JULIE J. NELSON
Julie graduated from the University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law in 2003. After law school, Julie clerked for three years at the Utah Supreme Court and four years at the Utah Court of Appeals. Julie practiced appellate law at Zimmerman Booher for nine years before starting her own boutique firm specializing in family law appeals. She has been trained as a mediator and a private guardian ad litem through the Utah courts. She serves on the Rules of Professional Conduct Committee and the Legal Aid Society Board of Directors. She also serves as the Vice President of Family Law Executive Committee of the Utah State Bar and manages the Family Law Journal .
Julie is also a AAA Consumer Arbitrations panelist. In 2021, Julie Nelson was admitted to the roster of the American Arbitration Association’s Consumer Panel. As a law clerk for seven years, for four different judges on the Utah Supreme Court and the Utah Court of Appeals, she dealt with a wide scope of constitutional, statutory and common law issues, including employment, domestic, oil and gas, torts, medical malpractice, criminal, contract, property, and administrative law. As attorney and research assistant to an AAA arbitrator, she assisted with disputes involving constitutional takings; contract breaches, both domestic and international; wrongful franchise termination; intentional infliction of emotional distress; business torts; landlord-tenant disputes; arbitral division of $1.5 billion in assets of school district; interpretation of commercial insurance policy; claims of unfair trade practices and consumer fraud; and class action determinations. In her law practice, she deals with complex accounting issues and high-conflict matters in family law cases and has been the lawyer in more than two dozen mediations.
CAREER
EXPERIENCE
Present
Founding Partner, Julie J. Nelson Law
AAA Consumer Arbitrator
2012-2021
Appellate Attorney, Zimmerman Booher
2003-2005, 2007-2012
Judicial Law Clerk for
Justice Ronald E. Nehring, Utah Supreme Court
Judge J. Frederic Voros, Jr., Utah Court of Appeals
Judge Pamela T. Greenwood, Utah Court of Appeals
Judge Judith M. Billings, Utah Court of Appeals
RECOGNITION
2023
State of Utah Top 10 – National Academy of Family Law Attorneys
2021
Utah Education Association Honor Roll Award for service to education
2021
Legal Elite – Utah Business Magazine
2019-Present
Mountain States Super Lawyers
MEMBERSHIPS & COMMITTEES
January 2024 – Present
Ethics and Discipline Committee
2023 – Present
American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers
2022 – Present
American Bar Association
Association of Family and Conciliation Courts
2022 – 2023
Vice President, Utah State Bar Family Law Executive Committee
Family Law Journal
2019 – Present
Board Member, Utah State Bar Family Law Executive Committee
2019 – Present
Board Member, Legal Aid Society of Salt Lake
2019 – Present
Indigent Defense Commission Utah Appellate Roster – Child Welfare Appeals
2021 – 2023
Utah Supreme Court Advisory Committee on Rules of Professional Conduct
2017 – 2021
Utah Bar Diversion Committee
2015 – 2017
Women Lawyers of Utah, Various Committees
2003 – Present
Women Lawyers of Utah
Utah Bar Association
Salt Lake County Bar
REPRESENTATIVE CASES
In re A.G., 2022 UT App 126, clarifying that signature is required for voluntary relinquishment of parental rights
https://legacy.utcourts.gov/appopin/In%20re%20A.G…20221110_20210914_126.pdf
Knowles v. Knowles, 2022 UT App 47, clarifying alimony law and reversing trial court’s elimination of tithing as a marital expense
https://www.utcourts.gov/opinions/appopin/Knowles%20v.%20Knowles20220407_20200032_47.pdf
Wadsworth v. Wadsworth, 2022 UT App 28, addressing numerous complex financial issues
https://www.utcourts.gov/opinions/appopin/Wadsworth%20v.%20Wadsworth20220303_20190106_20200430_28.pdf
In re J.L., 2022 UT 12, reversing termination of parental rights, holding that juvenile court must consider the “particularized circumstances” of a family and whether permanent guardianship can protect and benefit children as well as termination
https://www.utcourts.gov/opinions/supopin/In%20re%20J.L…20220224.pdf
McQuarrie v. McQuarrie, 2021 UT 22, reversing court of appeals’ interpretation of decree regarding remarriage provision of alimony statute
https://www.utcourts.gov/opinions/supopin/McQuarrie%20v.%20McQuarrie20210617.pdf
Castro v. Lemus, 2019 UT 71; Olguin v. Anderton, 2019 UT 73; Mackley v. Openshaw, 2019 UT 74, winning three consolidated cases concerning paternity rights of biological fathers
https://www.utcourts.gov/opinions/supopin/Castro%20v.%20Lemus20191219_20180094_71.pdf
https://www.utcourts.gov/opinions/supopin/Olguin%20v.%20Anderton20191219_20180098_73.pdf
https://www.utcourts.gov/opinions/supopin/Mackley%20v.%20Openshaw20191219_20170001_74.pdf
In re Z.C.W., 2021 UT App 98 & In re C.C.W., 2019 UT App 34, twice reversing juvenile court’s application of termination statute in private termination petition
https://www.utcourts.gov/opinions/appopin/In%20re%20Z.C.W…20210923_20200039_98.pdf
https://www.utcourts.gov/opinions/appopin/In%20re%20C.C.W.20190307_20170360_34.pdf
Brown v. Brown, 2020 UT App 146, reversing district court determination of separate versus marital property
https://www.utcourts.gov/opinions/appopin/Brown%20v.%20Brown20201029_20190543_146.pdf
Hosking v. Chambers-Hosking, 2018 UT App 198, affirming district court determination that ex-wife was cohabiting
https://www.utcourts.gov/opinions/appopin/Hosking%20v.20Chambers20181012_20160444_193.pdf
Smith v. Smith, 2017 UT App 40, affirming district court property division and interpretation of trust document
https://www.utcourts.gov/opinions/appopin/Smith%20v.%20Smith20170302.pdf
Sawyer v. Workforce Services, 2015 UT 33, reversing Workforce Services’ determination regarding unemployment benefits for educator
https://www.utcourts.gov/opinions/supopin/Sawyer150206.pdf
EDUCATION
2003
University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law, J.D.
Staff Member, Utah Law Review
Traynor Moot Court
1999
University of Utah, Honors Bachelor of Arts, English
Phi Beta Kappa
Beehive Honor Society
PRESENTATIONS & PUBLICATIONS
2024
Alimony Changes by the 2024 Legislature, Invited Speaker, Utah State Bar, Family Law Section
2023
Judge’s Case Law Update, Invited Speaker, Utah State Bar, Family Law Section
Child Welfare, Termination of Parental Rights, and “Strictly Necessary”, Invited Speaker, Utah State Bar, Family Law Section
How to Avoid Being “Hometowned” – Practicing Family Law in the Various Districts, Invited Speaker, Utah State Bar, Family Law Section
QDRO, Moderator, Utah State Bar, Family Law Section
Case Law Update, Annual Family Law Seminar, Invited Speaker, Utah State Bar, Family Law Section
Recent Updates & Lessons for Practicing Family Law in our Utah Courts, Annual Summer Convention, Moderator, Utah State Bar
Improving Oral Advocacy Skills, Moderator, Utah State Bar
Case Discussion: Anderson v. Daggett School District, Invited Speaker, Utah Employment Lawyer’s Association
2022
Panel Discussion on Arbitration and Taylor v. Taylor, 2022 UT 35, Invited Speaker, Utah Fellows, American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers and the Family Law Section of the Utah Bar Thirty-first Annual David (“Sandy”) Dolowitz Utah AAML Seminar
Taylor v. Taylor: Arbitrating Divorces, Invited Speaker, American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers and the Family Law Section of the Utah Bar
A Dialogue on Rule 26 Issues and Updates, 2022 Spring Virtual Convention, Invited Speaker, Utah State Bar, Family Law Section
Case Law Update, Annual Family Law Seminar, Invited Speaker, Utah State Bar, Family Law Section
Family Law and the Court of Appeals, Invited Speaker, Davis County Bar, Family Law Section
Post Decree Issues – Rule 60/Fraud, Motions to Enforce, and Modifications, Family Law Lunch & Learns for Judges, Invited Speaker, Utah State Bar, Family Law Section
Moderated Panel with Family Law Experts, Spring Judicial Conference, Invited Speaker, Utah State Bar, Family Law Section
Alimony – Need, Ability to Pay, Ways to Divide the Deficit, Faulty, Under Employment Burden, Spring Judicial Conference, Invited Speaker, Utah State Bar, Family Law Section
2021
Judges Panel: Preserving the Record on Appeal and the Importance of Sufficient Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law, Invited Speaker, Utah Fellows, American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers and the Family Law Section of the Utah Bar Thirtieth Annual David (“Sandy”) Dolowitz Utah AAML Seminar
Case Law and Legislative Updates in Child Welfare and Delinquency Law, Invited Speaker, Utah State Bar, Juvenile Section
Annual Family Law Seminar, Invited Speaker, Utah State Bar, Family Law Section
Getting to Appeal III – Transitioning Civil Cases to Appeal, Invited Speaker, Utah State Bar, Appellate Practice Section
Getting to Appeal II – From Judgment to Appeal, Invited Speaker, Utah State Bar, Appellate Practice Section
Castro v. Lemus: Paternity on the ground after Castro v. Lemus, Invited Speaker, Utah State Bar, 2021 Spring Convention
2020
Case Law & Legislative Update, Invited Speaker, Utah State Bar, Family Law Section
Oral Arguments in Utah’s Appellate Courts during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Tips for argument by video conference, Invited Panelist, Utah State Bar, Appellate Practice Section
It’s Not Your Fault: A Look at Fault after Gardner v. Gardner, Invited Speaker, Utah State Bar, Family Law Section
2019
Preparing for Trial with a Strong Appeal: Special Considerations for Family Law and Child Welfare Practice, Invited Panelist, Utah State Bar, Family Law Section
Managing Your Career: Navigating Transitions, Invited Panelist, Utah State Bar, Women Lawyer’s Section
2016
Getting to Appeal, Invited Panelist, Utah State Bar, 2016 Spring Convention
2015
“Retiring: Justice Ronald E. Nehring,” Utah Bar Journal, Vol. 28, No. 1 (Co‑author with Noella A. Sudbury)
“Utah Appellate Law: Questions and Answers from the Clerk’s Office at the Utah Court of Appeals – Interview with Lisa Collins,” Utah Bar Journal, Vol. 28, No. 6
2014
“Appeals from Interlocutory Orders in the Utah Appellate Courts,” Utah Bar Journal, Vol. 27, No. 3
“Utah Appellate Law Update: Staying Enforcement of a Judgment During Post-Trial and Appellate Proceedings,” Utah Bar Journal, Vol. 27, No. 5 (Co-author with Clemens A. Landau)
COURT ADMISSIONS
United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
Supreme Court of Utah
United States District Court, District of Utah