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Commission Highlights
During its regularly scheduled meeting of January 31, 2003, which was held in Salt Lake City, Utah the Board of Bar Commissioners
received the following reports and took the actions indicated.
1. Steve Waterman, co chair of the Admissions Committee, presented the Committee's recent and unanimous
recommendation to modify proposed Admission rule 10.4 to eliminate averaging and for the Bar to implement a rounding policy on the scaled written component that is consistent with the
rounding methodology used by the NCBE on the equated MBE. He further recommended that because scores will not be combined and averaged, that the reappraisal grading guideline be
implemented for scores falling between 258 and 260. The motion passed .
2. John Adams reported that the Supreme Court amended Rule 6(a) of the Rules of Lawyer Discipline and
Disability to override its previous decision Utah State Bar v. Benton Petersen which acknowledged the power of the Utah State Legis!
lature to regulate the unauthorized practice of law.
3. Vickie Kidman, chair of the UPL Committee and Marsha Thomas (former Chair) reported on the work of the Committee.
4. John Adams reported that the Supreme Court had appointed Thomas Mitchell to the Ad Hoc Records Committee. John also mentioned that the Bar had co-hosted a retirement reception for
Justice Richard Howe at the Matheson Courthouse and presented him with several gardening gifts.
5.J ohn Baldwin stated that the Bar was trying to limit the volume of e-mail
communications to members. A monthly e-mail will be sent, consolidating items of importance in a bullet point type format.
6. John Adams announced that the Supreme Court recently
approved the MJP petition and issued an order. He advised that we will notify other states of the new admission rule but that one of the members of the so-called Tri-State Consortium,
Oregon, had indicated its reluctance to extend reciprocity due to Utah's low passing score of!
130. Other members of
the consortium are Idaho and Washington; Idah
o has also expressed some reluctance.
7. David Bird led a discussion of current legislative issues.
8. John Adams reported that he, Debra Moore and John Baldwin recently met
with the Supreme Court to discuss Bar business including the new court rule on UPL and the Marbury v. Madison program as well as other law education programs and the constitutional
law class for legislators.
9. John Adams updated the Commission on the new Marbury v. Madison Bicentennial project.
10. John Adams reported on the Law Day activities.
11. John Baldwin reviewed the agenda meeting calendar, including lunch with the Southern Utah Bar Association before the Mid-Year commission meeting.
12. Bob Merrell
reported on the Budget and Finance Committee's recommendation regarding Commission grants and contributions pursuant to "outside" requests.
13. The Commission voted on Utah Bar Journal covers of the year, with Dana Sohm's photo on the April 2002 issue of the Journal coming out the winner.
14. John Adams reported on the September local "mini" convention plans in progress. The CLE event will be targeted toward those Bar members comprising solo
practitioners, small firm practitioners and government lawyers.
15.John Adams reviewed the proposal on response to judicial criticism.
16.Discussion of the usage of the
attorney's lounge in Matheson courthouse was held and the Commission approved a 60-day trial run of permitting legal aid service interviews in the attorney's lounge.
17.Nanci Snow
Bockelie and George Daines reported on the sunset review of general Bar committees including Governmental Relations, LRE, Courts and Judges and Needs of the Elderly. Government Relations
sponsored a breakfast for the legislators this year, Needs of the Elderly is active and workable transition of leadership process is in place and LRE needs a new chair. Bob Merrell
reported that the Consumer Assistance Program provides good service and is cost effective. Lowry Snow reported on the CLE program review and stated that the program did an excellent
job meeting Bar member's CLE requirements and that the program was fairly self-sustaining except for paying for outside convention speakers. John Adams reminded Commissioners that
additional program reviews had been scheduled: (1) Client Security Fund, (2) Member Benefits and (3) Fee Arbitration.
18.Denise Dragoo was selected for the Dorothy Merrill Brothers
Award for the Advancement of Women in the legal profession and John Hill was selected for the Raymond S. Uno Award for the advancement of minorities in the legal profession. Nelda Bishop
was nominated for the Distinguished Service Award and the motion passed unanimously.
19.Paul Moxley and Charles R. Brown gave the ABA report. Charles will be drafting a Bar Journal
article on the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and Paul has been slated as President-elect of the NCBP.
20.Dane Nolan gave the Judicial Council report covering both the meetings on December
16th and January 14th. In the latter meeting, the Council adopted a proposal !
which gives district courts authority to issue Certificates of Probable Cause. The Council also
voted to oppose S.B. 93 relating to the issue of retention election of justice court judges. Dane reports that budget issues continue to be a problem.
21.Debra Moore gave a report
on the Delivery of Legal Services Task Force. The Task Force has concluded that there are substantial unmet needs among the middle class and that approximately 50% of that group never
access legal services to resolve the issues. Among the greatest needs are family law, personal injury, and consumer issues as well as demand for estate planning (wills) and review of
contracts. A final report is due in March.
22.George Daines reported on the Judicial Performance Evaluation Committee proposal for judicial assistance program.
A full text
of minutes of this and other meetings of the Bar Commission is available for inspection at the office of the Executive Director.
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Mailing of Licensing Forms
The licensing forms for 2003-2004 will be mailed during the last week of May and the first week of June. Fees are due July 1,
2003, however fees received or postmarked on or before August 1, 2003 will be processed without penalty.
It is the responsibility of each attorney to provide the Bar with current
address information. This information must be submitted in writing. Failure to notify the Bar of an address change does not relieve an attorney from paying licensing fees, late fees, or
possible suspension for non-payment of fees. You may check the Bar's website to see what information is on file. The site is updated weekly and is located at www.utahbar.org.
If you need to update your address please submit the information to Arnold Birrell, Utah State Bar, 645 South 200 East, Salt
Lake City, UT 84111-3834. You may also fax the information to (801) 531-9537.
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2003 Annual Meeting Awards
The Board of Bar Commissioners is seeking nominations for the 2003 Annual Meeting Awards. These awards have a long history of honoring
publicly those whose professionalism, public service and personal dedication have significantly enhanced the administration of justice, the delivery of legal services and the building up
of the profession. Your award nomination must be submitted in writing to Maud Thurman, Executive Secretary, 645 South 200 East, Suite 310, Salt Lake City, UT 84111, no later than Friday,
April 25, 2003. The award categories include:
1. Judge of the Year
2. Lawyer of the Year
3. Young Lawyer of the Year
4. Section/Committee of the Year
5. Community Member of the Year
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New Policy for Addressing Criticism of Courts and Judges
On March 13, 2003, the Bar Commission approved the final version of a new policy addressing criticism of
courts and judges. The program was adopted because the restraints placed on members of the judiciary by both tradition and the Utah Code of Judicial Conduct and the ethical obligations
imposed by the Utah Rules of Professional Conduct for lawyers, often makes it difficult for the judicial system to explain or defend itself. The program was instituted to provide for
appropriate and timely response to unfair, inaccurate, serious or harmful criticism of courts and judges. The policy can be accessed on the Bar's website (www.utahbar.org) or copies may
be e-mailed or provided by mail by calling Diana Gough at (801) 297-7057.
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