Wm. Shane Topham
Shane represents business clients in entity structuring and formation, as well as in complex acquisition, divestiture, and financing transactions.
He has over 35 years’ experience in automobile dealer representation, including numerous dealership purchase, sale, and financing transactions as well as advising dealer clients concerning a variety of manufacturer relation issues. Shane serves as general counsel for New Car Dealers of Utah, the trade association of essentially all of Utah’s franchised new motor vehicle dealers.
He also has extensive experience in real property transactions and litigation, including acquisitions and sales, exchanges, financing, development, leases, foreclosures, title issues, easements, boundary disputes, zoning, and quiet title actions. Utah Business magazine has recognized Shane as a Utah Elite attorney in the real estate practice area.
Shane is the former city attorney for Holladay, Utah, and the current city attorney for Cottonwood Heights, Utah, with significant experience in local government law, including formation and representation of municipalities and their redevelopment agencies, as well as advising concerning land use issues such as zoning/use, entitlements, and takings. He also serves as counsel for the Central Wasatch Commission, an interlocal entity whose purpose is to implement a suite of actions to ensure that future generations can enjoy the benefits and activities provided by Utah’s scenic central Wasatch Mountains, which are the Salt Lake Valley’s principal watershed and also are home to a number of world-class ski resorts and other recreational opportunities. Utah Business magazine also has recognized Shane as a Utah Elite attorney in the government lawyers practice area.
Education
University of Utah, S.J. Quinney College of Law, Salt Lake City, Utah, J.D., 1984
Member, Utah Law Review, 1983-1984
Leary Scholar, 1982-1984
University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, B.A. magna cum laude, 1978
Bar Admittance
Utah, 1984
- Martindale-Hubbell AV Rated
- Utah Business Magazine, Legal Elite
Shane practiced with the Salt Lake City law firm of Jardine, Linebaugh, Brown & Dunn from 1984-1999, progressing from law clerk to associate attorney to a shareholder/director of that firm. He then practiced with the Salt Lake City law firm of Parsons Kinghorn Harris from 1999-2005 as a shareholder/director and, for several years, firm president. He practiced with the Salt Lake City law firm of Callister Nebeker & McCullough from 2005-2016 as a shareholder until that 80-year-old firm dissolved in 2016. Shane then practiced with Jones Waldo Holbrook & McDonough (a large, 140-year-old Salt Lake City firm) from 2016 until it dissolved in 2022, when Shane formed Topham Legal.
- Utah State Bar
- Utah Municipal Attorneys Association
- New Car Dealers of Utah
- Phi Kappa Phi
Wm. Shane Topham
Shane represents business clients in entity structuring and formation, as well as in complex acquisition, divestiture, and financing transactions.
He has over 35 years’ experience in automobile dealer representation, including numerous dealership purchase, sale, and financing transactions as well as advising dealer clients concerning a variety of manufacturer relation issues. Shane serves as general counsel for New Car Dealers of Utah, the trade association of essentially all of Utah’s franchised new motor vehicle dealers.
He also has extensive experience in real property transactions and litigation, including acquisitions and sales, exchanges, financing, development, leases, foreclosures, title issues, easements, boundary disputes, zoning, and quiet title actions. Utah Business magazine has recognized Shane as a Utah Elite attorney in the real estate practice area.
Shane is the former city attorney for Holladay, Utah, and the current city attorney for Cottonwood Heights, Utah, with significant experience in local government law, including formation and representation of municipalities and their redevelopment agencies, as well as advising concerning land use issues such as zoning/use, entitlements, and takings. He also serves as counsel for the Central Wasatch Commission, an interlocal entity whose purpose is to implement a suite of actions to ensure that future generations can enjoy the benefits and activities provided by Utah’s scenic central Wasatch Mountains, which are the Salt Lake Valley’s principal watershed and also are home to a number of world-class ski resorts and other recreational opportunities. Utah Business magazine also has recognized Shane as a Utah Elite attorney in the government lawyers practice area.
Education
University of Utah, S.J. Quinney College of Law, Salt Lake City, Utah, J.D., 1984
Member, Utah Law Review, 1983-1984
Leary Scholar, 1982-1984
University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, B.A. magna cum laude, 1978
Bar Admittance
Utah, 1984
- Martindale-Hubbell AV Rated
- Utah Business Magazine, Legal Elite
Shane practiced with the Salt Lake City law firm of Jardine, Linebaugh, Brown & Dunn from 1984-1999, progressing from law clerk to associate attorney to a shareholder/director of that firm. He then practiced with the Salt Lake City law firm of Parsons Kinghorn Harris from 1999-2005 as a shareholder/director and, for several years, firm president. He practiced with the Salt Lake City law firm of Callister Nebeker & McCullough from 2005-2016 as a shareholder until that 80-year-old firm dissolved in 2016. Shane then practiced with Jones Waldo Holbrook & McDonough (a large, 140-year-old Salt Lake City firm) from 2016 until it dissolved in 2022, when Shane formed Topham Legal.
- Utah State Bar
- Utah Municipal Attorneys Association
- New Car Dealers of Utah
- Phi Kappa Phi