Utah Bar Journal

Utilization and Salary Survey to be Unveiled This Fall
by Robyn Dotterer, Utilization Chair - Paralegal Division

The Paralegal Division of the Utah State Bar is pleased to announce an exciting upcoming event. We are producing the first on-line Utilization and Salary Survey under the auspices of the Utah State Bar web site!

What this means is that the survey can be filled out by attorneys, paralegals or your office legal administrators on line on the Bar web site at any time - day or night. Anyone who has access to the Utah State Bar web site can fill out the survey for themselves or their paralegals. We are hoping to reach as many of you as we reasonably can to make the survey as comprehensive as possible.

Dear Paralegal Member,

As a professional in the legal community, you know how complex the legal system is.

Imagine navigating it with no resources or prior training. Imagine navigating it while facing violence at home, poor health, or language barriers.

Thousands of people in Utah are asked to do just that every day. Increasingly, access to justice in our society depends on access to money. While an attorney is guaranteed in criminal issues, those with civil legal problems who cannot afford representation must face the system alone.

Annual Paralegal Day Celebration

Every third Thursday in May has been declared Paralegal Day in the State of Utah. We invite all attorneys and their paralegals to join us in celebrating this day and are pleased to have Lt. Governor Gary Herbert offering some opening remarks and U.S. District Court Judge Dale A. Kimball, presenting the keynote address. Please see the invitation below for complete details.

As paralegals in the State of Utah, we take great pride in our profession. The paralegal field is currently one of the fastest growing professions in the country and was ranked by the State of Utah, Department of Workforce Services as one of Utah's "five-star" jobs. The paralegal profession is projected to grow faster than average for all occupations through 2012.

A paralegal's primary role is to assist attorneys with the delivery of low cost and professional legal services to the public. The valuable contribution of paralegals was recognized by the Utah State Bar through the creation of the Paralegal Division (formerly known as the Legal Assistant Division) in 1996.

The Utah Supreme Court defines a paralegal as a person, qualified through education, training or work experience, who is employed or retained by a lawyer, law office, governmental agency or other entity in a capacity or function which involves the performance, under the ultimate direction and supervision of an attorney, of specifically delegated substantive legal work, which work, for the most part, requires sufficient knowledge of legal concepts that, absent such a paralegal, the attorney would perform the task.

Paralegals should at all times maintain the integrity of the legal profession and are subject to the rules of professional conduct governing lawyers licensed to practice in the State of Utah known as the Rules of Professional Conduct of the Utah State Bar.

The utilization of paralegals in rendering legal services has been recognized and promulgated by the American Bar Association and other professional societies. Attorneys who use paralegals have achieved unparalleled success in providing clients with high-quality service. Utilizing qualified paralegals helps attorneys deliver better service and more value while increasing law firm profits. As a result, paralegals have gained widespread acceptance and have become essential contributors in the delivery of legal services.

The Paralegal Division of the Utah State Bar is committed to serving both the profession and the community at large. The Paralegal Division thanks the Bar as well as the many law firms and attorneys that continually give support to paralegals and to our Division. We look forward to a bright and promising future together.

Farewell Message

by Tally Burke, Paralegal Division Chair

I know that many of you share a story similar to mine. In the Spring of 1996, I was eagerly anticipating the prospect of completing my Associate's Degree in Paralegal Studies from Salt Lake Community College. I was already working in a position at the law firm of Kruse Landa Maycock & Ricks, LLC, then known as Kruse Landa & Maycock, LLC ("KLM&R") as its receptionist. After graduation, I began working for the office manager where I learned how a law office really operates, how I could best be utilized, and how I should perform as a paralegal. Since then, I have continued my employment with KLM&R and was honored to become Mr. James R. Kruse's paralegal. I have now been working for Jim in the corporate and securities area for five years and have been with KLM&R a total of ten years.

Message from the Chair
by Danielle S. Price

For those of you looking for a good CLE opportunity, please consider the Utah State Bar Fall Forum. The Paralegal Division is supporting the Forum this year as our last full day CLE offered through the Bar for 2005. If you have attended the Fall Forum in years past, you know that it is a great day of CLE. If you have not yet attended, this is the year to do it. The Bar has put together some great tracks and speakers at a great cost for paralegals. Tracks include: litigation, transactional, general, ADR and practice management/ technology. Please be on the look out for registration materials or go to the Bar's website for additional information and to register. I look forward to seeing you there.

Date: Friday, November 11, 2005
Time: 8:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Location: Little America Hotel
Cost: $60 for paralegals

Paralegal Salary Survey Results

The Utah State Bar Paralegal Division Board of Directors is pleased to announce the completion of our first survey regarding Utah Paralegals' salary and employment. An executive summary will be published in the upcoming Nov/Dec issue of the Utah Bar Journal. Complete survey results will also be made available on the division's web page. Take a look and see where you or your firm fit in our profession!

Results of the Beta Test of the Utilization/Salary Survey - 2005
by J. Robyn Dotterer

At long last the data have been compiled on the first web-based utilization/salary survey for the Utah State Bar Paralegal Division with the assistance and cooperation of the Legal AssistantÕs Association of Utah (LAAU). A joint committee was formed to undertake the drafting of a utilization/salary survey that could be established on the Utah State Bar Paralegal Division's web page and could then be taken by paralegals or their supervising attorneys online.

The Unauthorized Practice of Law
A Paralegal's Duty and Responsibility - Know the Limits
by Bonnie Hamp

UPL, the "unauthorized practice of law", we've all heard the phrase, but do we really know what it means? Simply put, the unauthorized practice of law occurs when a person who is not a licensed attorney engages in the practice of law.

The "How To Guide" for Membership in the Paralegal Division:
What are the Requirements and Career Benefits of Membership?

by Peggi Lowden

Are you wondering how to apply for membership in the Paralegal Division of the Utah State Bar (the "Division")? Am I a paralegal by the Division's definition? What are the educational and experience requirements for membership? How can I get the application forms? Once I'm a member, are there any CLE requirements to maintain my membership? We are frequently asked these questions. We are glad that you asked. To better serve you - a future member - we offer this "How To Guide" to answer your questions and to assist you in your application for membership in the Division.

Message from the Chair
by Danielle Price

This year marks the 10th Anniversary of the Paralegal Division since its creation by the Utah Supreme Court in April of 1996. The Division hosted an anniversary celebration on April 6, 2006, at Rice Eccles Stadium Tower to recognize those who worked to create the Division and to continue its growth and progress. The event celebrated the accomplishments of the Division and its members over the past ten years, as well as the growth of this profession. The evening included special guest speakers, Steven Kaufman, Former Chief Justice Michael Zimmerman, Peggi Lowden, and Mary Black. The celebration wrapped up with an amazing performance by Kurt Bestor. A copy of the program for the event is available on the Division's website and contains some interesting historical information from 1996 to present. I hope you will take a moment to review the program if you have not already. We also posted several photographs from the event.

Message from the Chair
by Danielle Price

I have a few membership and CLE updates to share and I have some information in follow up to Paralegal's Day, which was May 18th.

As many of you may already know, the Bar has added a new member benefit for attorneys which is a Lawyers Assistance Program that began in March of this year. The Paralegal Division is very pleased to announce that the Bar is also making this program available to members of the Paralegal Division. These services are offered through Blomquist Hale and will be available to Division members beginning September 1, 2006. Additional information about Blomquist Hale is available on their website at www.blomquisthale.com. The Paralegal Division will be mailing information on this program to all Division members at their home address in August.

Message from the Chair
by Kathryn K. Shelton

As the new Chair of the Paralegal Division, I am pleased to introduce to you the new officers and directors of the Paralegal Division for 2006-007. These professionals will continue the tradition of excellent leadership and service to our Division members, to the Bar and to the Community. I look forward to working with many members of the Division and its board of directors toward making the Division even more beneficial to its members and continuing its outreach to and support of the legal community. I believe that together we can make a difference in the quality and efficiency of the delivery of legal services. If you would like more information about the Paralegal Division, please visit our website at utahbar.org/sections/paralegals. Our officers and board of directors for the coming year are:

by Kathryn K. Shelton, Chair

Seventy-five years is a remarkable achievement for any one or any thing. My father is approaching this remarkable age and as I watch him age with grace and dignity, I realize that the decisions, experiences, education and choices he made through all of those years, as well as the people he has encountered and touched, truly made him who he is today. My father is a wise man - educated, objective, and benevolent. He is a man of great integrity and character. Not unlike my almost 75 year old father, we note that the now 75 year old Utah State Bar has succeeded because it has been built upon principles of education, objectivity, integrity and character. The Bar is the governing and regulating authority for the attorneys in the State but its intrinsic value rests with its members who hold a wealth of wisdom, experience and integrity and that bring honor to its name and to the profession of law. It will be the Bar's responsibility to continue to ensure the professionalism exhibited by so many members in the past 75 years is continued into the next 75 years.