Erik A. Olson

For over 25 years, trials and appeals have been the specialty and focus of Erik Olson’s law practice. Erik has tried several dozen cases to successful final judgment or verdict, won numerous appeals resulting in significant decisions in Utah law, prevailed in hundreds of lawsuits in advance of trial, and negotiated scores of favorable client settlements. Erik has been recognized by his peers as one of the leading trial lawyers in Utah, appearing regularly in rankings by Mountain States Super Lawyers, Best Lawyers of America, and the Utah Business Legal Elite.

Erik has been recognized by Super Lawyers for sixteen years. For eleven straight years, from 2013 through 2023, Erik has been named by his peers to Super Lawyers’ List of Top 100 Mountain States Super Lawyers, selected from among the approximately 20,000 attorneys in all disciplines in Utah, Nevada, Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming.

Erik handles all varieties of business litigation cases from start to finish, ranging from simple contract disputes to massive, bet-the-company lawsuits.  Erik has extensive experience in business breakups; construction, land use, development, and other real estate disputes; employment fights involving noncompetes, trade secrets, and other employer-employee disputes (typically in TRO and preliminary injunction proceedings); patent infringement and other intellectual property disputes; trust, estate, and family business divorce litigation; and other contentious and complex matters.

After heading a team of nearly 40 litigators at one of Utah’s finest law firms, Erik founded Marshall Olson & Hull in 2013 to provide top-quality litigation work in an agile boutique setting. The Firm quickly became recognized by U.S. News & World Report and Best Lawyers as a Tier 1 Commercial Litigation firm, and has enhanced its reputation in many successful cases.

Erik attended the College of Law at the University of Utah, where he was Editor-in-Chief of the Utah Law Review, after which he clerked for Justice Leonard H. Russon on the Utah Supreme Court.

• Utah Supreme Court Clerkship, Honorable Leonard H. Russon (1999 to 2000)

• 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)

• All Utah State & Federal Courts
• United States Court of Appeals, Tenth Circuit
• United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit
• United States Supreme Court
• United States Court of Federal Claims

• Named by Super Lawyers to List of Top 100 Mountain States Super Lawyers (2013 to 2023)
• Named as a Mountain States Super Lawyers “Rising Star” (2008 to 2011) and “Super Lawyer” in Commercial Litigation (2012 to 2024)
• Listed in Best Lawyers of America for Commercial Litigation and/or Litigation – Intellectual Property (2012 to 2024)
• AV Rating (highest rating) from Martindale Hubbell
• Named in Utah Business Magazine’s “Legal Elite” (2007 to 2022)

• Adjunct Professor of Law, Pretrial Practice Course, University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law (2013 to 2021)
• Member, Utah State Charter School Board (2021 to present)
• Judge Pro Tempore, Salt Lake City Justice Court (2002 to 2016)
• Board Member, Utah Chapter of the Federal Bar Association (2010 to 2019)
• Young Alumni Association Board Member, University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law (2006 to 2009)
• Founder and Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Canyon Rim Academy Charter School (2006 to 2019)
• Member of Firm-Sponsored Mi Duole Cycling Club, Founded in 1984
• Former Party Precinct Chairman and State Party Delegate
• USSF-Licensed Volunteer Youth Soccer Coach (2003 to present)
• Member of Salt Lake Tribune First Amendment Society

• Italian and conversational French

• Williamson v. Farrell, 557 P.3d 214 (Utah Ct. App. 2024)
• JENCO, LLC v. SJI, LLC, 541 P.3d 321 (Utah Ct. App. 2023)
• Alarm Protection Technology, LLC v. Bradburn, 491 P.3d 947 (Utah 2021)
• Alarm Protection Technology, LLC v. Crandall, 491 P.3d 928 (Utah 2021)
• Bradburn v. Alarm Protection Technology, LLC, 449 P.3d 20 (Utah 2019)
• Williamson v. Farrell, 447 P.3d 131 (Utah Ct. App. 2019)
• VT Holdings, LLC v. My Investing Place, LLC, 440 P.3d 767 (Utah Ct. App. 2019)
• Nebeker v. National Auto Plaza, No. 2:13-cv-885-BSJ, 2015 WL 736867 (D. Utah Feb. 19, 2015), affirmed, No. 15-4035 (10th Cir. 2016)
• InnoSys, Inc. v. Mercer, 364 P.3d 1013 (Utah 2015)
• Wilderness Training & Consulting, LLC v. Aspen Educ. Grp., Inc., No. 2:14CV866, 2015 WL 686019 (D. Utah Feb. 18, 2015)
• Hogan v. Winder, No. 2:12-cv-123-TS, 2012 WL 4356326 (D. Utah Sept. 24, 2012), affirmed, 762 F.3d 1096 (10th Cir. 2014)
• Bel Courtyard Investments, Inc. v. Wolfe, 310 P.3d 747 (Utah Ct. App. 2013)
• Wilcox v. Career Step, LLC, No. 2:08-CV-0998, 2013 WL 838393 (D. Utah Mar. 6, 2013)
• Kenny v. Rich, 186 P.3d 989 (Utah Ct. App. 2008), cert. denied, 199 P.3d 970 (Utah 2008), cert. denied, 129 S. Ct. 1628 (2009)
• Ellsworth Paulsen Construction Co. v. 51-SPR-L.L.C., 144 P.3d 261 (Utah Ct. App. 2006), affirmed, 183 P.3d 248 (Utah 2008)
• Trugreen Companies, L.L.C. v. Mower Bros., No. 1:06CV00024, 2007 WL 1696860 (D. Utah June 8, 2007), certified question answered, 199 P.3d 929 (Utah 2008)
• Ashton v. Learnframe, Inc., 185 P.3d 1135 (Utah Ct. App. 2008), cert. denied, 199 P.3d 970 (Utah 2008), summary disposition granted, 2009 UT App 172
• Wadsworth Lake Park, LLC v. Spillman Technologies, Inc., 2009 UT App 210, 2010 UT App 210
• Walker v. Conquest Energy, Inc., No. 2:06CV872DAK, 2008 WL 4569875 (D. Utah Oct. 10, 2008)
• In re WorldCom, Inc., No. 02-13533 (AJG), 2007 WL 162782 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. Jan. 18, 2007)
• Phone Directories Co. v. Clark, 209 Fed. Appx. 808 (10th Cir. 2006)
• Commercial Concepts, Inc. v. Alon Enterprises, Ltd., No. 2:06-CV-782 TS, 2006 WL 3858278 (D. Utah Dec. 29, 2006)
• Aris Vision Institute, Inc. v. Wasatch Property Management, Inc., 143 P.3d 278 (Utah 2006), affirming 121 P.3d 24 (Utah Ct. App. 2005)
• Still Standing Stable, LLC v. Allen, 122 P.3d 556 (Utah 2005)
• Jacobsen Constr. Co. v. Teton Builders, 106 P.3d 719 (Utah 2005)