Utah ADR Services

Christensen & Jensen, P.C.
15 West South Temple, Suite 800
Salt Lake City, UT 84101

Email: nathan.alder@chrisjen.com     

Firm's Telephone Number:   801-323-5000

Panel's Telephone Number:  801-943-3730

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Nate Alder has been involved in Utah’s mediation community since 1995, the year he returned to Utah and became a lawyer.  He studied ADR at Indiana University-Bloomington where he obtained a Masters in public policy (M.P.A.) as well as his law degree (J.D.).  Later, Nate formally trained to become a mediator at the renowned Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution at Pepperdine University in Malibu, California.  

As a leader in the profession, Nate has served as a mediator in many different kinds of disputes, including contract interference and breach, business partnership problems and dissolution, asset negotiation, commercial litigation, financial lending, commercial leases, real property, proprietary compromise, products liability, professional liability, construction, insurance, and claims involving fraud, negligence, personal injury and property damage.  As a mediator, he values confidentiality, effective communication, creativity, professionalism and clear written agreements.  He has lectured and presented on a variety of mediation and arbitration topics.  He has also served as a special master.

Nate co-founded and later chaired the Dispute Resolution Section of the Utah State Bar.  Since 2004, he has served on the Board of the Utah Council on Conflict Resolution, http://www.uccr.net/, the state's umbrella nonprofit organization devoted to promoting and assisting Utah's ADR community; Nate will serve as Chair of UCCR in 2011.  He previously served on the ADR Committee of the Utah State Courts.  He is a member of the Dispute Resolution Section of the American Bar Association.  Nate also founded and continues to chair his firm’s Dispute Resolution Practice Group,  http://www.chrisjen.com/disputeres.aspx.  

Nate is a uniquely qualified mediator because he maintains a private litigation practice that splits 50/50 in representing both plaintiffs and defendants.  He was formally trained by two of the state’s top trial lawyers, L. Rich Humpherys on the plaintiff’s side and Phillip S. Ferguson on the defense.  Nate became a shareholder in 2001 and has remained committed to representing both types of clients in litigation and trial.  See http://www.chrisjen.com/.  He has represented individuals and families in serious injury and damage cases while also handling the defense for some of the nation’s most recognized corporations and manufacturers.  Nate's experience on both sides of a case helps disputing parties better understand the mediation process, see the other side of an issue, and timely achieve appropriate results. 

Nate was elected by Utah’s lawyers to serve as President of the Utah State Bar; he led the profession at a critical time, 2008-2009.  Despite the tumultuous economic and political events of that year, he was able to move the Bar forward, stabilize finances, continue programs, make improvements, and, perhaps most notably, help lead in the creation and launch of a new mentoring program for all new lawyers.  See http://www.utahbar.org/.  He has also served in other Bar leadership capacities, including President of Utah’s Young Lawyers Division (2001-2002), Bar Examiner (2003-2007), and as a Bar Commissioner (2003-2010). He has served on the Utah Supreme Court’s Advisory Committee on Professionalism since 2002 and the Utah Supreme Court's Committee on New Lawyer Training since 2010.

Nate is AV rated by Martindale-Hubbell.  He is also recognized by Law & Politics as a Super Lawyer.  Utah Business magazine continues to name him one of Utah’s Legal Elite.  For his work in the community he received the Irene Fisher Engaged Citizen Award from Utah Campus Compact, a Hearts & Hand Award from the Utah Nonprofits Association, and a Merit Citation Award from Utah State University. After law school, Nate was honored to serve as a judicial clerk for Hon. J. Thomas Greene, U.S. District Court Judge for the District of Utah.  Nate is active in numerous organizations, including the Western States Bar Conference, the National Council of Bar Presidents, the ABA’s Automobile Law Committee, and the ABA’s Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Section. 

Fees:                 $250 per hour.