Randall K. Edwards, Attorney at Law

Education

University of Utah; Juris Doctor 1982

Brigham Young University; B.A., Journalism 1979

Judicial law clerk for Justice Thomas L. Steffen, Nevada Supreme Court 1982-1983

Licensed to practice law in

Utah

California

Nevada

Arizona

Experience

Randall K. Edwards has a wealth of experience both as a trial lawyer and as a counselor and planner.  After years of working in both the public sector (in both the Salt Lake City, Utah City Attorney’s Office and the Reno, Nevada, City Attorney’s Office) and in private practice in Nevada and Utah, Mr. Edwards opened the Law Office of Randall K. Edwards, a firm that truly defines the title “Attorney and Counselor At Law.”  As an attorney – literally one who represents the interest of another – Mr. Edwards has participated in trials, appeals, administrative hearings, arbitrations and mediations.  As a counselor – one who advises another on the best course of action to take in a particular circumstance – Mr. Edwards counsels clients on a myriad of legal issues.

Attorney at Law

Licensed in the states of Utah, California, Nevada and Arizona, Mr. Edwards has handled complex negotiations and lawsuits that include the following:

As counsel for the Libertarian Party of Nevada, Mr. Edwards succeeded in having the Nevada statutes on ballot access for minority political parties declared unconstitutional.

As Chief Deputy City Attorney for the City of Reno, Mr. Edwards successfully defended the largest public works project in Northern Nevada – a railroad trench through the heart of the City – against challenge by special interest groups opposed to the project.  The case was ultimately decided in the City of Reno’s favor by the Nevada Supreme Court.

As an appellate lawyer, Mr. Edwards has briefed and argued a host of cases before various appellate courts, including the Supreme Courts of Nevada and Utah.  At the outset of his career, Mr. Edwards was a judicial law clerk for the Supreme Court of Nevada.

In a jury trial in Arizona Superior Court in Phoenix, Arizona, Mr. Edwards successfully defended a manufacturer against a breach of employment contract claim brought by a former employee – and was awarded attorney’s fees as a result.

In a two-month jury trial, Mr. Edwards represented a Brazilian product distributor in a lawsuit brought against companies based in the U.S. and Brazil.  The trial resulted in a sizeable confidential settlement while the jury was deliberating. 

Mr. Edwards represented the family of a two-year-old child killed in Clark County, Nevada, when the vehicle in which the baby was a passenger was crushed in a collision with a commercial truck, which ultimately resulted in a substantial confidential settlement.

In a medical malpractice action, Mr. Edwards successfully represented the family of a man who died after he was injected by his radiologist with the wrong contrast media during a routine CAT scan diagnostic procedure.

Mr. Edwards successfully represented a neighborhood group of parents in Davis County, Utah, against the Davis School District for violations of the Utah Open and Public Meeting Act during the process of re-drawing high school boundaries in Northern Utah.

  As part of a team of lawyers, scientists and public policy experts, Mr. Edwards represented members of the Western Shoshone Indian tribe in a Nevada federal court challenge to the U.S. government’s planned blast of a massive ammonia and fertilizer bomb – the so-called Divine Strake test – at the Nevada Nuclear Test Site, location of hundreds of above-ground nuclear detonations from the 1940’s to the 1960’s.  In view of the litigation, as well as a huge public outcry opposing the blast, the federal government ultimately abandoned the planned test.

In a civil rights jury trial in Utah federal court, and while working as an Assistant City Attorney for Salt Lake City (Utah) Corporation, Mr. Edwards successfully defended a police officer accused of excessive force in an arrest in a neighboring Utah city.

As the City of Reno, Nevada’s primary labor lawyer, Mr. Edwards handled over 50 labor arbitrations and contract negotiations.

Counselor At Law

As an adviser and transactional attorney, Mr. Edwards’ experience includes the following:

As a negotiator and transactional lawyer, Mr. Edwards drafts and negotiates business acquisition documents, leases, distribution contracts, independent representative agreements, real estate purchase documents and a myriad of other legal documents.

Mr. Edwards oversees the formation and operations of numerous business entities, including corporations, limited liability companies and other business structures.

Mr. Edwards advises numerous businesses, from distributors of manufactured homes to companies marketing nutritional supplements, on compliance with local, state and federal laws and regulations.

Mr. Edwards represents individuals and businesses in complex real estate and financial transactions.

Mr. Edwards advises individuals and companies on estate planning and asset protection planning, with an emphasis on risk aversion and management.   In that capacity, Mr. Edwards collaborates with nationally-renowned planners, accountants, insurance specialists and financial analysts.

Mr. Edwards handled the merger and acquisition of an Arizona heating and air conditioning company by a multinational firm in a multimillion dollar deal.

As an instructor, Mr. Edwards has taught college courses on civil procedure, evidence, and constitutional law, and has lectured in continuing legal education seminars and conferences in the U.S., Brazil and Mexico on international law, open meeting statutes, NAFTA, labor law, estate planning and asset protection. 

Mr. Edwards counsels various businesses and individuals in Latin America doing business in the U.S., and, conversely, counsels U.S. businesses and individuals doing business in Latin America. 

Mr. Edwards speaks Portuguese and Spanish fluently, in addition to his native English.  In this connection, Mr. Edwards was one of the founding members of the Brazil Utah Chamber of Commerce, where he serves as general counsel.  Mr. Edwards is a proud affiliate correspondent of the Brazil-based international law firm of Gaia, Silva, Gaede & Associados (http://www,gaiasilvagaede.com.br).