Lawyer Overview

James Blanch has been a member of the Litigation department since 1993. James maintains a general civil litigation practice encompassing numerous subject areas. He places particular emphasis in his practice on qui tam litigation under the False Claims Act, plaintiffs' personal injury/wrongful death litigation, plaintiffs' medical malpractice and products liability litigation, defamation litigation, section 1983 litigation and commercial litigation. James has defended a number of attorneys in actions involving the application of the judicial proceeding privilege; he represented the prevailing party in the most recent Utah Supreme Court case discussing the elements of that privilege. James was a key member of the litigation team in the largest defense industry qui tam case in Utah and has more recently litigated several health care False Claims Act cases.  James is active in several professional activities and organizations and served as president of the Salt Lake County Bar Association for 2004-2005. He is the chairman of the firm's hiring committee.

Related Activities and Skills:

• American Inns of Court, Vice-President, 2007-2008, Executive Committee, 2006-present
• Salt Lake County Bar Association, President, 2004-2005, Executive Committee, 1997-2005
• Utah Supreme Court Advisory Committee on the Rules of Civil Procedure

Areas of Practice

• Personal Injury Litigation - Plaintiff
• Medical Malpractice Litigation - Plaintiff
• False Claims Litigation
• Qui Tam
• Commercial Litigation
• Litigation & Appeals
• Intellectual Property Litigation
• Patent Litigation
• Trademarks & Trade Dress Litigation
• Employment Law - Employer
• Whistleblower Complaints
• Health & Life Sciences Law
• Insurance Coverage Litigation
• Real Estate Litigation
• Media & First Amendment
• Political & Governmental Law

Representative Cases

• Dummar v. Lummis, 2007 WL 81808 (D. Utah 2007)
• U.S. ex rel. McElderry v. Praxair Healthcare Services, Inc., 2006 WL 3421839 (D. Utah 2006)
• U.S. ex rel. Sikkenga v. Regence Bluecross Blueshield of Utah, 472 F.3d 702 (10th Cir. 2006)
• Zoller Laboratories, LLC v. NBTY, Inc., 111 Fed. Appx. 978 (10th Cir 2004)
• Krouse v. Bower, 28, 20 P.3d 895 (Utah 2001)
• DeBry v. Godbe, 111, 992 P.2d 979 (Utah 1999)
• Salt Lake County Commission v. Salt Lake County Attorney, 73, 985 P.2d 899 (Utah 1999)
• Stephens v. Bonneville Travel, Inc., 935 P.2d 518 (Utah 1997)
• U.S. ex rel. Colunga v. Hercules, 929 F. Supp. 1418 (D. Utah 1996)

West Practice Categories

Election Campaign & Political Law, Employment Law -- Employer, Government Agencies & Programs, Intellectual Property Law, Litigation & Appeals, State, Local & Municipal Law

Bar Admissions

• U.S. District Court District of Utah, 1993
• Utah, 1993
• U.S. Court of Appeals 10th Circuit, 2004

Classes and Seminars

• "Discovery in the Electronic Age" panel presentation, Federal Bar Association Tri-State Seminar, Park City, Utah, 2007
• "Letters Threatening Litigation: How Far Can You Go Before You Get Your Client (or You!) Sued?", Parsons Behle & Latimer, 2000
• "Motion Practice", Utah State Bar New Lawyer Continuing Education Workshop, 1998
• "False Claims Act Seminar", Parsons Behle & Latimer, 1994

Education

• Harvard Law School, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1993
  J.D. degree
  Honors: cum laude
• University of Virginia, 1990
  B.A. degree
  Honors: magna cum laude

Published Works

• Citizen Suits and Qui Tam Actions: Private Enforcement of Public Policy, National Legal Center for the Public Interest, Co-authors Benedict S. Cohen, Stuart M. Gerson, & Evan Slavitt, 1996
• The Constitutionality of the False Claims Act's Qui Tam Provision, Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy, Vol. 16, No. 3, Autumn, 1993

Address

201 South Main Street
Suite 1800
Salt Lake City, UT 84111-2218

Phones

801-532-1234

Faxes

801-536-6111

Emails

Contact Us

Websites

http://www.parsonsbehlelaw.com