Mica McKinney

Mica McKinney practices in Ray Quinney & Nebeker’s litigation, employment, and corporate compliance & government investigations sections.

Mica brings a valuable combination of private practice depth and senior public institution leadership to her clients. Her practice focuses on complex civil litigation, internal investigations, regulatory compliance, and higher education law. She represents corporate and nonprofit clients in disputes involving trade secrets, trademarks, patents, contracts, compliance, and employment and student issues. She has guided clients through enforcement and investigatory proceedings before numerous federal and state agencies. 

Before returning to RQN, Mica served as Senior Vice President for Legal Affairs and General Counsel at a Carnegie R1 public research university, where she was a member of the university’s executive leadership team and its chief legal officer. In this capacity, she advised the Board of Trustees, the university president, and senior administrators on a broad range of legal and policy questions, including litigation, governance, regulatory compliance, risk management, legislative matters, employment, athletic conference and regulatory matters, research, data privacy and security. Her broad experience as in-house counsel gives her a distinct perspective: she understands the multi-dimensional impact of legal risk, how decisions travel through complex organizations, and how to develop legal strategies that are both rigorous and actionable.

Mica’s commitment to public service predates her career as an attorney. Early in her career she served in the Utah Office of the Lieutenant Governor, where she was a communications officer focused on voting and elections. Her background in communications and public relations allows her to provide balanced advice and counsel to clients responding to high stakes matters with strong public interest.  

Prior to her decade-long tenure as general counsel, Mica practiced at RQN, where she represented clients across a range of complex commercial and regulatory matters and conducted internal investigations involving a variety of compliance issues.