CHAD R. DERUM

PARTNER

801-303-0047 | cderum@mc2b.com

PRACTICE AREAS:
Labor & Employment, Business Litigation, Appellate Law, Intellectual Property & Technology

Chad R. Derum is a partner at Manning Curtis Bradshaw & Bednar. Mr. Derum is a business lawyer, focusing his practice on difficult commercial cases and employment-related matters. His practice spans state and federal courts and includes extensive arbitration experience. 

Mr. Derum frequently represents both companies and individuals in high-stakes business disputes, particularly matters involving closely held corporations and limited liability companies. Mr. Derum has also obtained tangible results, including obtaining one of Utah’s largest civil jury verdicts—more than $37 million—in his client’s dispute with one of the world’s largest medical device manufacturers. The case, which involved complex intellectual property licensing issues, resulted in jury verdicts on fraud and breach of contract totaling $25 million, in addition to a $12 million punitive damages award. 

Mr. Derum also litigates, and consults on, a wide variety of employment-related matters. These include representing businesses against claims brought under state and federal employment statutes. Mr. Derum also frequently represents executives and professionals navigating employment transitions, including those seeking advice on existing obligations and future opportunities.

At the intersection of his commercial litigation and employment practices, Mr. Derum has extensive experience representing both employers and employees in litigating non-competition, non-solicitation, and trade secret disputes.

Mr. Derum has earned recognition as a Mountain States Super Lawyer, a member of Utah Business’ Legal Elite, an AV-Preeminent Rating from Martindale Hubbell and inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America.

EDUCATION

  • J.D., University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law (2002)

    • Articles Editor, Utah Law Review

    • William H. Leary Scholar

    • National Moot Court Team

    • Stephen Pierre Traynor Legal Writing Prize

  • B.A., Loyola Marymount University, cum laude (1995)

CLERKSHIP

  • Law Clerk to Chief Justice Christine M. Durham, Utah Supreme Court (2002-2003)

LICENSES AND ADMISSIONS

  • Utah (2002)

  • Supreme Court of the United States

  • United States District Court for the District of Utah

  • United States Court of Appeals, Tenth Circuit

  • United States Court of Federal Claims

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS AND ACTIVITIES

  • Executive Committee of the Utah State Bar Appellate Law Section (2011-2016)

  • Chair, Utah State Bar Constitutional Law Section (2008-2009)

  • Executive Committee of the Young Lawyers Division of the Utah State Bar (2004-2008)

  • Member, American Inns of Court, David K. Watkiss – Sutherland II Inn of Court

PROFESSIONAL RECOGNITIONS AND HONORS

  • AV Rated, Martindale-Hubbell®, Litigation, Commercial Law and Labor and Employment

  • The Best Lawyers in America®,

    • Commercial Litigation (2018-2025)

    • Labor Law - Management (2024-2025)

    • Litigation - Labor and Employment (2016-2025)

  • Benchmark Litigation, Future Star (2013-2014, 2016, 2018, 2021-2025)

  • Mountain States Super Lawyer®, Business Litigation and Employment & Labor (2013-2022)

  • Mountain States Super Lawyer®, Rising Star (2008, 2011, 2012)

  • Utah Business magazine, Utah’s Legal Elite, Business Litigation (2013-2017)

PUBLICATIONS

  • Chad Derum & Karen Engle, The Rise of the Personal Animosity Presumption in Title VII and the Return to “No Cause” Employment, 81 Texas L. Rev. 1177 (2003)

  • Chad R. Derum, Practicing to Practice: Scholastic Debate as Law-Related Education, Utah Bar Journal March/April 2007

SEMINARS AND PRESENTATIONS

  • National Business Institute – Salt Lake City, Utah March 27, 2015, “Everything You Don’t Know About E-Discovery But Wish You Did”

  • National Business Institute – Salt Lake City, Utah 2014 – “Representing Your Client in Federal Court”

COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES

In addition to his professional affiliations, Mr. Derum serves on the board of directors of Urban Food Connections of Utah, a 501(c)(3) organization that operates Salt Lake’s long-running Downtown Farmers Market and other programs connecting local food producers with Utah communities. He also serves on the Leadership Committee of “and Justice for all,” which brings Utah’s legal community together to support free civil legal aid programs that help vulnerable Utahns. Mr. Derum has also served as a member of Salt Lake Modern, a committee of Preservation Utah (formerly the Utah Heritage Foundation), which promotes preservation of and education about mid-century modern architecture in Utah. Mr. Derum is a past member of the board of directors of Brolly Arts, a Utah-based non-profit organization that promotes interdisciplinary arts projects. As a member of the Executive Committee of the Utah State Bar’s Young Lawyers Division, Mr. Derum founded the annual Young Lawyers Debate Tournament for high school students and has worked to promote tutoring programs for Utah elementary school students. Mr. Derum is an avid runner, cyclist, and skier.