ADR SECTION NEWS
Utah State Bar Alternate Dispute Resolution Section
Kent B. Scott, Chair (801) 531-7000
Judge Kenneth J. Rigtrup, Vice Chair (801) 466-5900
P. Keith Nelson, Secretary (801) 531-2000
Diane Hall Banks, Treasurer (801) 323-2202
Karin S. Hobbs, Immediate Past Chair (801) 983-1300
Suzanne K. Brown, Newsletter Editor (801) 299-1209
May 2002
Report from the Chair
The ADR Section:
A Permanent Fixture of the Utah State Bar
Now at the completion of its third year, the ADR Section has 125 members
and has been directed by Kent B. Scott (Chair), Judge Kenneth J. Rigtrup
(Vice Chair), P. Keith Nelson (Secretary), Diane H. Banks (Trea-surer),
and Karin S. Hobbs (Past Chair & Commission Liaison). Jim Holbrook
served as a program advisor and co-director of the ADR Academy, along
with Karin Hobbs.
Catch the Action of the ADR Section
Section officers, together with Jim Holbrook, the Utah Bar Commission
and Bar President Scott Daniels, have launched the ADR Section into its
current orbit.
The Section’s primary focus has been to provide programs that educate
lawyers in the practice and procedures of alternate dispute resolution
as an additional tool in counseling clients. The Section also supports
efforts of the State and Federal Judiciaries to promote the use of alternate
dispute resolution.
The ADR Section has now established itself as a permanent fixture of
the Utah State Bar. The Section created the ADR Academy, a series of practice
and procedure programs designed to improve the ADR skills of lawyers,
mediators, and arbitrators. The Section presented quality programs at
both the Annual and Mid-Year Meetings and has joined with other sections
to present ADR programs specific to their needs.
Several Section members published ADR-related articles in the Utah Bar
Journal this past year. The Utah Legislature called on Section officers
for information and advice about the recently passed Revised Uniform Arbitration
Act and the ADR Act. The Section also sponsored the Peter W. Billings
Sr. Outstanding Dispute Resolution Service Award, given to the person
or organization that has done the most to promote alternate dispute resolution
in our community.
The direction which the ADR Section takes in the future will be determined
largely by the feedback we get from our members. So please take time to
let us know how the ADR Section can make your legal life more worthwhile.
A Change of the Guard
It’s time to introduce your new officers for 2002-2003. Judge Kenneth
J. Rigtrup will serve as Section Chair, Nathan D. Alder as Vice Chair,
Michelle M. Roybal as Secretary, Steven Johnson as Treasurer, and Kent
B. Scott as Past Chair. Karin Hobbs and Jim Holbrook will remain as co-directors
of the ADR Academy, and Karin will remain in charge of ADR Section programs.
Keith Nelson has served as an officer of the ADR Section for the past
three years. He will be taking a well-deserved sabbatical. Thank you,
Keith, for your valued service. Diane Banks, Treasurer to the Section,
will get a break from the administrative fun of being an officer but will
remain active in developing some new and valuable projects. Thanks to
you as well, Diane, for the energy and insight you have contributed to
the Section.
The ADR Section: What’s in it for me?
Why should you commit your time and money to the ADR Section? One of
our goals is to support you in becoming a more effective ADR advocate
or neutral.
What are your reasons for joining? We’d like to know. Please take
the time to respond to the questionnaire. Diane Banks and other ADR Section
officers have put a lot of time and effort into creating it, and we need
the benefit of your thoughts and suggestions.
The direction which the ADR Section takes in the future will be determined
largely by the feedback we get from our members. So please take time to
let us know how the ADR Section can make your legal life more worthwhile.
A Call to Action
The ADR Section is growing. It is now well-known to other sections of
the Bar, the State and Federal Courts, and the State Legislature. ADR
is a good idea whose time has come. As lawyers we will be called upon
to use various ADR skills as we continue to represent our clients. ADR
practice and procedure affect many fields of the law, including commercial,
tort, family, labor, probate, victim-offender, and landlord-tenant law.
I urge each of you to “catch the action” and get involved
with the ADR Section. It is my hope that the ADR Section will contribute
to the professional progress of each attorney, neutral, and judge.
The ADR Section will be developing several new committees to carry out
programs. Please let us know if you are willing to serve on one of these
committees.
I’ve enjoyed the opportunity to be part of the founding of the
ADR Section. It has been a pleasure serving with Karin Hobbs, Judge Ken
Rigtrup, Keith Nelson, Diane Banks, and Jim Holbrook. I look forward to
the energy and enthusiasm these new officers bring to the ADR Section.
I can’t wait for tomorrow… This ADR Section gets better everyday!
Good luck to your new 2002-2003 officers: Judge Rigtrup, Nate Alder, Michelle
Roybal, and Steve Johnson. Thanks to each of you, the members, for being
part of the ADR Section.
Kent B. Scott
ADR Section Chair, 2001-2002
Legislative Update
Utah was the fourth state in the nation to pass the Revised Uniform Arbitration
Act (RUAA), which will go into effect on May 15, 2003. The RUAA
repeals and replaces the Uniform Arbitration Act (UAA), created in 1955
and adopted by the Utah State Legislature in 1985.
The RUAA will be codified as §§ 78-31a-101 through 78-31a-131
of the Utah State Code. A complete copy may be obtained at http://www.le.state.ut.us.
(From "sessions" click on "2002 general session" and
then enter "SB171" as the bill number.)
The RUAA was intended to codify certain case law since the UAA went into
effect and to resolve ambiguities in the UAA and other related issues
with which courts have wrestled, sometimes with disparate results.
The RUAA deals with such questions as whether courts or arbitrators have
authority to determine arbitrability and whether arbitrators have authority
to order prehearing conferences, decide dispositive motions, or order
punitive damages, attorney fees, and other remedies. It also deals with
provision-al remedies, consolidation of proceedings, arbitrator disclosure
of interests and relation-ships, immunity of arbitrators and arbitration
organizations, discovery, and subpoenaed testimony.
Peter W. Billings Sr. Outstanding Dispute Resolution Service
Award
The Peter W. Billings, Sr. Outstanding Dispute Resolution Service Award
is given annually to the person or organization that has done the most
to further development of the alternate dispute resolution process. The
ADR Section has been asked to sponsor the award, and Peter W. Billings,
Jr. serves as Chairman of the Award Committee.
Past recipients of this prestigious award have been Hardin A. Whitney,
William W. Downes, Jr., Michael D. Zimmerman, Gerald R. Williams, and
Peter W. Billings, Sr.
Please submit your nominations for this year’s award to Peter W.
Billings, Jr. at P.O. Box 510210, Salt Lake City, Utah 84151 or to pbillings@fabianlaw.com.
The deadline for nominations is May 24, 2002.
What Can You Do for the Section?
You’ve all been wondering what you can do to help the ADR Section
continue to get better and better… Right??? The answer is to participate
and to fill out the questionnaire and return it to Kent Scott. We want
to hear from each and every one of you by the first of June so we can
set out our goals for next year before the new slate of Bar and Section
officers comes in at the Annual Meeting in Sun Valley.
ADR Academy 2001-2002
A mock negotiation between Judge James Z. Davis and Justice Michael Wilkins
for the purchase of a Corvette launched the success-ful ADR Academy in
October 2001. The ADR Section’s goal was to provide quality training
for attorneys who want to hone their skills as advocates in ADR processes.
In six separate sessions from 5:30 PM to 6:45 PM each evening, the ADR
Academy covered topics including preparation for mediation, competitive
and conciliatory opening state-ments, advocacy in private caucuses, and
basic arbitration. With 30 to 100 people in attendance at each session,
the ADR Acade-my provided a lively discussion of issues fac-ing attorneys
in alternate dispute resolution.
The ADR Section will host the 2nd Annual ADR Academy in 2002-2003. If
you have any ideas regarding topics to be covered, please contact Karin
S. Hobbs at 983-1300 or email her at karinshobbs@utahadr.org.
The ADR Section thanks the following for their contributions to the ADR
Academy: Diane H. Banks, Marcella Keck, Sid Baucom, Todd Emerson, Kenneth
Rigtrup, Robert H. Henderson, Nathan Alder, Randy Kester, Deno Himonas,
James R. Holbrook, Karin S. Hobbs, Kent B. Scott, Connie Howard, Jessica
Theurer, and all those who attended and participated in the ADR Academy.
Would you like to serve on an ADR committee?
If you would like to work on one of the following committees, please
fill out the questionnaire or call Kent at (801) 531-7000:
- ADR Academy
- Annual and Mid-Year Meetings
- Monthly CLE Luncheons
- Bar Journal Publications
- Newsletter
- Membership Drive
- Legislature
- Judicial Relations
- Public Relations
- Peter W. Billings, Sr. Award
- Technology and Website Development.
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