Utah Business 2026 Legal Elite: Celebrating Attorney Barry Scholl

Utah Business magazine recently named Christensen & Jensen shareholder Barry Scholl to its 2026 Legal Elite list for his exceptional work in business and corporate governance. Each year, legal professionals across the state carefully select attorneys who demonstrate outstanding legal acumen, professional integrity, and a dedication to Utah’s business community.

The recognition reflects Barry’s deep experience and leadership, but he is quick to share the credit. He views this honor as a reflection of Christensen & Jensen’s collaborative business practice and its focus on helping clients reach practical, meaningful outcomes. He credits the attorneys and professionals who work alongside him and, most importantly, the clients whose goals guide the team’s work.

As chair of C&J’s business practice, Barry leads a team focused on delivering practical, strategic legal counsel to businesses at every stage of growth. The team helps clients navigate complex mergers and acquisitions, structure critical commercial agreements, protect valuable intellectual property, and resolve high-stakes business disputes. Effective business counsel, however, requires more than technical legal knowledge. It also requires understanding each client’s priorities, challenges, opportunities, and long-term goals.

At Christensen & Jensen, we measure our success by the value we bring to our clients. We strive to provide Utah businesses with the grounded, responsive legal support they need to navigate challenges and pursue new opportunities. Barry’s recognition as a 2026 Legal Elite honoree provides an opportunity to celebrate not only his accomplishments but also the collaborative approach that defines C&J’s business practice.

What Clients Should Expect from Business Legal Counsel

The C&J team’s multidisciplinary approach works best when paired with a deep understanding of the client. For Barry, that understanding starts with listening.

“C&J’s business attorneys stress personalized service and, to an unusual extent, seek to really understand our clients’ needs,” Barry says. “Put another way, we don’t try to impose a solution of our making; rather, we seek to help our clients achieve their desired outcome.”

That philosophy requires genuine curiosity. Before recommending a course of action, the team takes the time to ask questions, understand the circumstances, and identify what the client wants to accomplish.

“Our approach starts with listening, asking questions, and doing our very best to unpack each client’s unique issues and opportunities,” Barry says. He also recognizes that good listening often requires knowing when to stop talking. “I sometimes talk too much,” he jokes, “and I’ve been pleasantly surprised to discover how much more I learn when I’m listening than when I’m talking.”

That willingness to listen and learn helps C&J’s attorneys tailor their advice to the people and businesses they represent. The goal is not simply to identify the legally correct answer, but to help clients find a solution that makes sense for their circumstances.

How Barry Scholl’s Experience Benefits Utah Businesses and Nonprofits

Barry brings decades of transactional experience to his work, advising clients across industries that include technology, manufacturing, healthcare, construction, retail, and the arts. His diverse professional background also informs the way he approaches business law.

Before earning his law degree and serving as a judicial law clerk for the Honorable Pamela Greenwood on the Utah Court of Appeals, Barry worked as a magazine editor and communications professional. He holds a Master of Professional Communication from Westminster University and an MFA from the University of Utah.

This unique background gives Barry a perspective that extends beyond statutes, contracts, and transactions. Effective legal counsel depends on the ability to communicate complex ideas clearly, understand different perspectives, and help clients navigate decisions that often carry significant business and personal consequences.

His commitment to connecting with and helping others also extends well beyond the office. Barry serves on the boards of the Entrada Institute, TURN Community Services, and Utah Humanities and participates in Rotary. His involvement reflects a broader commitment to the Utah communities where C&J’s attorneys live, work, and serve.

How Does Christensen & Jensen’s Multidisciplinary Team Help Utah Businesses?

Barry points to C&J’s multidisciplinary expertise as one of the practice’s greatest strengths. With attorneys across a range of legal disciplines and industries, the firm can approach a client’s problem from multiple perspectives and draw on that collective experience to develop a solution.

“Given the size of C&J and the experience of our attorneys, we generally have the expertise to address client issues from a variety of angles,” Barry said. “It means that we can often help arrive at solutions that might not be immediately apparent when a client is first confronted with, for example, a contract dispute or business succession issue.”

That collaborative approach allows the team to look beyond the immediate legal question and consider the broader implications for the client and the business. A contract dispute, for example, may also raise questions about business strategy, intellectual property, employment, or litigation risk. A succession plan may require careful consideration of tax, real estate, corporate governance, and family dynamics. Relying on experience across these areas helps C&J’s attorneys identify opportunities and solutions that a narrower approach might overlook.

When should a Utah Business Seek Legal Counsel?

A Utah business should consider seeking legal counsel before a major decision becomes a costly problem. C&J’s business team assists emerging companies building a strong foundation and established enterprises navigating transactions, succession planning, disputes, and significant operational decisions. In each situation, the goal is the same: provide thoughtful legal counsel grounded in the client’s objectives.

Barry’s Legal Elite recognition highlights the experience and leadership he brings to that work. It also reflects the collective knowledge of the C&J team, the relationships we build with our clients, and the collaborative approach we bring to solving complex problems.

We congratulate Barry on this well-deserved recognition. Utah businesses seeking practical, collaborative counsel for a transaction, dispute, succession plan, or other significant decisions can turn to Christensen & Jensen for guidance focused on helping them build, protect, and grow for the future.