This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.
Melinda Bowen
Of Counsel
Overview
Melinda Bowen loves collaborating with clients to address complex issues at the most difficult times of life. Her experience ranges from guiding families through difficult personal matters, to defending those facing criminal charges and related civil liability, to leading organizational clients through high-stakes disputes.
Melinda has consulted with individuals attempting to rebuild after divorce and other family challenges. She has represented white-collar criminal defendants accused of various charges, such as tax offenses, trade secret violations, and bribery. She has assisted professional clients whose reputations and licenses were at risk in the wake of government investigations and liability suits. She has worked in teams handling complex commercial litigation for corporate clients. She has also litigated on behalf of governmental entities facing constitutional challenges, employment issues, property tax appeals, and land use disputes. With diverse litigation experience over many years, Melinda has honed her ability to organize complicated cases in an understandable way and to present a client’s position in its most persuasive form.
Melinda spent the early years of her career at the firm before serving as a judicial law clerk for Judge Tena Campbell in the U.S. District Court for the District of Utah and for Judge Carolyn McHugh on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. After her clerkships, she had the opportunity to return to her alma mater, this time as a full-time professor teaching courses in criminal law and criminal procedure. Although Melinda enjoyed teaching, she missed working closely with clients to address legal needs in real-time. She therefore returned to practice, first as a civil litigator at the Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office and now back at the firm.
In addition to her work for clients, Melinda gives extensive time to promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion, both in the law and in the larger community. She regularly presents on these topics, mentors students of all ages, and assists with programs that provide resources to those with diverse identities as they navigate individual paths to professional careers.
Credentials
Education
- Brigham Young University – J. Reuben Clark School of Law, 2010 (J.D.)
- Brigham Young University, 2006 (B.S.)
Court Admissions
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
- U.S. District Court for the District of Utah
- Defended a county in consolidated appeals before the Utah State Tax Commission and succeeded in having all appeals denied, thus preserving tens of millions of dollars in tax revenue.
- Obtained favorable decisions from the Utah Antidiscrimination and Labor (UALD) and EEOC in proceedings against employer in case where employee was accused of rampant sexual harassment, discrimination, and retaliation.
- Reached positive resolution of land use dispute in which property owners challenged permits provided to neighboring residential rehabilitation facility.
- Prevailed on a motion for summary judgment in federal court, obtaining complete dismissal of claims against corporate client for employee’s death in accident caused by a third party. Decision was affirmed on appeal to the Tenth Circuit.
- Prevailed on motion for summary judgment on all claims against lawyer and law firm based on alleged breach of fiduciary duty and negligence. Decision was affirmed on appeal to the Utah Court of Appeals.
- Obtained favorable jury verdict and recovered damages in trespass action for client whose property had been significantly damaged.
- Obtained dismissal of all claims against client accused of Medicaid fraud in state agency proceedings.
- Utah Center for Legal Inclusion, President
- Envision Utah, Board Member
- Utah State Bar Character and Fitness Committee, Co-Chair
- Utah Supreme Court Advisory Committee on the Rules of Evidence, Member
- Utah State Courts Committee on Judicial Outreach, Member
- Women Lawyers of Utah CLE Committee, Member
- Utah Minority Bar Association, Former President
- Utah Appellate Courts Nominating Commission, Former Commissioner
- Utah State Courts Committee on Model Utah Criminal Jury Instructions, Former Member
- Utah State Bar Spring Convention, Former Co-Chair
- American Bar Foundation, Fellow
- “Racial Justice Series: Discussion of Solutions and Accountability to Violence and Fracturing in Our Community,” 2022
- “Cruel? Unusual? Excessive? The Latest in Constitutional Questions for Law Enforcement and Corrections,” Utah Prosecution Council Civil Practice Conference, 2022
- “Case Law Update: 2021 and 2022,” Utah Prosecution Council Civil Practice Conference, 2022
- “Work Relationship Health: Data-Driven Tips on Building Relationships from Mentees-Turned-Mentors,” Women Lawyers of Utah Retreat, 2022
- “Our Voices, Our Education,” Our World, J. Reuben Clark Law Society Women in Law Conference, 2020
- “Introduction to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the Legal Profession,” 2020-2021
- “Contemporary Fifth Amendment Issues in Utah Courts,” Annual Judicial Conference, 2019
- “A Diversity and Inclusion Initiative: Why It’s Needed and How to Get Involved,” Utah State Bar Fall Forum, 2016
- “Social Media and Cultural Bias Pitfalls,” Utah State Bar Tech Ethics CLE Series, 2015
- “To Ask or Not to Ask? Making the Most of Jury Questionnaires,” 8 DRI, The Whisper 7, 2012