DISTINGUISHED COMMITTEE OF THE YEAR
Ethics Advisory Opinion Committee
Craig R. Mariger, Chair
The Ethics Advisory Opinion Committee (EAOC) responds to requests for advisory opinions concerning the ethical propriety of professional or personal conduct of members of the Bar under the Utah Rules of Professional Conduct. The EAOC responds to requests by either issuing a formal Ethics Opinion or by issuing an informal Letter Response. The Ethics Opinions of the EAOC are summarized in the Utah Bar Journal and in the ABA/BNA Lawyer's Manual on Professional Conduct and are published in full on the Utah State Bar website and on Westlaw.
The EAOC presently comprises 13 voting members and one non-voting member (representing the Office of Professional Conduct). The Committee Chair and judicial members are selected by the Bar President, and the remaining voting members of the EAOC are selected by a selection committee comprising the Bar President, the Bar Commission Liaison to the EAOC, and the Committee Chair. Members of the EAOC serve three year terms. Efforts are made to select as voting members lawyers in public and private practice, lawyers from diverse practice areas and from firms of varying sizes and locales, and a professor from one of the local law schools. At least one voting member must be a sitting or former judge.
Committee members devote considerable time and energy to the EAOC's work. Since January 1, 2004, the EAOC has responded or is in the process of responding to 43 requests for opinions and has issued for publication 13 Ethics Opinions. The Committee's Ethics Opinions have been cited by the Utah Supreme Court, have been selected for publication in case books used in teaching lawyer ethics, and are extensively included in West's Utah Court Rules Annotated.