Jonathan O. Hafen

Jonathan Hafen has extensive experience representing clients in federal and state courts.  He has been widely praised by clients and peers for his skilled and efficient approach to litigation.  As a trial lawyer, Mr. Hafen handles a wide variety of litigation, including cases in the areas of securities law, employment law, breach of contract, land disputes, road disputes, intellectual property, disputes over ownership and control of businesses, class actions, and construction law. 

Mr. Hafen’s clients have enjoyed significant successes both at trial and in negotiated settlements.  Recent trial victories include a jury award of $2.3 million for defamation and tortious interference, an arbitration award dismissing a senior employee’s multi-million claim for breach of contract, a bench trial judgment in excess of $600,000 in a breach of contract action, and an award following a bench trial that a disputed road leading to a 10,000 acre ranch in the Uinta Mountains is public.  Settlements include a $15 million recovery in a securities fraud action, a $2 million mediated settlement in an accounting malpractice action, a $2 million mediated settlement in a product liability case, and a $500,000 recovery for breach of a non-solicitation contract.  Mr. Hafen has successfully defended companies facing claims for securities fraud, breach of contract, employment discrimination, usurping corporate opportunities, and shareholder oppression.

Mr. Hafen has represented major national corporations, including Walgreens, Lloyds of London, eCollege.com, and Merrill Lynch, as well as some of Utah’s leading companies, including StoresOnline, Merit Medical, Franklin Covey, Mountain West Telecom, InsideOut Consulting, ListMarketer Software, Hearts for Hospice and Datamark.  Other representative clients include Eleutian Technology, Technology Integration Group, and Star Buffet.

Mr. Hafen has also defended a number of prestigious Utah law firms and lawyers facing claims for legal malpractice.  Mr. Hafen’s clients have enjoyed significant success in such matters.  References are available upon request.

In addition to acting as an advocate, Mr. Hafen is available as a mediator.  In that capacity, he favors an activist approach, which includes assisting parties in recognizing the potential weaknesses of their claims and defenses.  Mr. Hafen employs strategic negotiation involving more than merely carrying offers from one party to another.  Mr. Hafen is also available to serve as an arbitrator for parties seeking to retain a private judge.

With years of experience dealing with companies facing claims of mismanagement and fraud, Mr. Hafen is qualified to serve as a private or Court-appointed Receiver in cases where a company has been compromised by actual or alleged misconduct of its owners or executives.  He is available to conduct independent investigations of allegations of misconduct raised by shareholders of companies or members of limited liability companies.

Mr. Hafen is heavily involved in work for charitable organizations, and currently serves as Chairman of the Board of Tuacahn Center for the Arts and for Tuacahn High School for the Performing Arts, which is one of Utah’s first and most successful charter schools.  He supports numerous professional organizations, holding leadership positions with the Federal Bar Association, the Utah State Bar Litigation Section, BYU Alumni Association, BYU Law School Alumni Association, and the J. Reuben Clark Law Society.  He has served for a number of years on the Utah Supreme Court Advisory Committee on the Rules of Civil Procedure.

Mr. Hafen has published and lectured widely on a variety of topics, including investment fraud, antitrust law, professionalism and civility, legal ethics, employment law, securities law compliance, and litigation strategy.  He has authored or co-authored articles appearing in The Harvard International Law Journal, St. John’s Law Review, The Boston University Public Interest Law Journal, The BYU Law Review, George Mason Law Review, and the Notre Dame Journal of Law, Ethics, and Public Policy.

• Avoid Getting Hit By The Litigation Bus
• Avoiding Arbitration Provisions
• Playing the contract what-if game

• Commercial Litigation
• Employment Litigation
• Intellectual Property Litigation
• Securities Litigation
• Class Actions
• Employment Law