Professional Experience
Admitted to the Utah State Bar and Federal Bar in 1978. Worked as a trial lawyer at Mann Hadfield & Thorne for 15 years, practicing primarily in the areas of domestic relations, personal injury, construction litigation, municipal law and criminal law. In 1981 represented the prevailing party in the Utah Supreme Court landmark pension rights case of Woodward v. Woodward.
Appointed to the District Court bench in early 1993 by Governor Michael O. Leavitt. During almost 22 years on the bench he presided over hundreds of bench and jury trials including cases in the areas of contract disputes, eminent domain, personal injury, domestic relations, real estate, probate, criminal law, water rights, products liability and medical malpractice.
During his tenure on the bench he served:
- as Chair of the Courts Ethics Advisory Committee
- three terms as a member of the Board of District Court Judges, including service as Chair of the Board in 2010
- one term as a member of the Utah Judicial Council
- two terms as Presiding Judge of the First District Court.
Judge Hadfield currently serves as an active senior Judge.
Education
B.A. with Honors, Weber State College 1975
J.D. J. Reuben Clark Law School, Brigham Young University 1978
Memberships
Utah State Bar 1978 – present
Rex E. Lee American Inn of Court Founding member and former president
J. Reuben Clark Law Society Former Chair of Judges section
ADR Experience
Since retiring in 2014 Judge Hadfield has mediated hundreds of cases. In addition to completing the required 40-hour mediation training, he has served on numerous training panels and presented mediation seminars to judges and attorneys throughout the Republic of South Africa. In 2019 he worked as Committee Chair with BYU and U of U Law Schools and the top mediators in the state in presenting a one-week mediation training course in Salt Lake City to visiting High Court judges from South Africa.