About Michael John
Michael John Langford built his professional life around criminal law and the institutions that shape it. He brings courtroom experience and years of service on local and regional boards to his work on behalf of clients in Utah.
He graduated from Boston College in 1996 with a B.A. in political science. He then attended Creighton University School of Law, completing his law studies in 2001, where his coursework emphasized criminal law and procedure.
After finishing law school Langford pursued admission to practice in Utah and in the federal courts that serve the region. He is admitted to the Utah bar, to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, and to the U.S. District Court for the District of Utah. Those federal admissions allow him to represent clients at multiple levels of the justice system.
Langford has sustained ties to the criminal defense community. He holds memberships in the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the Utah Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, and the American Bar Association Criminal Justice Section. He has also served on several non-profit and community boards: he joined the board of the Rocky Mountain Innocence Center in 2013 and the Salt Lake County Children’s Justice Center board in 2014. He has been a member of the Henry’s Fork Foundation board since 2011 and has taken part in the Utah State Bar’s New Lawyer Mentor program beginning in 2011.
Colleagues describe him as someone who combines courtroom practice with an interest in systemic questions. His board work with an innocence organization and a children’s justice center reflects involvement beyond individual cases. He has spent substantial time in trial settings and in federal filings that require careful attention to procedure.
Outside of formal roles he has worked with newer lawyers through the Utah State Bar mentorship program. That activity speaks to an interest in the profession’s next generation and in the practical skills needed for litigation.
He maintains a practice in Utah handling criminal defense matters in state and federal courts. He now handles criminal defense cases for clients in Utah’s state and federal systems.
