Chad is a small-town guy with a big world view. He grew up in one of Idaho’s smallest towns with a high school graduating class in the single digits. During career week of Chad’s junior year, he shadowed an attorney. While career week failed to give Chad a clear path forward, he came away from the experience with one certainty: he did not want to be an attorney. The following year he signed up to be an exchange student because he knew there had to be more out there.
Chad spent his senior year of high school in Argentina. There, he made a lot of friends, attended school and grew to love the culture. Cell phones and the internet were not common in Argentina in those days so he took advantage of the disconnect and immersed himself in Spanish. By the end of the trip, Chad was torn to leave South America but excited for more adventure. He returned to Idaho for the summer and started college at Washington State University that fall.
Somewhere toward the end of college, wanderlust began to take hold again. Chad quickly finished up his Bachelor’s Degree in Business and set off for South America. From there he bought tickets to Japan, where he taught English to fund his travels. Using central Japan as a home base, Chad got to climb to the top of Mt. Fuji and visit much of Asia. Before long, he met his wife Michiko, and together they set off to travel New Zealand on a “working holiday.” Finally, after a year living out of a van named Pluto, and vagabonding all over New Zealand, Chad yearned for Idaho.
Chad also developed a strong desire to make a difference. He wanted to exercise his brain and so he found himself full-circle, once again wondering what it would be like to be an attorney. Chad took the law school admissions test and worked his way through law school. From medical malpractice to immigration, Chad learned about different areas of law by working in them. Once out of law school, Chad jumped into a trial attorney position in criminal defense. He spent about three years representing ordinary people against the seemingly insurmountable power of the government. At Strindberg & Scholnick, Chad continues to represent ordinary people against powerful entities, both public and private.
Chad and his family love Idaho’s natural beauty. They spend many a weekend soaking in natural hot springs, skiing into yurts and cabins, camping, biking, boating, and just being outside. If you need to break the ice and get Chad talking, just ask him about his van. He’ll probably tell you that he’s been into van camping since before it was cool – which is true.

Strindberg & Scholnick is proud to announce that five of our attorneys have been included in the 2017 Mountain States Super Lawyers and Rising Stars publication

Top Employment and Labor Lawyers
Erika Birch
Kass Harstad
Erik Strindberg

Top Plaintiff's Employment Litigation Lawyer
Lauren Scholnick

Employment and Labor Rising Star Lawyer
Jonathan Thorne

From the Super Lawyer's Website:
"Super Lawyers is a rating service of outstanding lawyers from more than 70 practice areas who have attained a high-degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. The patented selection process includes independent research, peer nominations and peer evaluations."

Strindberg & Scholnick is pleased to announce that our very own Erika Birch was awarded the 2017 Walter H. Bithell Professionalism Award at the Idaho Trial Lawyers Association Annual Meeting.

From Bithell's website:

"The award acknowledges those with a "commitment to integrity, excellence and professionalism as a lawyer for all clients, colleagues, judges and staff with whom he/she comes in contact with in the representation of Idaho citizens."

"The award is given to an Idaho lawyer at the annual meeting of the ITLA. The inscription on the award reads: “in recognition of outstanding professionalism in the practice of law – for his (her) integrity, fairness, love for the law, and the exemplary courtesy he steadfastly extends to all – clients, colleagues, judges and staff."

Congratulations Erika!

U.S News & World Report and Best Lawyers announced the 2017 "Best Law Firms" rankings last week, and Strindberg & Scholnick made the cut!

From the Press Release:

"Firms included in the 2017 “Best Law Firms” list are recognized for professional excellence with persistently impressive ratings from clients and peers. Achieving a tiered ranking signals a unique combination of quality law practice and breadth of legal expertise.

The 2017 rankings are based on the highest number of participating firms and highest number of client ballots on record. To be eligible for a ranking, a firm must have a lawyer listed in The Best Lawyers in America, which recognizes the top 4 percent of practicing attorneys in the U.S. Over 10,000 attorneys provided more than 800,000 law firm assessments, and over 10,000 clients provided more than 90,000 evaluations.

Awards were given in 74 national practice areas and 122 metropolitan practice areas. One "Law Firm of the Year" is named in each of the 74 nationally ranked practice areas."

A number of our lawyers have been featured on the "Best Lawyers" lists, and we want to thank all of our peers and clients for helping our firm achieve this ranking!

Lauren Scholnick, managing partner of Strindberg & Scholnick, has been selected by her peers for inclusion in the 23rd Edition of The Best Lawyers in America for her work in employment law!

Lauren was included in last year's edition as well, and was voted Salt Lake's City Lawyer of the Year in the same publication in 2014.

From the Best Lawyer's website, link here: 

"Best Lawyers is the oldest and most respected peer-review publication in the legal profession. A listing in Best Lawyers is widely regarded by both clients and legal professionals as a significant honor, conferred on a lawyer by his or her peers. For more than three decades, Best Lawyers lists have earned the respect of the profession, the media, and the public, as the most reliable, unbiased source of legal referrals anywhere.

Our lists of outstanding attorneys are compiled by conducting exhaustive peer-review surveys in which tens of thousands of leading lawyers confidentially evaluate their professional peers. If the votes for an attorney are positive enough for inclusion in Best Lawyers, that attorney must maintain those votes in subsequent polls to remain on the list for each edition. Lawyers are not permitted to pay any fee to participate in or be included on our lists."

Congratulations Lauren!

The West Ada School District has agreed to pay $160,000 to former Superintendent Dr. Linda Clark after everything that happened regarding her resignation last October. The settlement avoids the lawsuit that would have alleged a breach of contract, damage to Dr. Clark's name and reputation, and creating a hostile work environment that forced Dr. Clark to resign.

The settlement compensates Dr. Clark for a small part of the actual losses, and brings the matter to a close.

Further details about the matter can be read on the Idaho Statesman website, or by clicking this link. 

Strindberg & Scholnick attorneys Erika Birch, Sarah Simmons, and Guy Hallam were recognized in the May 2016 Edition of the Idaho Trial Lawyers Association (ITLA) Journal.

Erika received recognition for the creation of the Street Law Clinic in 2013. The Street Law Clinic provides free legal advice and services to those who cannot bridge the gap to the courthouse due to financial constraints. As of March 2016, the clinic has served just over 1,500 clients, and wouldn't be what it was without the support of all of the individuals involved who have dedicated their time and talent.

Sarah Simmons is one of such individuals, who faithfully showed up to several sessions of the Clinic despite her busy schedule and helped the law students, clerks, and clients and thus received the well-deserved recognition. 

Last but not least, Guy Hallam was recognized for his legislative efforts on House Bill 487 dealing with key employee presumption.

Thank you ITLA for the recognition!

Strindberg & Scholnick was recognized as Utah's Pro Bono Law Firm of the Year for 2016! This award is given to a law firm that has actively and successfully encouraged pro bono service by their attorneys. 

From the Utah State Bar website, "The pro bono community of Utah seeks to recognize those who have provided or enabled the direct provision of legal services, free of charge, for Utah’s most vulnerable citizens – people living in poverty, individuals with disabilities, veterans, seniors, minorities and victims of domestic violence. While the obstacles to equal access to justice continue to mount, the willingness of attorneys to help meet the legal needs of the indigent in their communities is important to those in need of service."

Strindberg & Scholnick is proud to provide help to those in need throughout both Utah and Idaho, and are honored to receive such recognition for their efforts. 

Sarah Simmons was featured in the March/April 2016 edition of The Advocate, the Official Publication of the Idaho State Bar.

In her article, explores the research behind implicit bias and remind litigators that they should be cognizant of implicit bias at every phase of litigation. 

Find this article on page 35 of the March/April Edition of The Advocate, or by clicking here.

Strindberg & Scholnick is pleased to announce that attorney T. Guy Hallam has joined our firm and will be working out of our Boise, Idaho office. Guy was a founding partner at Kormanik Hallam & Sneed, LLP (now formally known as Kormanik & Sneed) and has decided to join our team as a managing partner. Guy has a diverse background and several years' worth of experience that we are proud to have join our team!