Minutes for April 9, 2008

Litigation Section Executive Committee
Minutes for April 9, 2008

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The Executive Committee of the Litigation Section met on Wednesday, April 9, 2008, at 8:00 a.m. at the Utah Law & Justice Center in Salt Lake City.
Executive Committee members present or participating by telephone were:

• Sammi Anderson
• Ryan Frazier
• Jonathan Hafen
• Ryan Harris
• Isaac Paxman
• Dan Steele
• Tish Toombs (ex officio law school rep for U of U)

Executive Committee members excused were:

• Gary Anderson
• George Burbidge
• Keith Call
• R. Willis Orton
• Bryan Pattison
• Michael Petrogeorge
• Patrick Tanner

1. Minutes. The minutes of the March 12, 2008 meeting were reviewed and unanimously approved.

2. Financial and Budget Report. Dan reported that the Bar has switched to Quick Book, which will limit the Section’s ability to get financial statements and other financial information for two months. Dan reported on the Section’s financial condition as of February 29, 2008 because he had not received a statement from March 2008. He reported that as of that date, the Section had $60,484.86. He also stated that the Section needs to reimburse Isaac Paxman for expenses relating to the BYU scholarship that the Section presented.

3. Upcoming CLE Events.

a. Annual Convention. Sammi Anderson reported that Steve Woznick is the keynote speaker. He will require a $10,000 - $12,000 honorarium. Larry Echohawk will also present. The Section will sponsor two breakout sessions. The first will be a breakout session on mediation presented by Lynn Davies. The second will be a judge’s panel on MUJI. It will be held on Thursday morning. Judge Himonas will not be able to present, so the Section will need to find new judges to serve on the panel. Judge Skanchy has prepared a proposed list of judges. Sammi Anderson reported that this breakout should be locked in before the Committee’s next meeting.

b. Fall Forum. Jonathan Hafen reported that the Section will be in charge of an entire litigation track consisting of 5-breakout sessions. The Committee discussed possible topics for those breakout sessions, including client screening, developing a case theory early, and implementing a case plan. Jonathan Hafen further reported that he would like to have a judge on each panel. He suggested that Clark Waddoups is willing to participate in many of those sessions.

c. Quarterly Luncheon. Jonathan Hafen reported that a topic has not been selected for the next Quarterly Luncheon. It was proposed that a new statute would be an interesting topic.

4. Supporting State Court Judges. Jonathan Hafen reported that Chief Justice Durham was receptive to having the Section provide support to the judiciary, but that he has been unable as of yet to arrange for a meeting with Justice Durham. The will attempt to reschedule.

5. Logan Golf and CLE. The Committee discussed holding a CLE presentation with golf in Logan.

6. BYU Scholarship. Isaac Paxman reported that the presentation of the scholarship at BYU went well and that the recipient was very appreciative. He also noted that he will need to be reimbursed for expenses related to the scholarships and that the Section needed to cut have the student checks made out.

7. Bench Books. Ryan Harris reported the bench books have not changed much. There are still about 10 to 12 judges that are not included. This number remains fairly constant. He also reported that he will try to have judges that have not participated to provide more information.

8. Web Site. Dan Steele reported that he had a discussion with Steve Owens who believed it was a good idea to go to a third party to redesign the web site. The Committee asked for members to identify potential designers for the web site.

9. Mike Power’s Litigation Topic CLE. Tish Toombs reported that Mike Powers is working diligently to be prepared. It will be promoted within the law school for the April 14 date. It will be held at noon.

10. Web Journal. The web journal issue was tabled..

11. Program for Helping Third-Year Prepare for the Bar. The Committee discussed possible ways to assist third-year law students to prepare for the Bar. It was proposed that the Section could do a presentation on strategies for test taking. It was suggested that the Committee could provide pizza or donuts, which would allow them to interact and socialize. The Committee also discussed having a more formal dinner. No decision was reached. Sammi Anderson invited each of the Executive Committee members to be in attendance when this is done as that would be a good way for the third-year law students to interact with Bar members.

12. New Program. Jonathan Hafen invited the Section to participate in the August 27 BYU ethics symposium. He stated that the Section could become a co-sponsor. He reported that it was a three-hour, five-member panel discussion, which would include Judge McKay. Jon Hafen would be the moderator. The Section approved a co-sponsorship as long as there is a break in price for Section members.

The meeting adjourned shortly after 9:00 a.m. The next meeting will be held on May 14, 2008.

Dated this ___ day of June, 2008.

For the Executive Committee

_________________________________________
Ryan B. Frazier
Secretary