Commission Highlights
During its regularly scheduled meeting of April 28, 2006, which was held in Provo, Utah, the Board of Bar Commissioners received the following reports and took the actions indicated.
1. David Bird discussed the Lifetime Service Award and follow up on this issue will take place at the June meeting.
David also discussed assignments for the malpractice insurance letter and article. Denise Forsman (Marsh) and Grant Clayton (Member Benefits) will draft the proposed letter encouraging members to obtain insurance and providing helpful information. Yvette Diaz and Rod Snow are writing the article for the Bar Journal.
2. David Bird reported on the quarterly Bar meeting with Chief Justice Durham. They discussed insurance issues and the LAP program as well as the petition process. The Court's perspective is that they regulate the practice of law and have simply delegated some aspects of it to the Bar. David noted that we are fortunate to have the relationship we do with the Court.
3. David Bird and John Baldwin reported on the status of the Operation Review. Ten RFPs were mailed out and two were returned. Chief Justice Durham said that a performance review is important so that the Bar can improve its efforts and that it is also important for the Court to better fulfill its oversight obligation. Rob Jeffs stated that the field may have been narrowed by the requirement that the company have previously experienced reviewing a legal entity.
4. John Baldwin reported on the annual convention status, stating that the current block of hotel rooms at the Marriott had been filled but that we blocked additional rooms at other nearby facilities. Registration materials were published in the May/June 2006 issue of the Bar Journal. John noted that he had recently visited the meeting facility and that he feels good about this convention financially.
5. John Baldwin reported on the proposal for alternative to discipline (diversion) rule which is modeled after Colorado's rule. John noted that although OPC is concerned with a few of the details, they believe these issues will get fleshed out in actual practice after the rule is implemented. Commissioners Lori Nelson, Felshaw King, Lowry Snow and Steve Owens were asked to look at the proposal and John will facilitate communication with Billy Walker.
6. The recent changes and reorganization of the Bar's Policies and Procedures were discussed after which the motion was made and seconded to adopt the changes. The motion passed without dissent.
7. The motion to support the ABA's request for resolution on diversity in the profession passed without dissent.
8. The Navajo Nation Judicial Complex request for support was discussed. Dan Moquin, Staff Attorney, Tuba City District of the Navajo Nation and Councilman Raymond Berchman, Navajo Nation Council Delegate and Vice Chairman of the Navajo Nation Judiciary Committee were present for this discussion. Currently, the Nation has the land and plans have been drawn up for new appellate judicial facilities to replace the inadequate facilities which currently exist, but they are trying to solicit members of Congress for building funding. Rep. Jim Matheson and Sen. Bob Bennett are supportive of these efforts since Utah has Navajo residents and this project will affect those residents. The motion to send letters of support to our Utah delegation and copy the Arizona and New Mexico Bar passed with none opposed. Lori Nelson will hand deliver the letters on Tuesday when she is in Washington, D.C. for Law Day. Both Councilman Berchman and Dan Moquin expressed their sincere appreciation for the support.
9. The Western States Bar Conference resolution resolves to create a program in conjunction with the ABA to improve public understanding of the judicial branch of government. The motion that the Bar support the concept that the ABA and bar associations institute an initiative to promote greater understanding of judicial branch of government in our system passed without dissent.
10. Nominees for the annual awards were reviewed and Judge Gordon Low was selected as the recipient of Judge of the Year award, Lawyer of the Year went to Max Wheeler and Section of the Year went to the Litigation Section. The Ethics Advisory Opinion Committee was selected as the recipient of the Committee of the Year Award.
11. Katherine Fox discussed the UPL Committee's request for formal action against Aaronson Grand & Associates for engaging in the unauthorized practice of Law. The motion to approve the request passed without opposition.
12. Discussion ensued over the amendment to the Criminal Law Section's bylaws to include a provision that they annually appoint a representative to serve on the Governmental Relations committee. The motion to approve the amended bylaws passed without dissent.
13. Grant Clayton and Connie Howard were in attendance to discuss and answer questions regarding the Bar's endorsement of Marsh as the designated malpractice insurance broker. Grant said that an endorsement allowed a vendor to use the Bar's name and logo and Connie said that before an endorsement is given, she receives samples, tests the product and determines if the product would benefit Bar members. Connie noted that the Bar normally does not offer exclusive endorsements, except for Marsh, which requires it. Discussion on this issue ensued.
A full text of minutes of this and other meetings of the Bar Commission is available for inspection at the office of the Executive Director.