for damages and attorney fees at trial against the purchaser of a business, who stopped making payments on the grounds of alleged securities fraud.
  • Successfully defended a lawn services company and 25 of its employees against claims by a competitor for tortious interference, breach of noncompetition, nondisclosure, nonsolicitation, and noninterference covenants, and punitive damages. The federal court excluded each of the plaintiff’s damages experts and entered summary judgment dismissing the plaintiff’s claims, estimated by the plaintiff at several million dollars. The Utah Supreme Court resolved certified questions about the dispute in favor of clients.
  • Before engaging in significant discovery, obtained a multi-million-dollar settlement from a Fortune 500 company on claims for misappropriation of a former spokesperson’s identity, voice, and likeness in its ongoing product advertising.
  • In an antitrust case against a Fortune 500 company, obtained a no-knock seizure order where computer forensic analysis showed that defendant’s employee had attempted to hack into the plaintiff’s computer systems and download source code. Also obtained a favorable settlement after the U.S. Marshals assisted in serving the order.
  • In a complex trial over a failed real estate development, obtained a ruling excluding the plaintiff’s damages expert, whose theories had included several million dollars in damages.
  • Representing the other shareholders and members of a number of corporate entities that own and operate a massive real estate development, obtained an injunction removing the former manager of the entities, who had engaged in various wrongful and oppressive acts.
  • With the assistance of a computer forensics expert in a securities litigation matter, defeated the defendant’s motion for summary judgment, and obtained default judgment as a sanction against the defendant for his spoliation of relevant evidence.
  • Representing owners of a limited liability company, successfully won the dismissal of claims brought directly, rather than derivatively, by another shareholder.
  • Winning at trial, defeated a landlord’s unlawful detainer claim and obtained a judgment for damages and attorney fees on his client’s forcible detainer claim.
  • Won and collected a six-figure treble-damages judgment for a commercial tenant in a forcible detainer case against its landlord.
  • On the eve of trial, obtained nearly one million dollars in a settlement of a private lender’s claim against the subsequent owners of the borrower.
  • Collected a twenty-five-year-old judgment after tracking down the judgment debtor, who had gone into hiding in California.