by Randall L. Romrell
Note from the author: As one of the founders of the Bar Journal and as one who has been actively involved on its editorial board (as principal articles editor, associate editor, or as art/design editor) for 26 of its 33 years I am in a unique position to author this article. My objective is to celebrate the rich history and legacy of the Journal and to underscore its continuing value to the Utah Bar. I express appreciation to Christine Critchley, Bar staff liaison to the Journal, and to Ron Fuller, librarian at the S J Quinney Law Library, for their contributions in collecting historical information for this article.
When Did It Begin?
The first issue of the Utah Bar Journal was published in June 1973. It was the fulfillment of a personal goal of J. Robert Bullock, then president of the Utah State Bar Association.
Was There a Predecessor Publication?
There were at least two predecessor publications. The immediate predecessor was The Summation: A Journal of Utah Law, which was published three times annually by The University of Utah College of Law. It was mailed to all members of the Utah State Bar. The Summation began publication in the Fall of 1967 and ended in the Spring of 1973.
Over the course of its publication, substantive articles of interest and relevance to Utah lawyers appeared in The Summation, authored by law students, faculty members, judges, and lawyers. Articles in The Summation tended to be more practical and less esoteric than articles that appeared in more traditional law reviews. Footnotes, if any, were kept to a minimum.
At some time during the 1972-73 school year, the editors of The Summation were approached about the possibility of transforming The Summation into a bar journal. The proposal was received with mixed feelings and opinions, since The Summation had provided many law students with an opportunity not only to manage and produce a respected journal, but to author and publish articles that contributed value to practitioners. As discussions progressed the proposal was embraced, with the understanding that law student participation would not only continue, but increase in prominence and value in the new publication.
A task force was then formed and charged with responsibility to create the new journal. Members of the task force included the following: Wallace R. Bennett, associate dean of the law school, D. Ray Owen, a member of the Utah Bar, Dean Sheffield, executive director of the Utah Bar Association, and myself, as the then editor-in-chief of The Summation. I undertook a comprehensive study of bar journals from virtually all the other states and wrote a "white paper" that served as a resource and guide for the task force.
The "white paper" identified the strengths and weaknesses noted in other bar journals, and concluded with the following recommendations for the new journal: maintain a primary focus on the publication of substantive, practical, how-to-do it articles of value to Utah lawyers; minimize the use of footnotes; utilize a moderate amount of appropriate advertising to defray expenses; in addition to feature articles, utilize a "letters to the editor" section, and regular features (including point and counter-point articles) and departments (such as a report of disciplinary actions) to stimulate interest and promote usefulness; avoid news type articles and photographs as well as reports of meetings; publish in an 8-1/2 inch by 11 inch format (the same as The Summation) and use at least two colors on the cover; continue to prominently involve law school students on the editorial board and in writing articles for publication. Eventually all of those recommendations were implemented and continue in the current Bar Journal, with the exception of law school participation on the editorial board.
Another predecessor to the Utah Bar Journal was the "old Bar Bulletin" as it is often referred to by bar members who remember it. The Bar Bulletin began publication in October 1931 and ended in 1963, a span of 32 years. The purposes of the Bar Bulletin were outlined in its initial issue as follows:
"To provide an economical means of communication between the Bar Commission and members, to inform the legal profession of the progress of the State Bar, to encourage discussion and interest in legal problems, particularly as related to our own state, are among the purposes for the publication of the Bulletin."
Editors of the Utah Bar Bulletin over the years were Calvin Behle, Wood R. Worsley, D. Ray Owen, Jr., and Dean Sheffield.
What Were the Purposes of the Utah Bar Journal?
In his "Greetings to The Utah Bar Journal" in the initial issue, President Bullock had the following to say:
"I, personally, am convinced that a medium of regular communication among members of the Bar with respect to matters of pointed interest and concern to the legal profession in Utah is essential to a strong and effective Bar. The Utah Bar Journal should prove to be that communication medium, and the Utah State Bar, both as individual lawyers and judges as well as an organization, will benefit greatly.É
"The Bar is most grateful to you [speaking to the task force and initial Bar Journal staff] for the uncountable hours which you have expended, not only in putting together this first issue, but for your patient perseverance in solving the myriad of problems involved in whether, how, and when a Utah Bar Journal might again become a reality. ... The decision to again publish a bar journal on a regular basis grew out of meetings held over a period of several months between the Law School Advisory Committee of the Bar Commission and the faculty and law students then involved in publication of The Summation at the University of Utah College of Law. Publication of The Summation has now been suspended, and some of the features of that publication have been and will be incorporated in the Journal.
"In the publication of this issue the services of some University of Utah law school students have been extensively utilized, and it will be the policy of the Journal's editorial board, insofar as practicable, in the future to involve law school students in the business, editing, and printing aspects of the Journal as well as in article authorship. It is expected that BYU law school students will eventually participate and become involved on the same basis with those of the University of Utah, and that a mutually beneficial and improved rapport between the practicing bar and law school students can and will be fostered."
After undergoing major changes in 1988 the Journal restated its purpose as being "the communications vehicle of the State Bar, designed to:"
"present practical, informative articles on the law, legal history and people; advise of rule changes, legislation of interest to lawyers and recent court decisions; apprise of general State Bar happenings and section and committee news and reports; and provide a forum for exchange of opinions and discussion of views."
Who Served as the First Editor-in-Chief?
D. Ray Owen was tapped to be the first editor-in-chief. He served until 1987. Under his leadership the Journal established its roots and gained the respect and appreciation of the Bar. Mr. Owen welcomed the participation of an associate editor and other student editors from the University of Utah Law School and, beginning in 1976, from the J. Reuben Clark Law School at Brigham Young University. Law school participation on the editorial board remained strong until 1977 when participation from the University of Utah ceased. Participation from the J. Reuben Clark Law School continued until 1985. During Mr. Owen's term as editor the Journal was published in a 5-1/2 inch by 8-1/2 inch format, resembling the old Bar Bulletin.
Who Else Has Served As Editor-in-Chief?
Calvin E. Thorpe was appointed editor-in-chief in 1988. He served until his accidental death in March, 1999. Under Mr. Thorpe's leadership the Journal took on a whole new look and feel, moving to an attractive 8-1/2 inch by 11 inch format, new layout, new full color cover design (featuring photographs of Utah scenes taken by members of the Utah Bar - the selection of which this author has enjoyed coordinating since that time), and an entirely new direction in terms of articles, departments, and features. The Journal staff also increased dramatically in size to involve many more talented individuals. (See article entitled "In Memory of Calvin E. ("Cal") Thorpe 1938-1999", March 1999 issue, for additional insights into this period in the Journal's history.) This "new" Journal replaced and consolidated into one the former Utah Bar Letter, Utah Bar CLE, and the Barrister (published by the Young Lawyers Section of the Bar).
William D. Holyoak was appointed editor-in-chief in 1999, after serving in various capacities on the Bar Journal committee since the mid-1980s. The Journal has continued to grow and flourish under his leadership. The majority of articles published in the Journal are received from their authors without the necessity of solicitation. This achievement speaks highly of the status and respect achieved by the Journal. Additional improvements have been made to the appearance of the Journal, as well as to the quality and consistency of publication standards. The Journal has also been installed on the Bar's website in an attractive and useful manner.
What do the Bar Members Think of the Journal?
Sometime in the 1990s the Utah Bar and the Bar Journal partnered with the marketing department in the business school at BYU to survey the members of the Bar about how the fees they pay should be allocated across recurring Bar expenses. One or more of the questions were designed to determine what programs or expenses Bar members would be willing to eliminate or reduce in order to save expenses. The Bar Journal was one of the options offered for reduction.
On that occasion members of the Bar overwhelmingly opposed a reduction in the number of issues or quality of the Bar Journal because it was one of the tangible items they regularly received from the Bar that contributed significant, direct value to their practice. Based on the survey results no reductions were made to the Bar Journal and it continued to publish 10 issues a year, a frequency that continued from 1989 through 2000 when it was reduced by one issue.1
No similar surveys have been conducted recently, but the editorial board always welcomes feedback from members of the Bar.
1. In the past two years the number of issues per year has been reduced to six, as a result of the increase in Internet use and email as Bar communications tools.