Minutes for May 12, 2004

The Executive Committee of the Litigation Section met on Wednesday, May 12, 2004 at 8:00 a.m., at the Utah Law & Justice Center in Salt Lake City.

Executive Committee members present were:

• Sammi Anderson
• Bruce Badger
• Lee Curtis
• Ryan Harris
• Deno Himonas
• Wayne Klein
• Bryan Pattison (via speakerphone)
• Frank Carney also participated in the meeting.

1. Financial/Minutes The draft minutes for the April meeting were reviewed and approved (and have been posted on the Section’s Web site). Financial developments include the transfer of $15,000 to the bar for expenses related to Brown v. Board of Education activities and approval for payment of $5,000 for expenses relating to MUJI revisions. Approval was given to fund half of the expenses for the annual meeting’s keynote speaker, Michael Young. Deno will notify the bar of this approval.

2. Jury Instructions Frank Carney described the progress of the advisory committee’s efforts in translating MUJI into plain English and difficulties they face in completing the process quickly.

3. Brown v. Board of Education Status Deno Himonas reported that the section received sufficient volunteers to meet all the requests by high schools for classroom presentations, including those schools located in outlying areas.

4. New Section Leadership New officers were nominated and elected for the Section. Lee Curtis will be the Chair for 2004-2005. Elaina Maragakis is the Chair-Elect. Wayne Klein will continue to serve as Secretary/Treasurer. Deno Himonas indicated he expected to be able to finish his term as Chair after being sworn in as a district court judge.

5. Proposed Court Rule Amendments Bruce Badger led a discussion of proposed amendments to the Utah Court Rules, focusing on the unauthorized practice of law, disqualification of judges on remand, and summary judgment. The Executive Committee decided against submitting comments on behalf of the Section, while encouraging Section members to submit their own comments. Bruce Badger agreed to inform the administrative office of the courts that the Section would not be submitting comments.

6. Additional Services to be Offered to Section Members Lee Curtis distributed a list of expanded services that might be provided to Section members in light of our strong financial resources. Each member of the Executive Committee was asked to come to the June meeting with his or her recommendations of the most important projects to fund. This will be discussed in more detail at the June meeting.

7. Quarterly E-mail Update Deno Himonas plans to send a quarterly e-mail to all Section members updating them on the activities of the Section. Suggestions were given as to topics to be addressed in the update, including inviting more participation in the Executive Committee.

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

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

b. Deno Himonas is developing a planned August or September half-day seminar on use of mock juries and focus groups.

c. The Section will sponsor a November 17 seminar on negotiations taught by Paul Liznek.

d. A committee will be created to hold the Trial Academy the year. Frank Carney has agreed to consult with the committee as it plans the program.

9. Judge’s Benchbook Ryan Harris reported that additional judicial profiles have been added to the Section’s web site and at least eight more are expected in the next few weeks.

The meeting adjourned at 9:10 a.m. The next meeting is set for Wednesday, June 9, 2004, at 8:00 a.m. at the Law and Justice Center.

DATED this 9th day of June, 2004.

For the Executive Committee
________/s/________________________
Wayne Klein
Secretary