Minutes for June 9, 2004

The Executive Committee of the Litigation Section met on Wednesday, June 9, 2004 at 8:00 a.m., at the Utah Law & Justice Center in Salt Lake City.

Executive Committee members present were:

• Lee Curtis
• Richard Gray
• Ryan Harris
• Judge Deno Himonas
• Wayne Klein
• Elaina Maragakis
• Bryan Pattison (via speakerphone)
• Mike Petrogeorge
• Judge Randy Skanchy
• Dan Steele

1. Executive Committee Changes Richard Gray was welcomed as a new member of the Executive Committee, with promises of putting him to work soon. This was the last meeting presided by the outgoing officers. They were thanked for their services. The new officers have now assumed their responsibilities.

2. Financial/Minutes The draft minutes for the May meeting were reviewed and approved (and have been posted on the Section’s Web site). With the the transfer of $15,000 to the bar for expenses related to Brown v. Board of Education activities and $5,000 for annual meeting sponsorship, the April 30 fund balance was $84,477.19. It was noted that the Section will receive additional renewal fees in July or August, bringing our fund balance back above $100,000.

3. Quarterly E-mails Some Section members have not been receiving the quarterly e-mails updates sent by the Section chair. Elaina Maragakis agreed to contact to bar to determine why those e-mails are not being received.

4. Brown v. Board of Education Status Elaina Margakis gave a positive report on the success of the school presentations commemorating the anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education. Much credit was given to Sammi Anderson and Mike Petrogeorge for devloping the script, Judge Himonas and his assistant, Dawn Stevens, for lining up the schools, and Elaina Maragakis for coordinating the event and publication of the newspaper inserts. More than 100 attorneys volunteered to be presenters. Sixty attorneys were used. They made 150 presentations in 30 high schools in the state. There were 4,500 students who participated in these discussions. The Executive Committee endorsed a recommendation that a gift be given to Dawn Stephens for the extensive personal time she spent in organizing the school presentations.

5. Additional Services to be Offered to Section Members There was a lengthy discussion of possible expanded services that might be provided to Section members in light of our strong financial resources. In a discussion led by Lee Curtis, the Section agreed to focus on the following priorities:

a. Casemaker: The Section remains interested in promoting the early adoption of Casemaker by the Utah Bar. We are waiting to see whether financial assistance is needed.

b. Quarterly Luncheon The Executive Committee agreed to begin having a quarterly luncheon for Section members. It will include a brief Section update, lunch, and a CLE presentation. The meeting will be limited to Section members and will be free, subject to capacity limits. Mike Petrogeorge agreed to chair this committee - to find out the size of meetings the bar can host and assign people to organize each meeting. Dan Steele agreed to organize a Section meeting around an October golf event in Southern Utah, with a special invitation for Section members from the South. Future quarterly meetings are also expected to be held in other parts of the state.

c. Support Litigation CLEs by Regional Bar Associations The Section will offer funding to regional bar associations for litigation topics as part of their CLE seminars. In return, our Section will expect reduced or free admission fees for Section members and may ask for a few minutes time to have a member of the Executive Committee discuss activities of the Section. Bryan Pattison agreed to get from the bar a list of contact people for the regional bar associations. Lee Curtis will draft a letter to those associations.

d. Trial Advocacy Awards The Section decided to grant $1,000 awards to winners of the trial advocacy programs at the two law schools in Utah. These can be used as prizes or to fund participation in national competitions. Judge Skanchy agreed to contact the two law schools to determine how their trial advocacy programs operate and will recommend a format for granting the awards.

e. CLE Scholarships $3,000 was approved to grant scholarships paying the admission fees to CLE programs for Section members demonstrating a need. It is hoped that funding additional training for CLE training in litigation skills will increase the overall litigation skills of the Section. Scholarships can be approved for up to $300 per applicant and will be considered only for programs in Utah and only for admission fees. Wayne Klein agreed to review scholarship requests and will report back to the Section whether additional funds should be committed.

f. NITA Training Judge Himonas will investigate the possibility of sponsoring NITA litigation training in Utah. This may be a substitute for the Trial Academy that otherwise would be offered this year.

g. Logo/Banner Willis Orton is continuing his efforts to develop a logo and a banner for the Section to use in programs it sponsors or co-sponsors.

h. And Justice for All The Section will consider again donating the interest on its fund to the “And Justice for All” program and may add additional funds in light of the low interest rates being earned on the fund’s balance.

6. Upcoming CLE Programs The status of upcoming events was discussed:

a. The Litigation Section’s sessions at the annual meeting are ready.

b. Judge Himonas is still hopeful that a half-day seminar on use of mock juries and focus groups can be set up for this Fall.

c. The November 17 seminar on negotiations taught by Paul Liznek is set.

d. Options are being evaluated for presenting the Trial Academy this year.

7. Judge’s Benchbook Judge Skanchy and Ryan Harris again reported additional success with the benchbook. Four new judicial profiles have been added to the Section’s web site and several other questionnaires are being processed. They expect that this latest effort will result in entries for of half of these missing. Ryan also will work with the Federal Bar Association to promote inclusion of benchbooks for the federal judges.

8. Congratulations to Judge Himonas The Executive Committee congratulated Judge Himonas on his appointment to the bench and thanked him for his service as Chair of the Section.

The meeting adjourned at 9:05 a.m. The next meeting will be held a week early, on Wednesday, July 7, 2004, at 8:00 a.m. at the Law and Justice Center (in light of a conflict with the Bar’s Annual Meeting).

DATED this 7th day of July, 2004.

For the Executive Committee

________/s/________________________

Wayne Klein
Secretary