John J. Nielsen

John has a wide range of experience litigating both civil and criminal cases, in both trial and appellate courts, at both the state and federal levels. Before joining Schaerr | Jaffe, he was a shareholder in the appellate boutique firm Lee|Nielsen, founded with Thomas R. Lee, former Associate Chief Justice of the Utah Supreme Court. John’s work in private practice has included constitutional, employment, tort, patent, trademark, criminal, municipal, contract, and other matters. Before entering private practice, John was an Assistant Solicitor General in the Utah Attorney General’s Office, where he litigated criminal appeals, state postconviction cases, and federal habeas claims for eleven years. He has litigated more than 100 appeals and argued in appellate courts more than 70 times. During his time as an Assistant SG, John drafted in whole or in part six amicus briefs in the United States Supreme Court and was a fellow at the National Association of Attorneys General Supreme Court Center. Before joining the Utah Attorney General’s Office, John was a Deputy Utah County attorney for four years, prosecuting all manner of criminal cases for four years, and doing numerous jury trials. John has taught law school courses on appellate practice and legal rhetoric and reasoning at the S.J. Quinney Law School (University of Utah) and appellate brief writing at the J. Reuben Clark Law School (Brigham Young University). He is also an active poster on the Appellate Advocacy Blog.