Douglas Monson has had an impressive 41 year career working as an attorney. As a young University of Utah student, he took advantage of the great internship opportunities at the Hinckley Institute and utilized those experiences to help launch his career.

Monson completed three Hinckley internships during his time at the U. He first worked for Gary Brockbank’s campaign for election to the Utah House of Representatives in 1976. After helping with this successful campaign, he continued working for Representative Brockbank as well as Representative T. Quentin Cannon through a Hinckley legislative internship during the 1977 session. His third and final Hinckley internship was with Senator Orrin Hatch’s Salt Lake office.

Monson learned a great deal from his internship experiences. His first internship taught him the ‘nitty-gritty’ of how political campaigns are run and his following internships taught him a great deal about local and federal government.

 My two legislative internships taught me about the intricacies of the legislative process on both the state and federal level and how to get things done in the legislative branch of government…I also learned about the important role that federal elected officials play in assisting their constituents with accessing federal services and solving complex problems with the federal bureaucracy.

While Monson found all of his Hinckley internships to be valuable experiences, his internship with Senator Hatch proved to be incredibly impactful as he began his legal studies and eventual career.

Monson Graduated from the U in 1978 with a BA in Business Management and went on to attend BYU Law School. Following his first year of law school, Monson was hired by Senator Hatch to work as a law clerk for the Constitution Subcommittee of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

His professional relationship with Senator Hatch led to Monson securing a federal judicial clerkship immediately after graduating from the BYU law school with Judge Bailey Brown of Memphis, Tennessee, of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. Monson worked for Judge Brown for a year and states this experience turned out to be one of the highlights of his life. 

My work history with Senator Hatch and my judicial clerkship with Judge Brown (both of which can be credited to the Hinckley Institute) were key factors in my being offered a position as an associate with the Salt Lake law firm of Ray Quinney & Nebeker following the conclusion of my judicial clerkship.  I started work for Ray Quinney & Nebeker in October of 1982, and I am still a part of that law firm 41 years later…I give credit to the Hinckley Institute for many of the enriching experiences in my life, professionally and personally…my Hinckley Institute experiences opened doors for me that I might not have otherwise known were available.      

Monson began as an associate at Ray Quinney & Nebeker, for many years was a shareholder and director and served in firm management for the firm, and now works as an Of Counsel attorney for the firm. He continues to enjoy his work as it provides him the privilege of serving clients and the community at large.