Firm Lawyers

Kent W. Foster | Robert E. Farnam | William D. Faler | Charles A. Homer
Gary L. Meikle | Donald L. Harris | Dale W. Storer
F.J. Hahn III | Karl R. Decker | Shan B. Perry
DeAnne Casperson | Robert L. Harris

KENT W. FOSTER

Kent W. Foster joined the law firm as an associate upon graduation from law school in 1968, and has been a partner in the firm since 1973. He was educated at the University of Utah, receiving a Bachelor of Arts Degree in 1965 and a Juris Doctorate Degree in 1968. Mr. Foster has been licensed to practice law before all courts of the State of Idaho and the United States District Court for Idaho since 1968. He is also licensed to practice before the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

Mr. Foster was born and reared on a small farm in Fremont County, Idaho. He attended and graduated from South Fremont High School where he was active in student government, Future Farmers of America and sports. His education at the University of Utah was interrupted by service on a two-year LDS mission in Illinois and Iowa from 1960 to 1962. He was married to his wife, Frances, in 1965, and they are the adoptive parents of three children, and the birth parents of an additional three children. After coming to Idaho Falls, he was active for a few years in Jaycees, served on the Bonneville County Human Rights Commission and other community committees and boards, and has been active in the LDS church.

As he began the practice of law, his exposure was general, including criminal defense, domestic relations, commercial law and insurance subrogations. However, the majority of his time was spent in water rights matters, real estate transactions, mining claims, patenting, child adoptions and advising local and state-wide adoption and social service agencies. Over the years, his practice has focused with increasing intensity on real estate, mining and adoptions of children, including representation of adoption agencies, but the bulk of his practice has consisted of advice and litigation regarding water rights. Examples of major water law issues in which he has been involved include: major dispute with Idaho State Department of Water Resources over licensing of Palisades Dam and Reservoir (Federal Reclamation Project) from 1970 through 1971; environmental law suit over construction of Teton Dam and Reservoir from 1971 through 1975; Lemhi River Adjudication from 1970 through 1983; American Falls Dam replacement (Federal Reclamation Project) from 1974 through 1980; Special Water Rights Counsel to City of Idaho Falls on Bulb Turbine Hydroelectric Projects and the Gem State Hydroelectric Project from 1978 to present; representation of several hundred defendants in Idaho Power Company lawsuit from 1983 through 1985; Swan Falls Controversy; Snake River Basin Adjudication from 1985 to present.

He is a member of the Idaho State Bar Association and the Water Law Section of that association, having served as the first chairman of the section from 1988 to 1990. He is a member of the natural resources section of the American Bar Association. Beside having been a frequent speaker and lecturer on Idaho Water Law as well as a faculty member on several continuing legal education seminars on water law, he served for 12 years on the Resolutions Committee of the Idaho Water Users Association, five of those as chairman. He was appointed by the Governor in 1983 to serve on the Governor's Swan Falls Task Force, and in 1985 to serve on the Governor's Task Force to revise the Idaho Adjudication Statutes. He has been listed in The Best Lawyers In America (Woodward-White, 1989 through 1996).

ROBERT E. FARNAM

Robert E. Farnam received his Juris Doctor Decree, cum laude, from the University of Idaho Law School in 1969, graduating first in his class. While at the University of Idaho he served as Editor-in-Chief of the Idaho Law Review. He received his Bachelor of Science (Accounting) Degree from the University of Idaho College of Business in 1966, summa cum laude, also finishing first in his class. He was awarded numerous academic awards and scholarships from both the College of Law and the College of Business. He has been a member of Holden, Kidwell, Hahn & Crapo, P.L.L.C., for over 27 years. After receiving experience in varied aspects of the law, he has concentrated his practice in the areas of probate, estate planning, taxation, and real estate. He is a fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel.

Mr. Farnam has been active in Bar Association affairs, serving as President of the Seventh District Bar Association in the 1989-1990 fiscal year. He served as a member of the Seventh District Magistrate's Commission for 10 years prior to that time. In 1988 he initiated the "It's the Law" column in the Idaho Falls newspaper, in which local attorneys respond to public questions about legal issues. He has coordinated the column and has been a principal contributor since its inception and continues to do so. He has served on the Advisory Committee of the Idaho State Tax Institute for approximately 20 years.

Mr. Farnam has served as a lecturer in probate and estate planning issues over the last 15 years with the Idaho Bar Foundation, Idaho State Tax Institute, Eastern Idaho Estate Planning Counsel, and various other organizations.

Mr. Farnam is active in community musical affairs, being one of the founders of the Idaho Falls Opera Theater in 1978. He is serving his seventh term as President and has sung principal roles in 26 of the Company's productions. He also solos frequently with the Idaho Falls Symphony and with various other musical groups throughout eastern Idaho. He is also past President and a 20 year board member of the Idaho Falls Community Concert Association.

He is married, with three adult children, an active member of the First Baptist Church, an avid golfer, skier, softball player and animal lover.

WILLIAM D. FALER

Mr. Faler has 24 years of experience in litigation, primarily in the areas of product liability, commercial law and toxic tort/environmental law. Mr. Faler has been involved in cases in both the federal court system and several state courts in the Intermountain West. He is admitted to practice in the State of Idaho and before the federal court in the State of Idaho and the United States Circuit Court for the Ninth Circuit. He is a member of the Idaho Bar Association, American Bar Association, Defense Research Institute, American Trial Lawyers Association and Idaho Trial Lawyers Association.

Mr. Faler's experience in toxic tort litigation has ranged multi-state complex litigation resulting from contamination due to accidental releases of toxic chemicals to multiple party litigation over the leakage of hazardous chemicals in transit. Mr. Faler has also defended numerous chemical companies in litigation over the use of their products.

Mr. Faler served for 5 years on Evidence Rules Committee for the Idaho State Bar and played a substantial role in the complete rewriting of those rules. He has lectured on parts of the Rules of Evidence and document control in complex litigation.

Mr. Faler was born in Independence, Kansas, in 1947. He attended the University of Kansas where he received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Political Science in 1969 and Juris Doctorate Degree in 1972. Since graduation, he has resided in Idaho Falls where he has practiced with Holden, Kidwell, Hahn & Crapo.

His interests include golfing, skiing and snowmobiling. He has served for the last 10 years as one of the two directors on the National Board of Directors of the American Cancer Society.

CHARLES A. HOMER

Mr. Homer practices in the areas of real estate transactions, commercial litigation, banking, commercial lending, creditor's and debtor's rights. He also serves as corporate counsel for several local businesses. He is admitted to practice before all state and federal courts in the State of Idaho. Mr. Homer has lectured at seminars on real estate transactions and real estate foreclosures sponsored by the Idaho Law Foundation.

Mr. Homer is a member of the Idaho State Bar and the American Bar Association. He graduated from Brigham Young University with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in 1971. Mr. Homer graduated from the University of Idaho Law School in 1974 with a Juris Doctor Degree, cum laude. Mr. Homer served as Articles Editor of the Idaho Law Review while at the University of Idaho Law School.

Mr. Homer and his wife, Marci, have four children and reside in Idaho Falls.

GARY L. MEIKLE

Mr. Meikle's practice focuses on the transactional and tax aspects of two primary areas--business law and estate planning.

Mr. Meikle's business law experience includes business sales, mergers, and reorganizations. He has extensive practice in forming business entities and advising management in matters of corporate government and day-to-day business problems. His transactional work includes employment agreements, buy-sell agreements, non-disclosure agreements, leases, acquisition or sale of assets, and various financing documents.

Mr. Meikle's estate planning utilizes wills, trusts, insurance trusts, gift programs and other appropriate instruments. Minimization of federal estate taxes is frequently an important aspect of the estate planning process. His estate planning practice includes estate settlement, which may include probate, non-probate procedures to clear title, post mortem tax planning and estate tax returns and audits.

Mr. Meikle is a native of Idaho Falls, Idaho, having graduated from Idaho Falls High School. He obtained a bachelors degree from Brigham Young University, with a double-major in Political Science and Italian. In 1977, he graduated from J. Reuben Clark Law School at Brigham Young University after which he joined Holden, Kidwell, Hahn & Crapo. He has been a member of the firm since 1981. He has been active in the Idaho State Bar Association and numerous educational activities. He has served as a member and as a chairman of the Idaho Law Foundation Continuing Legal Education Committee and has spoken at numerous Continuing Legal Education programs. He has been a member of the board of directors of the Idaho State Bar Association Corporate and Securities Section, and of the Taxation, Probate and Trust Law Section. He is a past president of the Eastern Idaho Estate Planning Council.

DONALD L. HARRIS

Mr. Harris focuses his practice on civil trial practice and appearing before the Internal Revenue Service. He was admitted to practice before all state and federal courts in the State of Idaho and the United States Circuit Court of Appeals (9th Circuit).

Mr. Harris has represented cities and counties and general civil trial practice. He also represents agricultural businesses in litigation concerning crop loss. He also represents clients in accident and personal injury cases.

He is a member of the Idaho State Bar and the American Bar Association. He is a former federal prosecutor with the United States Department of Justice, United States Attorney's Office. Mr. Harris previously served two terms on the Seventh District Magistrate Commission which was responsible for appointing magistrate judges in the Seventh Judicial District of Idaho.

He was born in Albany, California on February 26, 1947 and was admitted to the Idaho State Bar in 1976. He received his law degree from the J. Reuben Law School, Brigham Young University. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in political science from the University of California at Berkeley.

He and his wife Joyce have six children and they reside in Idaho Falls.

DALE W. STORER

Mr. Storer practices primarily in the areas of state and local government, education, real property, planning and zoning and employment law. He is admitted to practice before all state and federal courts in the State of Idaho, including the United States Supreme Court, the United States Circuit Court of Appeals, (Ninth Circuit) and the Idaho Supreme Court. He has frequently testified before the Idaho State Legislature on a variety of issues affecting cities, counties and other public entities. He has served as chief legal counsel for many public construction projects, including the Gem State Hydroelectric project, a 23.4 megawatt hydroelectric generating facility built at a cost of over $60 million dollars.

Mr. Storer has served as the City Attorney for the City of Idaho Falls since 1982 and he also represents a number of other smaller cities, school districts, counties, electrical utilities and private developers. He has served three terms as president of the Idaho Municipal Attorneys Association and he currently serves on the board of directors for the Idaho Municipal Attorneys Association and as the Idaho state chairman of the International Municipal Lawyers Association. He is a member of the Idaho State Bar Association, the American Bar Association and the J. Reuben Clark Law Society. In 2006, he received the Idaho State Bar's Professionalism Award recognizing his reputation for ability, diligence, courtesy and devotion to public service.

He was born in Idaho Falls, Idaho on September 5, 1950 and he and his wife, Le Anne, have six children. He received a bachelors of arts degree in economics and Asian studies from Brigham Young University, with a cum laude distinction. He received his law degree from the J. Reuben Clark Law School, Brigham Young University and he was admitted to the Idaho State Bar in 1977.

Mr. Storer and his wife reside in Idaho Falls and are active in many community and civic organizations. He enjoys skiing, fishing and woodworking as hobbies. He also speaks fluent Indonesian.

FREDERICK J. HAHN, III

Mr. Hahn practices primarily in the areas of commercial and construction litigation. Mr. Hahn has experience in both state and federal litigation at the trial and appellate levels. He is admitted to practice before all state and federal courts of Idaho, and the United States Circuit Court of appeals for the Ninth circuit. He is a member of the Idaho and American Bar Associations, (member of the ABA Forum on Construction Industry, Litigation and Business Sections).

Mr. Hahn has been involved in the defense of lender liability actions, anti-trust actions, general corporate litigation, and employment litigation including litigating issues relating to the enforceability of non-competition, non-disclosure and trade secret clauses. In recent years, Mr. Hahn's practice has focused predominately upon construction litigation involving Miller Act claims, litigation and claims on public works bonds, as well as materialman/mechanics lien foreclosure actions. Mr. Hahn has represented owners, engineers and design professionals, as well as general contractors and subcontractors.

Mr. Hahn also has experience in business planning and corporate law. He is currently involved with the Idaho Corporate and Securities Section of the Idaho State Bar, on its committee to redraft the Idaho Corporate Code.

Mr. Hahn was born in Idaho Falls, Idaho on November 13, 1963. He received undergraduate degrees in German and Finance from the University of Idaho. He also received his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Idaho in 1990.

Mr. Hahn and his wife Neccia have three children and reside in Idaho Falls, Idaho. His interests include reading, tennis, golf, skiing and mountain biking.

KARL R. DECKER

Mr. Decker practices primarily in the areas of litigation, probate and estate litigation, real estate and business contracts and transactions, and bankruptcy litigation. During his career Mr. Decker has been involved in litigation of a wide variety of matters including personal injury; product liability; antitrust; civil RICO; receivership and foreclosure of commercial properties; surety reclamation and salvage; bankruptcy adversary proceedings; bankruptcy creditor’s claim litigation; Chapter 11 debtor’s counsel; construction contract disputes; will contests; nursing home receivership and bankruptcy; and collections.

Mr. Decker is a member of the American Bar Association, Idaho State Bar Association, Seventh Judicial District Bar Association, the American Bankruptcy Institute and the J. Reuben Clark Law Society.

Mr. Decker obtained an Associate of Arts from Ricks College in Rexburg, Idaho (now Brigham Young University-Idaho) in 1977, Highest Honors, and was a recipient of the Spori Scholar award, the College’s highest academic honor. He obtained his Bachelor of Art’s degree from Brigham Young University in Provo Utah in 1979, cum laude, with a major in History. After spending one year working in forest road engineering staking and construction and two years in the land title insurance industry he attended the J. Reuben Clark Law School at Brigham Young University. While in law school he served as a Note and Comment Editor on the Brigham Young University Law Review and participated in the development of a CAPS computerized demonstration expert system for the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals in conjunction with the law school, and the Federal Judicial Center. Graduating with his Juris Doctor, cum laude, in 1985 he commenced practice in Idaho Falls, Idaho, admitted in Idaho in 1985.

He and his wife Marie reside near Idaho Falls and are the proud parents of seven.

SHAN B. PERRY

Mr. Perry practices primarily in the areas of civil litigation, commercial law, family law, litigation defense of government entities and municipality law. He is admitted to practice before all state and federal courts in the State of Idaho. Mr. Perry is a member of the Idaho State Bar, American Bar Association and the International Municipal Lawyers Association. He is also the Assistant City Attorney for the City of Idaho Falls.

Mr. Perry graduated summa cum laude from the University of Idaho in 1993 with a degree in political science and a minor in history. He is a member of the Phi Beta Kappa and Phi Kappa Phi honor societies. Mr. Perry graduated with a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Utah College of Law in 1996. He was a member of the Utah Law Review and received the Corpus Juris Secundum award for scholastic excellence in Torts. He was also a William H. Leary scholar. Mr. Perry served as a judicial intern to the Honorable Pamela T. Greenwood of the Utah Court of Appeals.

Mr. Perry was born in Jacksonville, Florida, on July 30, 1969. He lived in Texas, California and Michigan before his family settled in Idaho in 1984. His interests include playing in various sports leagues, and distance running.

Mr. Perry and his wife, Karissa, reside in Idaho Falls and they have six children.

DEANNE CASPERSON

Ms. Casperson practices primarily in the areas of labor and employment and education law. Ms. Casperson has litigation experience in representing both employers and employees. She also provides employment-related policy guidance for employers. Ms. Casperson is admitted to practice in the states of Idaho, Kansas, and Missouri, and before the United States District Courts for the District of Idaho, Kansas, and Missouri, and the United States Circuit Court for the Eighth Circuit.

Ms. Casperson was born and raised in Preston, Idaho. She graduated from Utah State University in 1988 with a Bachelor of Science in English and a minor in Chemistry. Ms. Casperson was employed at the Idaho National Engineering & Environmental Laboratory for approximately six years prior to attending law school. In 1999, Ms. Casperson graduated from the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law, graduating 4th in her class. Ms. Casperson received numerous awards and distinctions during law school, including the Advanced Legal Writing Award, West Publishing Company Award, Moot Court Award, and Teaching Assistant Award. She is also a member of the Order of Barristers and Order of the Bench and Robe and served as an articles editor for Law Review.

After graduation, Ms. Casperson served as a judicial law clerk to the Honorable Dean Whipple, Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri. During her clerkship, Ms. Casperson worked on numerous employment-related cases. She also served as a law clerk on the well-known school desegregation case, Jenkins v. Missouri.

After her federal clerkship, Ms. Casperson joined the law firm of Shook, Hardy & Bacon L.L.P., where she was employed in the national employment litigation practice section, exclusively representing employers. In December 2002, Ms. Casperson returned with her family to Idaho Falls, Idaho, where she began her employment law practice with Holden, Kidwell, Hahn & Crapo, P.L.L.C.

ROBERT L. HARRIS

Robert L. Harris joined the law firm as an associate attorney upon graduation from law school in 2004. The emphasis of his practice is water law, environmental law, and real property law. Mr. Harris is a native of eastern Idaho and is the son of Layne and Beverly Harris of Newdale. He graduated from Sugar-Salem High School in 1995 and subsequently served an LDS mission in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Mr. Harris received an Associates Degree in Arts and Sciences from Ricks College in 1999 and a Bachelor's Degree in Biology from Utah State University in 2001.

After graduating from Utah State, he attended the University of Idaho College of Law. During his time in law school, Mr. Harris was one of two students to receive the Idaho Trial Lawyers Association Award For Excellence in Legal Research and Writing and received first place in the Idaho State Bar Water Law Section Writing Competition. Mr. Harris also served as an Associate Member of the Idaho Law Review where his article, Narrowing the Local Public Interest Criterion in Idaho Water Right Transfers, was published in the Idaho Law Review in 2003.

During his last year of law school, Mr. Harris was the Editor-in-Chief of the Idaho Law Review where he oversaw the publication of over twenty-five journal articles that included articles from United States Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, former Idaho Attorney General Larry EchoHawk, and Idaho District Judges John R. Stegner and N. Randy Smith. Mr. Harris graduated from the University of Idaho College of Law in May of 2004 and was admitted to practice as an attorney in the state of Idaho and in the United States District Court for the District of Idaho on September 30, 2004.

Mr. Harris is also currently finishing up his requirements for a Master's Degree in Environmental Science from the University of Idaho, a degree that he began working towards while in law school. The emphasis of his environmental science classes is on hydrology and other water related issues. He recently co-authored an article entitled Ground Water Right Transfers in the Snake River Plain, Idaho with University of Idaho professors Dr. Gary Johnson and Dr. Donna M. Cosgrove and Bryce Contor, a Research Hydrologist with the Idaho Water Resources Research Institute. The article appears in the December 15, 2004 edition of The Water Report.

In his spare time, Mr. Harris enjoys fly fishing, fly tying, basketball, tennis, hiking, camping, horse riding, and working on his father's farm. Mr. Harris, his wife Jennifer, and their children, Dallen and Anna, currently reside in Ammon.