Springville, UT

The eldest of nine children, J.C. grew up in the rural west where he and his siblings learned on a farm the value of hard work and responsibility. After high school, J.C. served a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to Spain. Upon his return to the United States, he enrolled in school and later graduated Magna Cum Laude from Southern Utah University in History and Spanish Literature. He then attended the University of Wyoming College of Law, graduating in 2005. J.C. began practicing law in April of that same year. J.C. practiced criminal defense, bankruptcy, and general civil litigation at the start of his career before focusing on criminal defense and personal injury as his exclusive practice areas. J.C. has successfully defended thousands of people and built a practice based on satisfied clients referring friends and family. J.C.’s practice focuses on sex abuse, retail theft, DUI, drug possession, drug trafficking, domestic violence, assault, aggravated assault, murder, rape, sexual abuse of a child, exploitation, white collar fraud, fraud, and theft cases. As a Spanish speaker, J.C. also assists immigrants charged with crimes. J.C. prides himself on his courtroom experience, having handled approximately 10,000 court hearings during the course of his career.

Pona is the eldest son of a Tongan-Immigrant Father and Native American Mother. After graduating from Granite High School in South Salt Lake, Pona served a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and labored in the Canada Winnipeg Mission. Pona attended Brigham Young University and graduated with a Bachelors of Science in Psychology and a Minor in Business Management. During law school, Pona clerked for the Brigham Young University Office of the General Counsel. After graduating from the J. Reuben Clark Law School at BYU in 2014, Pona began a clerkship in the 4th District Court of Utah. Pona enjoyed practicing law with a boutique business law firm in Utah County focusing on civil litigation involving issues like misappropriation of trade secrets and binding arbitration from franchise agreements. At this time Pona found a knack for winning attorney's fees disputes; saving clients thousands of dollars, while also maintaining an estate planning practice. After gaining experience in the civil field, Pona began his work with the Utah County Attorney's Office in the Civil Division. While in the Civil Division, Pona coordinated with Department heads like the County Health Department and the Department of Alcohol Prevention and Treatment. Pona was also successful in Defending Utah County in claims for access to Government Records (GRAMA), winning at the Utah Court of Appeals level. Pona joined the Utah County Attorney's Office's Criminal Division and began prosecuting cases in Justice Court where he handled hundreds of cases from Drug Possession to DUI and Domestic Violence. After a short time Pona was assigned as the prosecutor in Juvenile Court, where he gained experience in serious crimes such as; rape, sexual abuse of a child, aggravated assault and attempted murder. As a felony prosecutor in District Court, Pona handled assault, drug, DUI, and a number of other types of cases. Pona's experience is not typical of most attorneys, but it's what provides him with the ability to help clients in a unique way. Since the creation of the law firm, Pona has gone on to handle hundreds of cases; from traffic court to federal court and DUIs to attempted murder.