CRAIG SWAPP & ASSOCIATES - Key Persons
Attorney Amber Kauffman handles personal injury cases involving automobiles, commercial trucks, public transportation, pedestrians, motorcycles, scooters, bicycles, dog bites, premises liability, wrongful death, and other negligent injury.
Amber grew up in the Midwest and earned her Bachelor of Arts from Washington University in St. Louis in History. Thereafter, she ventured south to attend law school at the University of Houston Law Center. During law school, Amber gained valuable experience clerking at a nationally known plaintiff's personal injury law firm. She worked on a class action lawsuit against Tenet Healthcare's Redding Hospital for unnecessary cardiac procedures and on a defamation lawsuit filed by Vietnam veterans against CNN. Amber graduated with her Juris Doctorate in 2005. She practiced plaintiff's personal injury and consumer bankruptcy in Houston, and then moved to Durham, North Carolina where she spent 7 years working as a creditor rights litigation attorney.
Prior to joining Craig Swapp & Associates, Amber was a Deputy Attorney General with the Idaho Office of the Attorney General. She was assigned to the Idaho State Tax Commission and the Department of Health and Welfare, where she litigated income tax appeals and health facility licensing matters, as well as assisted on bankruptcy cases and with Medicaid recoupment actions.
Amber is kind and compassionate and works tirelessly to help her clients get the best possible results from their cases. She is a member of the Texas, North Carolina, and North Carolina bars, and has been admitted to practice in the U.S. District Courts, Southern Districts of Texas and Indiana, and the District of Idaho.
Amber lives in Boise with her husband and two children. She enjoys spending time with her family and friends, traveling, hiking, rollerblading, reading memoirs, practicing viola, and snuggling with her miniature longhair dachshunds.
Andrew Stoddard spent most of his childhood in Sandy, Utah and has not strayed too far from there. He currently lives in Midvale with his wife and four boys. Andrew graduated from the University of Utah with a Bachelor's degree in Psychology and then attended Brigham Young University for law school. During law school, Andrew was an extern for the Utah Crime Victims Legal Clinic and the Rocky Mountain Innocence Center, where he started a case that eventually resulted in a finding of innocence.
After passing the Utah Bar Exam, he continued to work at the Utah Crime Victims Legal Clinic as a victim advocate and staff attorney, working on cases involving a wide variety of crimes. Then he was hired as a prosecutor at Murray City, where he spent the next ten years of his career. There, Andrew handled hundreds of bench and jury trials on cases ranging from traffic tickets and DUI's to shoplifting and domestic violence. He never shied away from a hard case. His experience working with victims at the Legal Clinic and his familiarity with traffic cases from prosecuting created an interest in personal injury work, which led him to where he is today.
Andrew spends his free time building Legos with his boys, cheering for the University of Utah and the Buffalo Bills, and doing policy work at the Utah Legislature.
Personal Injury Attorney Ben Layman practices tort law and specializes in cases including automobile collisions, slip and falls, dog bites, commercial vehicle/semi-truck collisions, wrongful death and more. He has years of experience in negotiating and mediating cases, as well as significant trial and court experience. He is currently admitted to practice law in the State of Idaho.
Before joining Craig Swapp & Associates, Ben obtained personal injury experience working for another law firm specializing in personal injury. After that, he worked for the Ada County Public Defender's office representing criminal defendants in the County's Drug Court program as well as being a trial attorney with a winning record. Ben left the Public Defender's office in 2019 to join the law firm Borton-Lakey Law and Policy. There he worked in all facets of civil litigation. He worked on cases from contract disputes, construction defects, property line disputes, homeowner's association matters, water rights, personal injury, administrative proceedings, employment law and helped in the representation of the cities of Nampa, Eagle and Notus. He helped litigate cases with multi-million dollar claims and participated in multiple Idaho Supreme Court appeals.
Ben is a graduate of Idaho State University where he obtained a bachelor's degree in Political Science in 2008 and was a member the ISU Track & Field Team that won back-to-back Big Sky Conference indoor championships in 2005 and 2006. He won the Big Sky High Jump title in 2006, was All-Conference, All-Conference Academic and Big Sky Athlete of the week many times. He was also awarded NCAA All-American West honors. After attending ISU, Ben attended law school at the University of Idaho and obtained his Juris Doctorate degree graduating early in 2010.
Ben is active in his community and has helped coach the high jump at Centennial High School since 2017 and in 2021 he coached both the 5A Boy and Girl state champions in that event. He is a member of the Business & Corporate Law section in Idaho and Idaho Trial Lawyers Association.
In his time away from the office he enjoys spending time with his family watching movies and going out on adventures. He is fluent in Spanish having served a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints from 2002-2004. He also is a self-described tech nerd who loves technology and has been building his own computers since the late 90s and is his friends' and family's I.T. guy. He loves cars and also enjoys working on them.
Job Titles:
- Member in Good Standing With the Utah State Bar
- Personal Injury Attorney
Personal Injury Attorney Brad Anderson represents clients who have personal injuries occurring from car accidents, commercial/large truck accidents, and public transportation accidents. He also handles accidents involving pedestrians, motorcyclists and bicyclists. Brad also resolves wrongful death cases.
represents clients who have personal injuries occurring from car accidents, commercial/large truck accidents, and public transportation accidents. He also handles accidents involving pedestrians, motorcyclists and bicyclists. Brad also resolves wrongful death cases.
Brad graduated from University of Utah in 1998, obtaining a Bachelor's of Science Degree; his studies focused on the relationship of business and government, administrative regulation and control, and economic theory. He earned his Juris Doctorate from the University of Utah College of Law in 2002. While attending law school, Brad's studies included an emphasis on general areas of law, including securities regulation, antitrust, corporate structure and litigation.
Prior to his association with Craig Swapp & Associates, Brad was associated with the law firm of Bautista, Booth, Parkinson in Salt Lake City, where he was responsible for building that firm's general civil litigation practice focusing on personal injury, commercial litigation and real estate. He also was associated with Siegfried and Jensen from 2002 to 2016, handling a wide variety of personal injury legal matters, including litigation, arbitrations, mediations, motor vehicle collisions, premises liability and medical malpractice.
Before practicing as a personal injury attorney, Brad was a law clerk for the Utah Attorney General Office in Salt Lake City.
Brad is a member in good standing with the Utah State Bar, the Litigation Section of the Utah State Bar, the Utah Association for Justice, and the American Association for Justice. In his spare time, he enjoys many outdoor activities, including cycling, skiing and whitewater rafting. Brad has also maintained a long standing tradition volunteering his time with the Boy Scouts of America.
Practice Areas
Personal Injury
Personal Injury Attorney Chris Barrus handles personal injury cases for Craig Swapp & Associates, including vehicular accidents involving automobiles, commercial trucks, public transportation, pedestrians, motorcycles, scooters, and bicycles. He is also involved in wrongful death and dog bite cases.
Chris attended the University of Utah and in 2008 earned his bachelor's of science degree in Biomedical Engineering. He completed his Juris Doctorate at the Gonzaga University School of Law in 2011. While in law school, he was a member of the International Trademark Association and the team captain of the Saul Lefkowitz Moot Court Team (placing 1st in regional competition and 2nd overall nationally). While in law school, he was also a quarter-finalist of the 1L Oral Advocacy Competition, president of the Gonzaga Intellectual Property Law Association, and a recipient of a technology law scholarship. He gained valuable experience in law school as a legal intern with Intel Corporation, and as a legal clerk for University Legal Assistance.
Following his law school graduation in 2011 , Chris continued as a legal intern for Heideman & Associates (Provo, Utah) before becoming a civil and criminal attorney for Greg Smith and Associates (West Jordan, Utah) in 2012. In 2013, he joined Robert J. Debry and Associates (Salt Lake City, Utah) as a personal injury attorney, before becoming a member of the Craig Swapp & Associates team in 2021.
Chris is licensed to practice law in the states of Utah and Washington, and is a member of both the Utah and Washington State Bars.
His personal interests include traveling, hunting, golf, soccer, technology and fixing/modifying anything with a motor.
Practice Areas
PERSONAL INJURY
Personal Injury Attorney Dylan Orton practices law specializing in negotiating, litigating, mediating and arbitrating cases involving vehicular accidents involving automobiles, pedestrians, motorcycles, bicycles, commercial/big trucks, and public transportation. He also handles cases involving negligence injury, dog bites, wrongful death and insurance bad faith. He is currently licensed to practice law in Idaho and is a member of the Idaho State Bar.
Personal Injury Attorney Erin Dyer is a seasoned litigation attorney practicing personal injury law. With her broad litigation experience, Erin handles personal injury litigation cases dealing with accidents involving automobiles, semi-trucks and commercial trucks, motorcycles, bicycles, public transportation, and pedestrians. She also represents clients dealing with injuries caused by negligence (dog bites, premise accidents, etc.), as well as wrongful death.
is a seasoned litigation attorney practicing personal injury law. With her broad litigation experience, Erin handles personal injury litigation cases dealing with accidents involving automobiles, semi-trucks and commercial trucks, motorcycles, bicycles, public transportation, and pedestrians. She also represents clients dealing with injuries caused by negligence (dog bites, premise accidents, etc.), as well as wrongful death.
Erin received her Bachelors of Arts degree in History from Gonzaga University in 2001, where she was honored by being named to the President's and Dean's lists. In 2004, She received her Juris Doctorate from Gonzaga University School of Law. While in law school, she was named Associate Editor of Across Borders International Law Journal, Vice-president of Moot Court Council, and a member of the Law School Dean's List.
She is a member in good standing with the Washington and Idaho State Bar Associations.
Prior to coming to Craig Swapp & Associates in 2018, Erin was an Assistant Attorney General for the Regional Services Division - handling workers compensation claims before the Board of Industrial Insurance Appeals, as well as guardianship petitions, guardianship Medicaid fee cases and vulnerable adult protection orders on behalf of DSHS-Adult Protective Services. Prior to that assignment, she was an Assistant Attorney General handling civil commitments in the Sexually Violent Predator Unit. Between 2005 to 2014, she was a Deputy Prosecuting attorney for Skagit County Prosecutor's Office. She was also a Deputy Prosecuting Attorney for Kitsap County Prosecutor's Office between 2004 and 2005.
In her spare time, Erin enjoys outdoor adventures with her two terriers Sammy and Lola, traveling, concerts and entertainment, and reading.
Practice Areas
Personal Injury
Personal Injury Attorney Glenn Godfrey handles personal injury cases, including vehicular accidents involving automobiles, commercial trucks, public transportation, pedestrians, motorcycles, scooters, and bicycles. He is also involved in wrongful death and dog bite cases.
Glenn attended Ricks College and Idaho State University before graduating from Brigham Young University in 1997 with a bachelor's of science degree in Political Science. He completed his Juris Doctorate at the University of Idaho College of Law in 2001. While in law school, he served as the Student Bar Association President.
Following his law school graduation in 2001, Glenn began his law practice as a solo practitioner in Bountiful, Utah. In 2002, he joined the largest bankruptcy firm in the state of Utah and managed its northern Utah office. In 2003, he joined Olympus Capital Alliance/The Cypress Fund LLC as Chief Legal Officer. He returned home to Idaho in 2008 after accepting a position with May, Browning & May in Boise. In, 2011, Glenn started his own bankruptcy practice - Godfrey Law, PLLC - in Eagle, Idaho.
Glenn is licensed to practice law in the states of Idaho and Utah, and is a member of both the Idaho and Utah state bars.
His personal interests include spending time with his family, traveling and golf.
Practice Areas
Personal Injury
Attorney Grace Johnson handles personal injury cases for Craig Swapp & Associates - including vehicular accidents involving automobiles, public transportation, pedestrians, bicycles, commercial trucks, and motorcycles. She also handles a wide range of injury cases, such as wrongful death, dog bites, slip and falls, premises liability, and almost any other injury case.
Grace graduated from Brigham Young University with a Bachelor of Science degree before completing her Juris Doctorate at the J. Reuben Clark School of Law. While in law school, Grace had the opportunity to compete and win several distinguished Trial Advocacy and Negotiation competitions across the country. The university faculty also awarded Grace a fellowship at the Center for Peace and Conflict Resolution. As a fellow, Grace gained significant experience acting as a negotiator, mediator, and arbitrator for university and local community conflicts. In addition to her fellowship, Grace volunteered as a mediator for Utah and Salt Lake County courts.
After graduation, Grace was an attorney at a local firm focused on medical malpractice, wrongful death, and personal injury. Now a part of Craig Swapp and Associates, Grace handles every aspect of an injury case, from pre-litigation to litigation. She is passionate about representing her clients and strives to help them understand the legal process while aggressively pursuing a just and fair resolution.
In her spare time, Grace enjoys playing golf and board games, watching movies and formula one races, managing her fantasy baseball team, and spending time with friends and family.
Laura J. Black joined Craig Swapp & Associates after practicing law for 13 years as an associate and partner at a mid-size regional firm, where she focused primarily on employment and business litigation and participated in firm leadership. Laura has a passion for advocacy, and she brings that enthusiasm to our firm.
Laura grew up in a very small town in Central Washington and very much believed that she would be a famous Broadway singer when she grew up. Instead, after graduating with the highest honors from Eastern Washington University and earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology and philosophy, Laura worked as a paralegal for a criminal defense attorney in Spokane, who strongly encouraged her to go to law school. Laura took his good advice and enrolled in Gonzaga University School of Law, where she performed well in oral advocacy competitions and received the highest grade in many of her law school courses, graduating summa cum laude. Following graduation, Laura clerked for the Honorable Stephen Brown at Division III of the Washington State Court of Appeals before beginning private practice. Laura counts herself very lucky to be able to help people navigate the legal system on a daily basis.
When she is not working, Laura can be found cooking, singing loudly (at home), online shopping, binge-watching true crime documentaries and, most importantly, hanging out with her husband and son.
Lauren Swapp handles personal injury cases for Craig Swapp & Associates, including vehicular accidents involving automobiles, commercial trucks, public transportation, pedestrians, motorcycles and bicycles.
Lauren received her Bachelors of Science from the University of Utah David Eccles School of Business. She earned her Juris Doctorate from Gonzaga University School of Law. While attending law school, her studies included an emphasis on business law. She also enjoyed and succeeded at her trial advocacy competitions. She co-authored a law review article on Corporate Social Responsibility and the effects it has on companies' ability to obtain funds, and she was a member of the Law School Dean's List.
In her spare time, Lauren enjoys exercising, hiking, tennis, and spending time with her family, friends and her dog Shiloh.
Personal Injury Attorney Lee Peterson practices law handling car accidents, truck accidents, negligence injury, and wrongful death cases.
Attorney Mark King is licensed to practice law in the states of Washington, Idaho, and Nevada. As a personal injury attorney at Craig Swapp & Associates, Mark focuses on litigation cases, including those requiring mediation and arbitration. His case load includes car accidents, truck accidents, pedestrian accidents, motorcycle accidents, bicycle accidents, dog bites, premises liability, and wrongful death, and negligent injury.
After graduating from UNLV with a Bachelor's degree in Criminal Justice and a minor in Spanish, Mark attended Gonzaga School of Law in Spokane, receiving his J.D. in 1997. Mark's career in law began with insurance defense work for two major Las Vegas firms. While practicing in Nevada, Mark gained valuable legal experience defending cases involving automobile accidents, medical malpractice, premises liability, construction defects, and bad faith. In 2001, he returned to Spokane to establish his own personal injury law practice.
Mark enjoys boating, riding ATVs, bicycling, camping, snow skiing, and other outdoor activities.
Practice Areas
Personal Injury
Job Titles:
- Member in Good Standing of the State Bar of Utah
Matt McCune joined Craig Swapp & Associates after working with one of the top business litigation and intellectual property firms in Utah, and then running a Utah office for a Texas-based catastrophic injury firm. Matt has extensive experience fighting for his clients.
Matt grew up in Omaha, Nebraska. He earned his undergraduate degree in marketing and management from the University of Nebraska at Omaha and was repeatedly named to the Dean's List. Matt worked for a decade in the financial services industry at a national investment firm headquartered in Omaha. But he wanted something more - to make a greater impact in the lives of those he served. With the support of his wife and five children, Matt and his family moved to Utah so he could attend law school at Brigham Young University.
While in law school, Matt excelled in mock trials and oral advocacy. He was champion, finalist, or semifinalist in every competition he entered. Matt worked as a teaching assistant for the first-year legal research and writing class and was president or vice president of several student organizations. He graduated from law school a semester early.
As a lawyer, Matt achieved his objective of making a bigger difference in the lives of others. At his prior firms, Matt focused on complex commercial litigation, complex injury litigation, real property litigation, and business transactions. Most recently, he trained and supervised a team of attorneys, paralegals, legal assistants, medical records specialists, and file clerks working on catastrophic injury and wrongful death cases. His greatest achievement was leading a three-firm team representing most of the counties in Utah and several in Idaho in lawsuits against the largest opioid manufacturers and distributors for their role in causing the opioid crisis. Matt has vast experience litigating and trying cases, and resolving cases through settlement or mediation.
At Craig Swapp & Associates, Matt applies his experience and passion for helping clients during their most difficult times. He is a tireless advocate who does whatever it takes to prevail.
Matt is a member in good standing of the State Bar of Utah, State Bar of Texas, State Bar of Arizona, and the United States District Court - District of Utah.
Between fighting for his clients, Matt spends time with his wife and their children, snowboards the greatest snow on earth in Utah's mountains, takes road trips, and plays music.
Mike Anderson grew up principally in the quiet area of Heber Valley, Utah. After graduating from Weber State University with a Bachelor's degree in Criminal Justice, Mike left the state to pursue his legal career at Western Michigan University. While Mike enjoyed his time in the Midwest, he found that he missed the mountains too much, and returned to Utah.
Prior to joining Craig Swapp & Associates, Mike litigated personal injury cases at a small firm in the Salt Lake Valley. At that firm, Mike gained significant experience in representing clients in various aspects of personal injury cases including arbitration, mediation, and trial. Before entering the civil side of law, Mike spent considerable time as a prosecutor, both for Salt Lake City and the Hopi Tribe. Mike is particularly proud of the time he spent living and working on the Hopi Indian Reservation, and there gained a deeper appreciation for standing up for those who have been wronged.
Mike enjoys hiking, swimming, and exploring backwoods trails in his Jeep. On any given Saturday in the Fall, you'll find Mike in Logan cheering on the Utah State Aggies' football team. When not pursuing outdoor adventures, you can find Mike with his nieces and nephews.
Personal Injury Attorney Paul Childs practices law handling car accidents, truck accidents, negligence injury, and wrongful death cases.
Attorney Rachelle Larson practices personal injury law at Craig Swapp and Associates. Her focus is on negotiating, litigating, mediating and arbitrating cases involving vehicular collisions (automobiles, commercial trucks, motorcycles, bicycles, pedestrians, and public transportation), negligent injury, and insurance bad faith. She is currently licensed to practice law in Washington State and is a member of the Washington State Bar Association.
Rachelle earned her undergraduate degree in Business Management from Eastern Washington University and her Juris Doctorate from Gonzaga University School of Law. While attending Gonzaga, Rachelle interned at University Legal Assistance, where she represented clients with various elder law issues, which included conducting legal research and drafting litigation documents, wills and trusts. She also volunteered at the Washington First Responders Will Clinic, drafting wills for local police officers, firefighters and other emergency care providers.
Prior to joining Craig Swapp & Associates, Rachelle was an associate attorney at Nordstrom Law Firm where she represented individuals in personal injury accidents, including cases involving automobiles, motorcycles, pedestrians, bicycles, dog bites, slip and falls, premises liability, and medical malpractice.
In her spare time, Rachelle enjoys exercising, hiking, interior decorating, and spending time with her family, friends and her dog Dolce. Rachelle is a Spokane area native and appreciates the opportunity to provide assistance to those individuals in need of representation.
Practice Areas
Personal Injury
Job Titles:
- Attorney
- Software Engineer
Attorney Ryan Swapp handles personal injury cases, including vehicular accidents involving automobiles, commercial trucks, public transportation, pedestrians, motorcycles, and bicycles. He is also involved in wrongful death and dog bite cases.
Ryan also manages the Product Liability Department at Craig Swapp & Associates. He was appointed to the Discovery Committee of In re Taxotere (Docetaxel) Products Liability Litigation, MDL #2740 and is actively representing women who permanently lost their hair as a result of taking Taxotere. Ryan is working on a number of product liability claims including Hernia Mesh, Hip Replacement, IVC Filter, Pradaxa, Taxotere, Transvaginal Mesh, and Xarelto.
Ryan graduated from the University of Utah with a degree in Business Entrepreneurship. He earned his Juris Doctorate from the J. Reuben Clark Law School at Brigham Young University. While attending law school, his studies included an emphasis on transactional law. He is licensed to practice law in Idaho, Montana, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.
In addition to being an attorney, Ryan is also a software engineer and has built a number of tools used at Craig Swapp & Associates including intake and dashboard software.
Practice Areas
Personal Injury