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Bar Admissions

2007 — Utah

Clerkships

2007

Honorable Paul G. Cassell, U.S. District Judge for the U.S. District of Utah

2007-2008

Honorable Jennifer W. Elrod, U.S. Circuit Court Judge for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit

2008-2009

Honorable Milan D. Smith, Jr., U.S. Circuit Court Judge for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

Education

2007, J.D., University of Utah, Order of the Coif, Editor-in-Chief of the Utah Law Review

2003, B.A., Yale University, summa cum laude, President of Yale Chapter of Phi Beta Kappa

Languages

Professional Activities

Member of American Law Institute

Utah State Bar

Member of Utah Supreme Court’s Advisory Committee on the Rules of Professional Conduct

American Bar Association

Federal Bar Association

Member of Media Law Resource Center

Graduate of 2017 Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce Leadership Utah Class

American Inns of Court, Sutherland Inn II

Utah Private Guardian ad Litem

Austin J. Riter

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Practice Areas

About Austin J. Riter

Austin Riter is a commercial litigator.  He has broad experience representing clients in an array of complex business and commercial litigation matters, including First Amendment, employment, intellectual property, appellate, contract, tort, real property, securities, and other general business disputes.  He has particular expertise in First Amendment and media litigation, including open records laws, access to court proceedings, defamation, and privacy; and in public and private employment law, including employment contracts and policies and procedures, employee misconduct, investigations, termination and discipline, and civil rights.

Mr. Riter is a member of the American Law Institute, a frequent lecturer on federal courts and media and employment law-related issues, and an Adjunct Professor of Law at the University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law.  He also dedicates a significant portion of his practice to pro bono legal work, including helping to staff the Utah Freedom of Information Hotline at Parr Brown, which provides free legal assistance to Utah journalists; representing plaintiffs in civil rights and wrongful conviction cases; and representing children as a Utah Private Guardian ad Litem in cases involving issues of custody, visitation, abuse, or neglect.

Mr. Riter’s experience includes trial and appellate litigation, mediation, and arbitration, and he is admitted to all state and federal courts in the State of Utah as well as the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals.  His philosophy for his law practice is to be a problem solver for his clients, helping them to find legal and practical solutions to their disputes in a cost-effective manner.

From 2013-2024, Mr. Riter has been named to the Mountain States Super Lawyers list, a recognition received by the top five percent of Utah lawyers each year.  He has most recently been recognized by Utah Business magazine as one of Utah’s Legal Elite “Up & Coming” lawyers. Mr. Riter was included in the 2022-2024 editions of The Best Lawyers in America® for Commercial Litigation and Litigation – Labor and Employment.

Publications & Speaking Engagements

Co-Author, Open Government Guide: Access to Public Records and Meetings in Utah
Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, 2011
Co-Author, Tenth Circuit Rules Unflattering Statements in News Article Written by Former Utah Mayor Under False Name Are Not Defamatory
MLRC MediaLawLetter, August 2014
Media Interview, Vernal Man Claims Police Arrested Him for Recording Mother’s Arrest
KSL Broadcast News, August 2014
Media Interview, Trial Ordered for County Commissioner, Other Recapture Protestors
KUER – NPR Utah, April 2015
Getting to Know Your GRAMA (Government Records Access and Management Act): First Principles, Electronic Records, and Metadata
Utah Municipal Clerks Institute and Academy Conference, April 2015
GRAMA: Don’t Break the Law!
Utah Local Governments Trust Conference, March 2016
Co-Author, Utah Open Courts Compendium
Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, 2018
Co-Author, Survey of Utah Employment Privacy Law
MLRC, 2018
Co-Author, Survey of Utah Media Privacy Law
MLRC, 2018
Co-Author, Utah Supreme Court Overturns Multi-Million Dollar Verdicts Predicated on Allegedly Injurious Speech Between Business Rivals
MLRC MediaLawLetter, July 2018

Awards & Recognitions

Attorney Austin J. Riter | Rated by Super Lawyers 2020
Legal Elite | Top Lawyers 2017