News
05.09.2012
Scott McCullough has been elected to serve as the Chair of the Utah State Bar Estate Planning Section for 2012-2013. Scott’s practice includes tax, estate and business planning – including the creation of wills and trusts, probate, creation of business entities, asset protection strategies and charitable or tax exempt organizations. Scott assists clients in a broad range of situations to minimize taxes, protect business and personal assets, and plan for the needs of their businesses and families in the future.
05.02.2012
On May 8, 2012, Mark Morrise will speak to the Estate Planning Section of the Utah State Bar. His topic will be “10 Ways to Add Flexibility to Irrevocable Trusts.”
04.27.2012
On Friday, May 4th, 2012, Mike Stanger will be a panelist at the Fifth Annual Southern Utah Federal Law Symposium to be held in St. George. The title of the panel presentation will be “How to File and Defend a Charge of Discrimination.” Mr. Stanger will address employer defense strategy when faced with a Charge of Discrimination. The firm is also a sponsor of the symposium; agenda and additional information on the symposium can be viewed here.
04.19.2012
Congratulations to Jim Gilson on his reelection as a Commissioner for the Utah State Bar. We really appreciate Jim’s good work and the time he donates to serve the Bar.
04.18.2012
On Tuesday, May 1, 2012, Mark Morrise will speak to the Salt Lake Chapter of the Society of Financial Service Professionals. The title of his presentation is “What Clients Want: The Flexible Irrevocable Trust.”
04.10.2012
Laurie Hart and Scott McCullough were presenters at the Utah State Bar’s Intermediate Seminar on Estate Planning held on April 12, 2012. Scott and Laurie are frequent speakers to both professional and public groups regarding estate planning, probate and business creation issues. Laurie and Scott also write extensively about these topics.
03.22.2012
On March 26, 2012, Damon E. Coombs will be a speaker at the NBI Seminar for Helping Your Client Buy or Sell a Small-to-Medium Sized Business. Damon will be speaking on tax savings strategies during acquisitions covering the following agenda: allocation of purchase price; use of consulting agreements; personal goodwill and entity level goodwill; tax-free reorganizations; deductibility of acquisition expense; preserving tax characterization on Audit.
Damon is a shareholder with the firm where he provides general representation for both publicly held and privately held business entities. His practice also includes business finance, real estate, tax and estate planning, and labor and employment.
03.14.2012
On March 9th and 10th, Mark Morrise attended a Leadership Development Conference for the Society of Financial Service Professionals held in Phoenix, Arizona. Mark is a third-year Board Member of the Utah Chapter of the Society of Financial Service Professionals.
On March 13th, Scott McCullough and Mark Morrise presented at a half-day seminar, “Estate Planning Basics,” hosted by LawReviewCLE in Salt Lake City.
03.07.2012
Jim Gilson, Mark Callister and Tayler Fox drafted and submitted a brief on behalf of MERS (Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc.) that substantially assisted in a favorable decision for MERS by the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals in December 2011. The Court ruled that the securitization of mortgage loans does not prevent the holder of a trust deed, or its agent, from enforcing its security interest in a borrower’s property, including through foreclosure.
In Commonwealth Property Advocates, LLC v. Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc. et al., — F.3d —-, 2011 WL 6739431, the Tenth Circuit consolidated three similar appeals brought by Commonwealth Property Advocates, LLC (“CPA”) seeking to prevent certain banks, or their agent, MERS, from foreclosing on borrowers who had defaulted on their loans. CPA argued that the banks and MERS lost any enforceable interest in the mortgage loans once they had been pooled and sold as mortgage-backed securities. The Tenth Circuit rejected CPA’s arguments and upheld the rights of the banks and MERS to foreclose on securitized mortgage loans. The brief on behalf of MERS was filed in one of the three consolidated cases decided by this case, which has now set a precedent in the Tenth Circuit on this developing legal issue. You can read the Court’s decision here.
Jim Gilson and Tayler Fox have substantial experience in lender liability and foreclosure litigation defense at both the district and appellate court levels and have successfully represented national and local banks against claims of wrongful foreclosure and lending practices related to sub-prime loans, securitized mortgages, transfers of debts, loan workouts, and servicing of loans.
01.27.2012
We are pleased to announce that the following attorneys have been chosen by their peers as one of Utah Business magazine’s 2012 Utah Legal Elite:
- Brian W. Burnett, Energy/Natural Resources
- Cass C. Butler, Construction
- Mark L. Callister, Civil Litigation
- James D. Gilson, Civil Litigation
- Andrew L. Howell, Estate Planning
- W. Waldan Lloyd, Corporate Law and Transactions
- Leland McCullough, Estate Planning
- Jeffrey L. Shields, Bankruptcy/Workout
- Zachary T. Shields, Bankruptcy/Workout
10.25.2011
The firm is pleased to announce that Jeff Clayton has accepted an appointment as the Area Legal Counsel for the Africa Southeast Area for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Jeff and his wife, Marge, will be moving to Johannesburg, South Africa, in November 2011 for a term of at least 3 years. We wish Jeff and Marge all the best as they embark on this adventure.
09.21.2011
The firm wishes to recognize Brian Burnett for recently being appointed Chair of the Administrative Law Section of the Utah State Bar for 2011-12. Michael Walch was also recently appointed Chair of the Native American Law subcommittee of the Energy, Natural Resources, and Environmental Law Section. And Jim Gilson was appointed as Co-Chair of the Utah Supreme Court Committee on New Lawyer Training as well as appointed to the Executive Committee of the Utah Bar Commission.
07.21.2011
The firm is pleased to announce that Steve Mecham has been called to serve as the President of the Micronesia Guam Mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Steve will be on a leave of absence from the firm until July 2014. We wish Steve and his wife Angela well as they embark on their mission.
06.20.2011
Callister Nebeker & McCullough is pleased to announce that the following attorneys have been selected as Super Lawyers on the 2011 Mountain States Super Lawyers List:
- Brian W. Burnett, Energy & Natural Resources, Environmental, Utilities
- Cass C. Butler, Construction/Surety, Employment & Labor
- Mark L. Callister, Business Litigation, Intellectual Property Litigation, Antitrust Litigation
- T. Richard Davis, Real Estate
- James D. Gilson, Business Litigation, Criminal Defense: White Collar, General Litigation
- Laurie S. Hart, Communications, Estate Planning & Probate, Business/Corporate
- W. Waldan Lloyd, Employee Benefits/ERISA
- Leland S. McCullough, Jr., Estate Planning & Probate
- Jeffrey L. Shields, Bankruptcy & Creditor/Debtor Rights, Business Litigation
And the following attorneys have been selected as Rising Stars:
- Michael D. Stanger, Employment & Labor, Business Litigation
- David R. York, Estate Planning & Probate, Tax, Non-Profit