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ABOUT SARAH
Sarah Elizabeth Spencer Willson is a commercial litigator and appellate advocate licensed in Utah and Colorado.
She has admission rights before the U.S. Supreme Court and various federal circuit courts of appeal.
With twenty years of litigation and appellate advocacy experience, Sarah focuses on complex disputes.
Her trial and appellate practice spans breach of contract, fiduciary duties, corporate governance, fraud, trust and agency conflicts, real property disputes, insurance coverage and bad faith, complex business torts, and other high-stakes liability cases. She has achieved significant victories, including securing summary judgments in major exposure cases and successfully upholding these decisions on appeal. Sarah provides clear, client-centered advocacy. She approaches every case with rigor and an eye toward practical, impactful results.
As an experienced appellate counsel, Sarah has served as lead counsel in dozens of appeals, covering all aspects of appellate litigation. She appeals of interlocutory orders, preliminary injunctions, final judgments, and immediate appeals in admiralty/maritime law and Section 1983 qualified immunity cases. She also handles appeals of trial verdicts. Through her commercial litigation practice, Sarah is accustomed to large evidentiary data sets containing tens of thousands of pages of discovery, and her ability to quickly ingest new information is invaluable in her appellate advocacy work.
Sarah's interest in law began in childhood. She won an essay contest in 6th grade, writing about her aspirations to become a lawyer. She accelerated her education, starting college at 13. She earned her B.A. by age 16 and her law degree at 21, becoming the youngest graduate of both programs at the time of her graduation.
She has published and spoken extensively on issues relevant to her practice including appellate advocacy, ethics, and writing.
Professional Experience
SpencerWillson, PLLC, Salt Lake City, Utah, President, Co-Founder & Managing Attorney (January 2024 to present)
Christensen & Jensen, P.C., Salt Lake City, Utah, Vice-President, Shareholder, Director, Attorney (2007 to December 2023)
Utah State Courts, Administrative Office of the Courts, Judicial Law Clerk (2006 to 2007)
Colorado Judicial Branch, Second Judicial District, Denver, Colorado, Judicial Law Clerk (2004 to 2005)
Awards & Honors
AV Preeminent Rating, Martindale (2012-present)
Best Lawyers in Commercial Litigation (2017-2024)
"Super Lawyer" Peer Review Rating by Mountain States SUper Lawyers (2021-present) (named "Rising Star" 2010-2020)
Utah Legal Elite in Civil Litigation Defense, Utah Business Magazine (2017-2022) (named "Up and Coming" 2010-2016)
Selected "Forty under 40”, Utah Business Magazine (2017)
Professional Involvement
Sarah is the outgoing chair of the Appellate Advocacy Committee of DRI, the nation's largest bar association of civil defense attorneys and in-house counsel. She is also a member of the Amicus Committee and the and State Law Task Force of DRI's Center for Law and Public Policy.
Locally, as a member of the Utah bar, Sarah serves as an executive committee member of the Utah State Bar Appellate Practice Section. She previously co-chaired the Utah State Bar Unauthorized Practice of Law Committee and now represents the Utah State Bar UPL committee in litigation against persons who practice law in Utah without a license.
Education
University of Denver Sturm College of Law, Juris Doctor (2004), graduated at age 21 (youngest graduate of record as of 2004)
Staff Editor, University of Denver International Law Journal
Member, ABA traveling trial team
American Jurisprudence Award, Highest Grade in Advanced Civil Procedure (2003)
1L First Place Finalist, Barrister’s Cup Appellate Advocacy Competition (2002)
Metropolitan State University of Denver – Bachelor of Arts (1999), graduated at age 16 (youngest graduate of record as of 1999)
Honors: Psi Chi, Psychology National Honor Society
Professional Associations
DRI: Lawyers Representing Business
Appellate Advocacy Committee (2008-present)
Committee Chair (2021-2024)
Center for Law & Public Policy
Amicus committee (2021-present)
State Legislation and Rules Task Force (2023-present)
Young Lawyers Committee (2008-2015)
Utah State Bar
Appellate Practice Section (2006-present)
Section Chair (2017-2018)
Unauthorized Practice of Law Committee (2010-2015)
Committee Co-Chair (2012-2015)
Young Lawyers Division (2006-2013)
Co-Chair, Summer Convention (Sun Valley, Idaho) (2009)
Personal Background
Sarah is a Colorado native. She moved to Utah in 2005. At that time, she had completed a one-year judicial clerkship and worked for a year at a mid-size firm in Denver, Colorado. She lives north of Salt Lake City with her husband and 3 children. Sarah enjoys skiing Utah's one-of-a-kind champagne powder, staying abreast of current events, wind tunnel flying (indoor skydiving), skydiving, and cooking.
