Introduction:
D. Scott Crook’s law practice has focused largely in the areas of labor and employment law, where he has represented both large employers and highly compensated employees, executives, and professionals. Mr. Crook has won many trials, arbitrations, and appeals over his many years in private practice. He is consistently named as a Mountain State’s Super Lawyer and a member of Utah’s Legal Elite, and as one of the Best Lawyers in America in the area of Labor and Employment Litigation. Mr. Crook also has significant experience in all areas of civil litigation, real property litigation, probate litigation, land use, and water law; and he has extensive experience in appellate practice, having appeared and argued cases before the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals, Utah Supreme Court, and Utah Court of Appeals.
D. Scott Crook graduated from the J. Reuben Clark Law School at Brigham Young University in 1996, where he was Order of the Coif and graduated magna cum laude. In law school, Mr. Crook was also a staff member of the BYU Law Review and an associate editor of the BYU Journal of Public Law. After graduation, he served as a law clerk to two distinguished judges—from 1997 to 1998 he clerked for Judge Norman H. Jackson of the Utah Court of Appeals and from 1996 to 1997 he clerked for Judge William H. Woodland in the Idaho Sixth Judicial District Court. Since that time, Mr. Crook has been in private practice. Prior to forming Crook Legal Group PLLC, Mr. Crook was a founding partner and past president of a medium-sized Salt Lake City law firm and a member of another well-respected small law firm located in Salt Lake City.
Personal:
Mr. Crook, the son of a career military man, has lived throughout the United States, including stops in Arizona, Mississippi, Washington, California, and New Mexico. Because he lived for his entire teenage years in Alamogordo, New Mexico, he claims it as his home town. Mr. Crook currently resides in Centerville, Utah.
Mr. Crook enjoys spending time with his family, doing family history research, and sports.
Course Instruction/Publications:
Course Instruction
FLSA and Wage and Hour Compliance: What Employers Must Know (National Business Institute) (November 15, 2021)
Employment Discrimination Claims: Current Issues and New Tactics (National Business Institute) (November 9, 2021)
Mini Law School for Utah HR Professionals (National Business Institute) (October 28, 2021)
Human Resources Law Bootcamp (National Business Institute) (October 14, 2020)
Utah Employment Law (National Business Institute) (June 1-2, 2020)
Advanced Employment Law: What You Need to Know (National Business Institute) (June 12, 2019)
“Don’t Get Smoked”-The Impact of Utah’s New Medical Marijuana Law on Public Employers (NFP Utah) (April 3, 2019)
Human Resources Law from A to Z (National Business Institute) (March 19, 2019)
Employment Law: Advanced Issues and Answers (National Business Institute) (June 20, 2018)
Utah Employment Law (National Business Institute) (June 19, 2017)
Advanced Employment Law: What You Need to Know (National Business Institute) (December 6, 2016)
Attorney's Guide to Local Government Law (National Business Institute) (May 13, 2016)
Advanced Employment Law-Working through Common Problems (National Business Institute) (June 24, 2015)
Legal Updates (Utah Association of Counties, Human Resources/Personnel) (November 13, 2013)
Strategic Discovery Practice: Putting a Plan in Place & Effective Deposition Practice (National District Attorneys Association) (May 23, 2013)
Legal Issues Involving Local Governments (National Business Institute) (April 23, 2013)
Boundary Disputes: Determining Ownership When Lines are Blurred (National Business Institute) (May 14, 2012)
Find it Free and Fast on the Net: Strategies for Legal Research on the Web (National Business Institute) (April 13, 2012)
Employment Law Update, (Utah Municipal Attorneys Association) (May 4, 2011)
Employment Laws Made Simple (National Business Institute) (April 21, 2010)
ADA Amendments Act of 2009: New Definitions and Challenges (National Business Institute) (December 7, 2009)
Employment Law Alphabet Soup (National Business Institute) (June 24, 2009)
Nuts & Bolts of Workplace Investigations (National Business Institute) (October 3, 2007)
Employment Laws Made Simple (National Business Institute) (April 5, 2007)
Small Office Management for the Legal Professional (National Business Institute) (November 3, 2006)
Secrets to a Legally Compliant Human Resource Recordkeeping System (National Business Institute) (January 9, 2006)
Boundary Disputes Trial Preparation and Litigation (National Business Institute) (February 4, 2008)
Road and Access Law: Successfully Handling Disputes (National Business Institute) (November 7, 2007)
Easement and Boundary Issues in Utah (Lorman) (June 23, 2005)
Roads and Access Law in Utah: How to Research and Resolve Access Disputes (National Business Institute) (March 9, 2004)
Roads and Access Law in Utah: How to Research and Resolve Access Disputes (National Business Institute) (January 16, 2003)
Publications
Affirming the Untested—Affirming a Trial Court Based on Issues Raised Sua Sponte, Utah Bar Journal, Oct. 2001, at 10
State v. Davis: Peremptory Strikes and Religion—The Unworkable Peremptory Challenge Jurisprudence, 9 B.Y.U.J. Pub. Law 309 (1995)
Blog:
The Utah Employment Lawyer, theutahemploymentlawyer.blogspot.com (2009 to Present)
Notable Cases:
Dixon v. Pro Image, 987 P.2d 48 (Utah 1999)
Southland Construction v. Semnani, 2001 UT 6, 20 P.3d 875 (Utah 2001)
SME Industries, Inc. v. Thompson, Ventulett, Stainbeck & Associates, Inc., 2001 UT 54, 28 P.3d 669 (Utah 2001)
Guardian Title Co. v. Mitchell, 2002 UT 63, 54 P.3d 130 (Utah 2002)
Green River Canal Company v. Thayn, 2003 UT 50, 84 P.3d 1134 (Utah 2003)
Bradshaw v. Wilkinson Water Co., 2004 UT 38, 94 P.3d 242 (Utah 2004)
Swan Creek Village Homeowners Ass’n v. Warne, 2006 UT 22, 134 P.3d 1122 (Utah 2006)
Newton v. Federal Aviation Administration, 457 F.3d 1133 (10th Cir. 2006)
Wayment v. Howard, 2006 UT 56, 144 P.3d 1147 (Utah 2006)
Radakovich v. Cornaby, 2006 UT App 454 (Utah Ct. App. 2006)
Ellsworth v. American Arbitration Association, 2006 UT 77 (Utah 2007)
Newton v. Utah Air National Guard, 668 F. Supp. 2d 1290 (D. Utah 2010)
Wasatch Oil & Gas, LLC v. Reott, 2011 UT App 152, 263 P.3d 391
Carbon County v. Department of Workforce Services, 2012 UT App 4, 269 P.3d 969
Carbon County v. Workforce Appeals Board, 2013 UT 41, 308 P.3d 477
Krejci v. City of Saratoga Springs, 2013 UT 74, 322 P.3d 662
White v. Jeppson, 2014 UT App 90, 325 P.3d 888
Rehn v. Christensen, 2017 UT App 21, 392 P.3d 872
Williams v. FedEx Corporate Services, 849 F.3d 889 (10th Cir. 2017)
Jessup v. Five Star Franchising LLC, 2022 UT App 86
Diversified Striping Sys. v. Kraus, 2022 UT App 91
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Cases—January 15th through 21st, 2023 https://t.co/C6jvD5JICn https://t.co/FQ4PlAdcRr
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Cases—January 8th through 14th, 2023 https://t.co/LHYQWMxJX0
Practice Areas:
Employment and Labor
Commercial/Business and Civil Litigation
Land Use/Real Estate
Appellate Practice
Water
Professional Distinctions:
Best Lawyers in America, 2013-2023
•Litigation – Labor and Employment
Mountain States Super Lawyer, 2011-2022
•Employment and Labor
Utah Legal Elite
•Labor and Employment, 2005-2012, 2016, 2018-2022
•Business Litigation, 2006
•Civil Litigation, 2013-2015
Mountain States Super Lawyer, Rising Star, 2008-2009
•Employment and Labor
Education:
J. Reuben Clark Law School, Brigham Young University
Juris Doctor, Provo, Utah, 1996
Order of the Coif
Graduated Magna Cum Laude
Top 10% of graduating class
Brigham Young University Law Review Staff Member 1995-96
BYU Journal of Public Law Associate Editor 1994-95
Law School Scholarly Writing Award 1996
Foundation Press Award for Excellence in Constitutional Law 1995
Law School Scholastic Award 1995
Studied Chinese law at the East China University of Politics and Law 1995.
Weber State University
Bachelor of Arts, Ogden, Utah, 1993
Graduated Summa Cum Laude
Phi Kappa Phi
Political Science Outstanding Academic Achievement Award 1993
Model United Nations Delegate at the Model United Nations of the Far West
Includes one year of study at New Mexico State University-Alamogordo
Professional Memberships:
Utah State Bar, 1996
Solo Small Firm & Rural Practice
Employment and Labor Section
Appellate Practice Section, including a term as Chair
Litigation Section
Idaho State Bar, 1997
Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals Bar, 2003
United States Supreme Court Bar, 2000
Society of Human Resources Managers