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The Bar moved its offices into the newly-constructed Utah Law & Justice Center twelve years ago this month. The change was progressive and controversial. It accommodated
the changing needs of a growing Bar and created a place where lawyers could conduct business in a neutral setting or gather to rekindle a sense of professional camaraderie. The move acknowledged the
Bar's increasing responsibility to the community and recognized that alternative dispute resolution would become an accepted part of the practice of law. The move was controversial because two years
later the building was the focus of a rather substantial increase in licensing fees.
I am asked from time to time about how the building is doing now. Is it busy? Who uses it? How is it used? I must admit that I was not with the Bar when the move occurred but
I have seen the building in operation for ten years now. One of my first experiences in dealing with the angst surrounding the project and prior to the eventual mortgage payoff was when I was walking
through the building with then Supreme Court Chief Justice Gordon Hall. As we were discussing concerns circulating about the building, I mentioned to him that some day, after all the controversy had
hopefully died down, the building would be a good idea. He stopped me and very kindly said, "I think that it's a good idea now." My observations over the past decade have proved him to have
been right on.
First of all, the Center gets used. During the twelve years in which it has been operational, over 11,000 Bar sections, committees, leadership meetings and community,
governmental and educational groups have met here, bringing over 252,000 people within its walls. The Bar saves money today because it doesn't have to rent out space in hotels for most of its CLE
seminars and law firms aren't inconvenienced by having to house meetings. Now that the mortgage is paid off, we pay the equivalent of $2.37 per square foot for the space used by Bar staff. The Bar
charges rent by the hour and leases space over longer terms to law-related tenants. Groups utilizing our space and services have varied from government groups and the Legislature to the ACLU. The
building provides space for telethons, foundation breakfasts, press conferences, Bar examinations, hearings and congressional debates. We host meetings of the American Bar Association, Salt Lake County
Bar, Women Lawyers of Utah, the Utah Minority Bar Association, the Utah Arthritis Foundation, and the NAACP. The J. Reuben Clark and the University of Utah Law Schools have benefited from our central
location and the Legal Aid Society of Salt Lake and Utah Legal Services Corporation have saved funds through meeting here.
The Center is a public-friendly location for numerous programs to assist those with legal needs. Each year, more than 1,400 individuals have been assisted by the free Tuesday
Night Bar program. The long-running Lawyer Referral Service continues to serve the public in finding legal representation and serves lawyers as a means to cultivate clients. Utah Dispute Resolution is a
not-for-profit program that provides free mediation services to Salt Lake City area residents and businesses. The Utah Law-Related Education Project sponsors an annual mock trial competition, mentoring,
conflict manager training and various law-related educational programs.
The non-profit American Arbitration Association, the Utah Supreme Court's Mandatory Continuing Legal Education Board, Utah Bar Foundation, Attorneys' Title Guaranty Fund,
Utah Trial Lawyers Association, Utah Judicial Conduct Commission, and the "and Justice for all" fund raising project all operate from the building and provide a true gathering place for
law-related issues and professionals.
There are almost twice as many lawyers practicing law in Utah as there were twelve years ago. Bar staff has only grown by half. The building is busy accommodating the needs
of the Bar and responding to the needs of the public. Many groups and individuals make substantial contributions to see that it responds to those needs. Parking is sometimes overcrowded. The Center is
prudently managed and annually audited. It came with some cost. As managers, we work daily to improve our services.
I have grown to concur with Chief Justice Hall. There is both economic value and societal good provided by the Law & Justice Center. It is doing what it was envisioned to
do. It is promoting the rule of law and the furtherance of justice. It was a good idea and still is.
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