Edward Havas and Colin King, founding members of the firm Dewsnup, King & Olsen, worked with the late Brent Wilcox as lead counsel for the families of 20 of the 27 victims of the 1984 Wilberg mine fire. In March of 1987, they reached a $22 million out-of-court settlement of a wrongful death lawsuit brought against Utah Power & Light, which owned the mine outside of Orangeville.

But their experience extends far beyond that noteworthy case.

Havas and King have represented miners or their survivors in more than a dozen wrongful death and catastrophic injury cases in the West. That includes coal-mining cases in Utah and Colorado, hard-rock mining accidents in Wyoming and Idaho and gold mining cases in Nevada, Havas said.

The attorneys will handle the Crandall Canyon case on a contingent-fee basis. The families will not be charged any money unless a settlement is obtained.

"These miners don't have the wherewithal to take on a case like this," said Havas. "We're fortunate to be able to finance advance costs and pursue a case of this magnitude. If the miners' families had to pay for it, hardly anybody could afford to do it."

Both King and Havas are past presidents of the Utah Trial Lawyers Association and have been members of its board of governors.

King graduated magna cum laude in economics from the University of Utah and then received his law degree there. Biographical information on the firm's Web site said he has been a member of The Best Lawyers in America in personal injury law since 1993 and that he "is a passionate advocate of victims' rights before the courts and in the legislative arena, where he actively promotes legislation to hold wrongdoers accountable."

An Ogden native, Havas also was a founding member of the firm after receiving a bachelor's degree in political science from Weber State University and his law degree from the U.

He has been volunteered as a small claims court judge in 3rd District Court since 1988, is an arbitrator in medical malpractice cases and sits on the U.S. District Court's approval panel of mediators.

mikeg@sltrib.com