Commission Highlights
During its regularly scheduled meeting of June 9, 2006 which was held at Stein Erickson Lodge, Deer Valley, Utah, the Board of Bar Commissioners received the following reports and took the actions indicated.
1. David Bird reported on the Judicial Council and noted that there were four openings in the judiciary since Judges Yeates, Fuchs, Hansen and Fredericks will be retiring within the next seven months. Chief Justice Durham noted that the applicant pool was substantially down from previous years. David outlined the recent judicial salary history in Utah along with benefits judges receive. It was noted that the communication process for advertising judicial openings should have a separate e-mail from the Bar's e-Bulletin.
The Council also expressed interest in the Bar's modified Lawyer Assistance Program. David concluded his report by noting that the judiciary has undertaken a study regarding the issue of judges remaining unbiased in the justice court system. He said the county justice courts judges are appointed and county government generally oversees them. However, in municipal justice courts, judges serve at the pleasure of the mayor.
2. John Baldwin reported that he was pleased with how well Blomquist Hale (LAP) and Lawyers Helping Lawyers (LHL) are working together and how things are developing. He stated that the Paralegal Division has increased its fees to cover the cost of participation in the LAP for those who are interested in doing so. David Bird noted that at the Jack Rabbit Bar Conference, there were many discussions on how to increase participation in EAP's such as Blomquist Hale for lawyers. The motion to mail the LAP brochures to members' homes passed with none opposed.
3. John Baldwin discussed the issue of lack of malpractice insurance coverage for Bar lawyer volunteers. Several solutions were discussed. David Hall observed that in his capacity as the Young Lawyers Division representative and overseeing Tuesday Night Bar, he believes some form of Bar identification would help and increase the number of those willing to participate. Scott Sabey summarized the problem as needing to define the parameters of insurance availability. A committee was appointed to study the issue and report back at the July meeting.
4. John Baldwin reviewed the Commission reimbursement policy for the Newport Beach Annual Convention. He said three nights of accommodation will be reimbursed along with either flight costs or mileage. John announced that the Supreme Court had approved the house Counsel rule.
5. David Bird announced that the 2006 Distinguished Service Award went to the Utah Minority Bar Association. David also discussed the proxy voting policy (need to be present at the Commission meeting to vote absent certain specified exceptions) but said this policy could be changed. Discussion ensued and the motion passed to table the discussion to August.
6. Lifetime Service to Bar Award recipients were discussed and it was noted that any of the six candidates would be very deserving and should be considered to receive the award. Discussion ensued and the motion passed to present the award to all six candidates: Harold G. Christensen, Ray R. Christensen, Elder James E. Faust, Hon. Bruce S. Jenkins, James B. Lee and Stephen B. Nebeker.
7. Scott Sabey reported on the Access to Justice Planning Council. He noted several areas that need improvement: (1) areas where no groups are providing legal service; and (2) areas where legal service efforts are being duplicated. He added that Legal Aid, the Disability Law Center, and Utah Legal Services are already doing some of the proposed work. Scott noted that the new Council is in need of a full-time administrative assistant to run it.
Funding is an issue for the Council and they do not want to negatively impact "and Justice for All". Scott is convinced that the new entity will be self-sustaining in the near future,"and Justice For All" is committed to contributing, as Scott hopes the Bar will do also. If these initial efforts are not successful, the Council will not come back for funding. The commission approved a $40,000 contribution over the next two years.
8. John Baldwin reported on the 2006-2007 budget. The Budget and Finance Committee has approved the budget. It was noted that Utah Dispute Resolution has submitted its annual request for Bar funds to help run the program. A motion to approve the $20,000 contribution passed.
9. Katherine Fox presented the Client Security Fund claims to the commission. She also mentioned that a $20 client security fund assessment is required to restore the balance of the fund as required by Supreme Court rule and will be collected during this year's licensing period. The motion to approve the submitted claims passed unopposed.
10. Nominees seeking to serve as the Bar's delegate to the ABA gave a presentation to the Commission. Those included: Charles R. Brown, Erik A. Christiansen, David K. Lauritzen, Steven L. Nichols and Michael D. Wims. Charlotte L. Miller, Mark O. Morris, Michael J. Young and John A. Adams were unable to attend. After the presentations, a vote then resulted in six votes for Charlotte Miller, five votes for Charles Brown and one vote for another nominee. A second round of voting resulted in a six-six tie between Charlotte and Charles. The final result was to reconsider the top two candidates at the Newport Beach Commission meeting. This motion passed with one opposed.
11. Rob Jeffs reported on the performance review. He clarified that the review should concentrate on whether the Commission and staff are responding to the charges given to them by the Supreme Court and whether they are carrying out those charges efficiently and effectively. The review is slated to begin July 10 and completed by September 15 by Grant Thornton. The Commission approved $65,000 to fund the review.
David noted that the Supreme Court was pushing hard on the Bar's performance review to take place and he informed them that we are moving ahead.
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.