Manning Curtis Bradshaw & Bednar PLLC ("MCBB") formed in May of 1997. Our lawyers are trial lawyers, concentrating in complex commercial litigation, including labor and employment, securities, antitrust, class actions, product liability, and insurance defense, government defense, intellectual property, real property, environmental and insurance coverage. Although we’re primarily a litigation firm, our lawyers have transactional expertise and frequently provide counseling and advice on transactional matters and handle complex business transactions on a case-by-case basis. Our clients are clients of the firm.
Our practice:
MCBB assigns lawyers to efficiently and effectively pursue cases based on the clients’ needs and our expertise. MCBB provides its clients with successful legal outcomes at favorable rates. We understand and care for our clients’ bottom line. Our clients’ interests are our interests.
We practice before all state and federal courts in Utah and in surrounding states. We also have significant experience in administrative hearings. Lawyers in our office are admitted to practice in the state and federal courts of Idaho and Utah. We frequently practice in courts across the country on a per-case basis.
Firm history:
MCBB was founded by the four name partners, Brent V. Manning, LeGrand R. Curtis, Jr., Alan C. Bradshaw and Steven C. Bednar, who are graduates of Harvard, the University of Michigan, the University of Utah and Brigham Young University Law School, respectively. Prior to creating MCBB, the four named partners constituted the litigation department of the Salt Lake City office of one of the region’s largest elite law firms.
Most of our lawyers served as editors of their school’s law reviews and a majority completed judicial clerkships with the United States Circuit Court, United States District Court, the Utah Supreme Court, or the Utah Court of Appeals.
Representative clients:
We’re proud to have worked with clients across an incredibly diverse range of industries, from healthcare to automotive, insurance, hotels and resorts, oil and gas, professional services, real estate, construction, sports and entertainment, and more.
MCBB represents or has represented many noteworthy businesses, such as Admiral Beverage Company, AON plc, Avalon Health Care, Barrick Gold of North America, Inc., Blender Bottle, British Petroleum, CHG Healthcare Services, Inc., Cinemark, EnergySolutions, Franklin Covey Co., Grand America Hotels & Resorts, IM Flash, Intermountain Healthcare, LifeVantage Corp., Montage Deer Valley, R.C. Willey Home Furnishings, SelectHealth, Sinclair Oil Corporation, Smith’s Food & Drug Centers, Inc., Snowbasin, Stein Ericksen Lodge, Sun Valley Company, Target Corporation, Subway Restaurants, and Workfront, Inc.
Pro bono & “low bono:”
Using our powers for good.
MCBB believes that pro bono, “low bono” and other community service activities are an important professional responsibility. The firm is committed to the principles articulated by the ABA that "the basic responsibility for providing legal services for those unable to pay ultimately rests upon the individual lawyer" and that "every lawyer, regardless of professional prominence or professional workload, should find time to participate in serving the disadvantaged."
The firm’s actions demonstrate this commitment. Financially, MCBB helps support community legal aid efforts through the “and JUSTICE for all” campaign, a joint fundraising effort on behalf of Utah Legal Aid, Utah Legal Services, Inc., and the Utah Disability Law Center.
Although we give generously, MCBB’s real distinction is in our in-house pro bono and community service efforts. Time spent working in community service and on pro bono issues are “equal” time and are an important consideration in partnership evaluation and compensation decisions. We actively seek engagements and appointments in pro bono matters, often in cases involving difficult and groundbreaking legal issues, and staff and litigate those matters as we do any others. When MCBB undertakes pro bono representation, the client becomes a firm client and we assure that the client receives quality representation.
Some of our notable pro bono representations, community activities and awards include:
PERMANENT RESIDENT SPARED DEPORTATION
In 2017, the Ninth Circuit appointed MCBB to represent a Sikh permanent resident challenging an order of deportation to India. They briefed and argued an appeal of that deportation order to a Ninth Circuit panel. In December 2020, the Ninth Circuit reversed the Bureau of Immigration Appeals and ruled in Mr. Sodhi’s favor.
PRISON INMATE REPRESENTED
In March 2016, MCBB attorneys, were spotlighted in the local news media for their pro bono representation of a former inmate of the Utah State Prison.
PRO BONO FIRM OF THE YEAR + SERVING AS COUNSEL IN FIRST AMENDMENT TRIAL
MCBB was recognized by the Federal Bar Association – Utah Chapter’s Pro Bono Firm of the Year in 2011. That same year, MCBB was counsel in an important First Amendment trial that established the right of visual artists to sell their original artwork on public property. Shaun L. Christensen v. Park City Municipal Corporation, United States District Court, District of Utah, Case No. 2:06-CV-202.
REPRESENTED GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE IN LANDMARK E-SIGNATURE CASE
MCBB successfully represented Independent Gubernatorial Candidate Farley Anderson in a landmark e-signature case before the Utah Supreme Court. This is believed to be the first ruling on this issue in the nation. The Utah Supreme Court ruled that the Lieutenant Governor could not exclude electronic ballot access signatures submitted to him by Independent Gubernatorial Candidate Farley Anderson. MCBB successfully argued that Utah statutes and common law require the Lieutenant Governor to accept any mark, electronic or holographic, made by a citizen with the intent to make it his signature. This decision by the Utah Supreme Court may pave the way for other courts to require acceptance of electronic signatures in connection with candidate petitions and petitions for initiatives or referenda, thereby expanding citizen participation in the electoral process.
SERVED AS CLASS COUNSEL FOR CITIZENS DENIED SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY BENEFITS
In the Goodnight v. Chater litigation, MCBB was class counsel to a class of more than 5000 persons whose Social Security disability claims were denied. One of the reported decisions can be found at 960 F. Supp. 1538 (D. Utah 1997). At the time of the settlement, the Social Security Administration estimated it would pay back benefits of $22 million plus future benefits as a result of the settlement.
MCBB’s lawyers have provided pro bono representation in guardianship and adoption proceedings, protective orders, landlord-tenant disputes, environmental issues, consumer protection issues, and as general counsel for various nonprofit organizations. We were the first law firm partner in the University of Utah’s Pro Bono Initiative, in which law students work with local attorneys on pro bono projects.
MCBB’s lawyers have served as board members or regular volunteers for a variety of nonprofit and service organizations, including “and JUSTICE for all”, Emerging Legal Leaders, Utah Health and Human Rights Project, Salt Lake County Bar, Salt Lake Arts Academy, and Mountain West Ballet. MCBB has sponsored numerous local community groups, including a local road bike racing team and high school sports teams.
Work at MCBB.
The who, the why, and the how.
At MCBB, the quality of our work and client base are decidedly big firm—but virtually everything else is different. We have few rules, no bureaucracy, and very high expectations of ourselves and others. We recruit lawyers who are interested in litigation, self-directed, ambitious, and dedicated to making a difference in the community and the profession.
MCBB offers the ability to do the highest quality work in an environment that fosters and rewards individual initiative and creativity. New lawyers are given early and significant responsibility, but also work closely with senior attorneys and receive significant formal and informal training and mentoring.
What it takes
Although stellar academic achievement and a strong work ethic are essential prerequisites, we look for much more. We expect all of our lawyers to dedicate themselves to cultivating a complete legal skill set. We do not recruit “office lawyers.” We look for people who have top-notch analytical and writing skills, but also strong social, emotional and leadership attributes; people with the ability to be just as persuasive in conversation as they are in writing.
And while we look for candidates with extraordinary professional skills, we also want to associate with people who have interests and abilities outside of the profession. We are all citizens of the community, and we have chosen to live and work in a community that offers unparalleled recreational and civic opportunities. We enjoy our lives, both professionally and personally, and we believe that a lawyer’s professional skill and accomplishment need not come at the expense of personal interests and pursuits. If you share our philosophy, we want to talk to you.
Compensation and benefits
MCBB offers top of the market compensation and benefits because we want to attract and keep the very best legal talent who are committed to maintaining MCBB’s reputation as one of the best law firms in the region. Benefits include profit sharing, a 401(k) plan with a matching program, health, vision, dental and life insurance, and discretionary bonuses.
Law students:
MCBB typically accepts Summer Associate applications only for 2L Summer Associates. 1L Summer Associates are rare and considered on a case-by-case basis. We accept resume collections from many of the top-tier law schools and we also conduct on-campus interviews at the S.J. Quinney College of Law at the University of Utah and the J. Rueben Clark College of Law at Brigham Young University.
Applicants should have strong academic credentials in both undergraduate and law school institutions, distinctions in extracurricular activities such as law journals and competitive law school skills programs, and a demonstrated interest in public service and other significant non-academic pursuits. If you are interested in applying for a Summer Associate position at MCBB, please send a cover letter, resume, law school transcript and writing sample of your original work to Mitch M. Longson and Matthew D. Church at mlongson@mc2b.com and mchurch@mc2b.com.
Lateral candidates:
MCBB accepts and reviews applications from top-notch lateral candidates who meet our criteria for law school accomplishments and have distinguished themselves following graduation from law school through experiences such as significant complex litigation experience at a highly reputable firm and judicial clerkships. If you are interested in applying for an Associate position at MCBB, please send a cover letter, resume, law school transcript and writing sample of your original work to Mitch M. Longson and Matthew D. Church at mlongson@mc2b.com and mchurch@mc2b.com.
We are committed to our nondiscrimination policy as well as our DEI efforts.
MCBB does not discriminate on the basis of race, age, sex, disability, national origin, sexual orientation or religion. We encourage applications from all qualified and highly motivated individuals. We are also deeply committed advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in our practice and beyond.