JEFFREY J HUNT portrait
  • Adjunct Professor, College Of Law - Dean
  • Adjunct Professor, College Of Law
801-532-7840

Biography

Jeffrey Hunt practices in the area of commercial litigation, with particular emphasis on First Amendment, media, and intellectual property law. Mr. Hunt regularly represents national and local media companies in state and federal courts and counsels clients on defamation, privacy, First Amendment, and related issues. He serves as local counsel for two national television networks. Mr. Hunt is also a registered lobbyist in the State of Utah.Mr. Hunt earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism and Mass Communication from Iowa State University in 1983. During the four years following, he was a Copy Editor for The Des Moines Register, and a Reporter for the Quad-City Times and Deseret News.Mr. Hunt is an adjunct professor at the University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law and is a regular guest lecturer on First Amendment and Media Law at the University of Utah, Weber State University, and Brigham Young University. In 1992, he founded the Utah Freedom of Information Hotline at Parr Brown, which provides free legal assistance to the public and journalists. He is a two-time recipient of the Roy B. Gibson Freedom of Information Award from the Utah Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists and received an Honorary Publisher award from the Utah Press Association. In 2004, Mr. Hunt received the Service to Journalism Award from the University of Utah Department of Communications.Mr. Hunt was selected for the 2006-2009 editions of The Best Lawyers in America, was recognized as one of Utah's Legal Elite for 2005-2008 and was listed in the 2007-2009 editions of Mountain States Super Lawyers. He was ranked as a top Utah lawyer for First Amendment and media litigation by Chambers and Partners USA: America's Leading Business Lawyers 2005-2009 editions.Publications & Presentations: Utah's Sunshine Laws: Understanding Your GRAMA and the Open Meetings Act, Association of Public Attorneys Conference, February, 2007.Freedom of Information in a Post-911 World, Keynote speech at the Society of Professional Journalists Regional Conference, April 9, 2005.Co-author, Survey of Utah Employment Privacy Law, Media Law Resource Center, 2005.Co, author, Utah Anti-SLAPP Statute Applied to Dismiss Defamation Claim Against Newspaper, Media Law Resource Center, Media Law Letter, 2004.Co-author, Survey of Utah Law on Privacy and Related Claims Against the Media, Media Law Resource Center, 2004.Utah Open Government Guide and Media Law Handbook, Utah Headliners Chapter Society of Professional Journalists and Utah Foundation for Open Government (Co-edited with Michael P. O'Brien) (2003)Co-author, Tapping Officials' Secrets: The Door to Open Government in Utah, Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, 2001.