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The Utah State Bar at the start of 2003 consists of 7,823 lawyers. Who are we? How old are we? How long have we been members of the Bar? How many of us are women and how many are men? How
diverse is the ethnicity of our Bar? In what settings do we practice law? How many of us are not practicing law? Where do we live? With the help of some graphics, I'll answer these
questions for you.
Age and Years in Practice
As you might expect, the vast majority of lawyers in Utah are between the ages of 30 and 55. The single largest group is in the 45 to 49 year old
bracket. However, as shown in graph #1, there is a fairly even distribution of lawyers over the 25 year span from 30 to 55 years of age. We have 420 lawyers over 70 years of age.
In terms of years in practice, the largest group is new lawyers (1,559) between 0 and 4 years of practice. As shown in graph #2, the second largest group is those between 5 and 9 years of
practice. We have 174 lawyers who have practiced more than 50 years - an amazing accomplishment!
Gender
Of our Bar's 7,823 members, 1,664 (21%) are women and 6,159 (79%) are men. Graph #3 shows that of our 420 lawyers over 70 years of age, only 17 (4%) are women and 403
(96%) are men. In contrast, in the 25 to 29 year old group of 401 lawyers, 181 (45%) are women and 220 (55%) are men. To give you some feel for the gender mix in the pipeline, Dean Scott
Matheson of the S.J. Quinney School of Law reports that his class of 2003 has 36% women and 64% men. Dean Reese Hansen of the J. Reuben Clark Law School said that of the law students
graduating this spring 31% are women and 69% are men.
Ethnicity
Ethnicity is one area where the Bar's information is incomplete. Most of the information for this article is taken from the Bar's annual registration forms. The Bar
requests, but does not require, information about ethnic background. Almost 26% of Bar members choose not to disclose their ethnic backgrounds. With that explanation in mind, graph #4
shows that the ethnicity of the Utah State Bar is overwhelmingly white at 70%. The next largest ethnic background is Hispanic at 1%. The class of 2003 at the S. J. Quinney School of Law
has 11% students of color and the class of 2003 at the J. Reuben Clark Law School has 10% students of color.
It is worth noting that the composition of the Bar Commission is much more diverse than the membership of the Bar generally. The Bar Commission consists of 15 voting members and 9
ex-officio members. Of the 15 voting members, 4 are women and 11 are men. Two of the voting commissioners are lawyers of color. Of the nine ex-officio members, 3 are women, 6 are men and
1 is a lawyer of color. Our Bar staff is quite diverse. Of the 25 full-time members of our Bar staff, 72% are women and 28% are men with 4 of them representing backgrounds of color.
Practice Settings and Members on Inactive Status
Some may mistakenly believe that the majority of lawyers practice in large or medium size law firms. That is not the case. Graph
#5 shows that the largest segment of Utah lawyers (20%) is solo practitioners. The next largest group (19%) is government, followed by small firm (i.e., 2-5 lawyers) (15%) and medium firm
(i.e., 6-25 lawyers) (13%). Lawyers in large firms (i.e., 26 plus) represent only 11% of the Bar membership.
Another myth is that the Bar leadership is dominated by large law firm lawyers. Although I happen to practice with a large firm, my two predecessors, now Magistrate Judge David Nuffer and
Scott Daniels, do not. David Nuffer's roots were in a rural, small firm setting. Scott Daniels began with a large firm but is now a state legislator and mediator. Debra Moore, our
President-Elect, works for the Utah Attorney General's Office and will be the first government lawyer to serve as Bar President. Of the 15 voting members of the Commission, 2 come from
large firms, 8 from small firm or solo practice and 3 from government. Two voting commissioners are public members.
Our membership is also classified according to those in active practice vis-ˆ-vis those who maintain their licenses on inactive status. Of our 7,823 members, 5,972 or 76% are active
members with 1,851 or 24% on inactive status.
Geographic Distribution
Our Bar is divided into five regions. Under our scheme of Bar governance, you elect Bar commissioners for your respective regions. The largest
concentration of lawyers (4,448 or 57%) comes from the third region, consisting of Salt Lake, Summit and Tooele Counties. As shown by graph #6, the next largest region (676 or 9%) is the
fourth region, consisting of Utah, Juab and Millard Counties. The smallest population of lawyers (114 or 2%) resides in the first region, consisting of Cache, Box Elder and Rich Counties.
Finally, 6,115 or 78% of our members live in the State of Utah and 1,708 or 22% of the members of the Utah State Bar live in other states.
Conclusion
You can be proud of your membership in the Utah State Bar. It is a group of women and men who are competent and dedicated professionals. We are served by a very
capable Bar staff. On behalf of the Bar Commission, we thank you for your support of our Bar programs and efforts. I wish you and yours happiness, good health and prosperity in this New
Year.
p.s. Breaking News . . .
In last month's President's Message I wrote about the work of the Supreme Court Committee on the Delivery of Legal Services. Since that issue went to press, a significant development has
occurred concerning regulation of the unauthorized practice of law. Up to now, the Utah State Bar has relied upon statutory authority as the principal basis for action against those
engaged in the unauthorized practice of law. The Utah Supreme Court by rule has now asserted jurisdiction to govern the unauthorized practice of law.
On December 23, 2002, the Utah Supreme Court adopted (and promulgated effective January 1, 2003) proposed amendments to the Rules of Lawyer Discipline and Disability. Of particular note
here are the changes to Rule 6(a) concerning "persons practicing law." The rule defines who is subject to the disciplinary jurisdiction of the Utah Supreme Court and the Office
of Professional Conduct. Besides lawyers, the rule governs "any other person not admitted in this state who practices law or who renders or offers to render any legal services in
this state." (Emphasis added).
The practical effect of this new rule is to overrule the Utah Supreme Court's decision in Utah State Bar v. Benton Petersen, 937 P.2d 1263 (1997), in which the Supreme Court stated that
the Legislature governed the unauthorized practice of law. Id. at 1270. The Utah Legislature in 2001 passed Utah Code Ann. subsection 78-9-101 which makes it unlawful for a person to
"practice law or assume to act or hold himself out to the public as a person qualified to practice law within this state" if he is not admitted and licensed to practice law in
Utah. The statute was enacted as a stop-gap measure in that it contains a sunset provision that repeals the statute effective May 1, 2003. This latest action by the Utah Supreme Court
provides continuity and a clearly defined and workable enforcement mechanism through the Bar and the state courts.
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