Commission Highlights
The Board of Bar Commissioners received the following reports and took the actions indicated during the October 24, 2008 Commission meeting held at the Law & Justice Center in Salt Lake City, Utah.
1. The Commission approved Professionalism Awards to be given to Ellen Maycock and Don Winder. The Pro Bono Award was given to Ruth Lybbert, Paul Simmons, and David Olsen. Carma Harper was selected to receive the Community Member Award for her work on the Wills for Heroes Project and Troy Booher was awarded the Heart and Hands honor. The Commission also recognized the lifetime service of Judge J. Thomas Greene, Joseph Novak, Reed Martineau, and M. Dayle Jeffs. These awards were presented at the Fall Forum.
2. The Commission approved immediately selling the note held by Zions Bank for the Bar with First Tennessee Bank and have cash moved to federal insured cash or cash equivalent. The Commission also determined to immediately sell the note held by Zions Bank for the Bar with Zions Bancorp and have cash moved to federal insured cash or cash equivalent. The Commission will continue to monitor the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy proceedings. The Commission determined that a notice disclosing potential financial loss should appear in the November E-bulletin.
3. The Commission approved hiring Grant Clayton to make appropriate filings to secure tradename/copyright of “Utah State Bar.”
4. The Commission approved filing a petition with the Utah Supreme Court revising bylaws to clarify that the license status of “active under three” is intended to mean under three years of practice in any jurisdiction, not just Utah.
5. The Commission approved the 2007-2008 draft audit report by Deloitte and Touche.
6. The Commission approved filing a petition with the Utah Supreme Court to require the collection of lawyers’ email addresses on licensing forms for Bar use with a provision that lawyers may opt out for good cause shown.
7. The Commission approved that lawyers on the “Find a Utah Lawyer Director” must have a minimum of $100,000 of malpractice insurance to be required following the next fee collection cycle and thereafter via the licensing form and web sign up.
8. The Commission approved filing a petition with the Utah Supreme Court to permit the Bar to collect malpractice insurance on the licensing form for an additional two years.
9. The Commission agreed to create comprehensive New Lawyer Training Program (NLTP) presentations with staff for members of the judiciary to encourage mentor recruitment. Additionally, the Commission will organize a dynamic NLTP Mentor Recruiting Committee to include past Bar presidents and other capable participants.
The minute text of this and other meetings of the Bar Commission are available at the office of the Executive Director.