Utah State Bar News & Announcements

Coalville, UT—The Summit County Nominating Commission has selected three nominees for a Justice Court vacancy in Summit County. The position will replace Judge Lynn Sadler who retired effective Feb. 1, 2009.

Following are the nominees along with their current employer and place of residence: Augustus Chin, attorney at Rasmussen and Miner, Salt Lake City; Shauna Kerr, Deer Valley Resort, Park City; and Marsha Thomas, Taylorsville Justice Court Judge; Salt Lake City.

A comment period will be held through April 13, 2009 before the names are submitted to Brian Bellamy, Summit County Interim County Manager. Bellamy has 30 days in which to make an appointment. The Utah Judicial Council must then confirm the appointment. Holly Frischknecht with the Administrative Office of the Courts is accepting written comments at hollyf@email.utcourts.gov.

MESSAGE FROM PRESIDENT NATHAN D. ALDER

New Lawyer Training Program

In December 2008, the Utah Supreme Court approved the New Lawyer Training Program ("NLTP") which is now required for new lawyers. The NLTP is a Court-led and Bar-administered mentoring program modeled after Georgia's highly successful program that they started 10 years ago. The Bench and Bar now seek mentors who will serve the profession by taking this formal opportunity to more effectively guide a new lawyer one-on-one through a carefully designed and highly interactive first year CLE program (www.utahbar.org/nltp). Our Supreme Court will appoint those who are qualified and willing to serve as mentors. The program requires 500 or mentors. I am honored to be president at this time and ask you to serve with me and our colleagues in this important endeavor.

The Board of Bar Commissioners is seeking nominations for the 2009 Annual Convention Awards. These awards have a long history of honoring publicly those whose professionalism, public service and personal dedication have significantly enhanced the administration of justice, the delivery of legal services and the building up of the profession. Your award nominations must be submitted in writing to Christy Abad, Executive Secretary, 645 South 200 East, Suite 310, Salt Lake City, UT 84111 or adminasst@utahbar.org, no later than Friday, May 15, 2009. The award categories include:

Click here to view past award winners.

National Library Week Celebrated April 12 through 18, 2009

Salt Lake City, UT---In recognition of National Library Week—April 12 through 18—the Utah State Law Library is offering free classes and library tours to inform individuals who are representing themselves in court as well as instruct those interested in case law research.

Classes will be held April 13 through 16. The one-hour classes will be held at 12:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. each day. Topics include Introduction to Resources for Self-Represented Parties, which will cover topics such as how to find an attorney, where to locate court forms, and available legal clinics. A class on Westlaw Basics will provide information on how to search for case law and statutes. An introductory class to HeinOnline will provide information on accessing legal publications, including law reviews and Federal material.

The State Law Library is located on the first floor of the Scott M. Matheson Courthouse at 450 South State in Room W-13. Advance registration for the classes is required by e-mailing library@email.utcourts.gov or by calling (801) 238-7990. For a complete listing of class dates and times, go to www.utcourts.gov/lawlibrary.

Vernal, UT---A panel of judges is scheduled to meet on May 7, 2009 to hear testimony to determine if reasonable cause exists to call a grand jury. The meeting will take place in the 8th Judicial District, Uintah County Courthouse, 920 East Highway 40, Vernal.

Those wanting to testify before the panel of judges should contact District Court Administrator Debra Moore at (801) 578-3800 by April 24, 2009, to schedule an appointment. Individuals testifying must be prepared to give evidence to support claims that justify calling a grand jury. Controversies between individual parties will not be considered. Individuals who need special accommodations during the hearing must notify the court at least three business days prior to the hearing.

Utah’s Grand Jury Statute requires a panel of judges selected from throughout the state to hold hearings in each judicial district every three years. The purpose of the hearings is to determine if a grand jury needs to be summoned based on evidence of criminal activity. The Grand Jury Panel is comprised of the following judges: Supervising Judge A. Lynn Payne, Eighth District Court; Judge Terry L. Christiansen, Third District Court; Judge Steven L. Hansen, Fourth District Court; Judge Sandra N. Peuler, Third District Court; and Judge W. Brent West, Second District Court.

The Attorney General, a county attorney, district attorney, or special prosecutor appointed under U.C.A. 77-10a-1 can also present evidence if it is based on criminal activity. The panel of judges will hear, in secret, all persons claiming information that justifies calling a grand jury. All individuals appearing before the panel of judges will be placed under oath. If a grand jury is summoned, the jurors will be called from the state-at-large or any judicial district within the state.

The Supreme Court has approved amendments to the following Utah court rules.

Summary of amendments

USB 14-0103. Organization and management of the Bar. Amend. Standardize the requirements for a Commissioner to vacate his or her unexpired term when succeeding to the office of President.

USB 14-0205. Board. Amend. Shorten voting period for elections from 30 to 15 days. Standardize the requirements for a Commissioner to vacate his or her unexpired term when succeeding to the office of President.

USB 14-0206. Officers. Amend. Shorten voting period for elections from 30 to 15 days. Provide for the event that the Commission is unable to nominate two candidates for the office of President-elect to run in a contested election.

How to view redline text of the approved amendments

To see the text and effective date of the amendments, click on this link to: http://www.utcourts.gov/resources/rules/approved/ and then click on the rule number. All amendments are effective March 18, 2009.

Salt Lake City, UT - Nearly 11,000 Utah children are impacted by divorce each year, including 2,500 children in Salt Lake County. To address the needs of these children, the Utah State Courts offers a Divorce Education for Children class each month at no charge to participants. The next class is scheduled for Saturday, April 25 from 10 a.m. to noon.

The Divorce Education for Children class is for children 9- to 12-years-old whose parents have filed for divorce or whose parents are divorced. The class takes place at the Scott M. Matheson Courthouse at 450 South State Street. Advance registration is required by calling (801) 578-3897. There is no charge to attend the class.

The program’s curriculum provides children with skills they can use to better communicate their feelings to parents. Mental health professionals teach the class with the assistance of state court judges and commissioners. Participation in the children’s class is voluntary.

For more information, go to www.utcourts.gov/specproj/dived.htm.

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – Beginning May 12, 2009, the Utah Division of Corporations and Commercial Code will no longer accept service of process for business entities. In 2008, the Utah Legislature passed the Model Registered Agents Act to standardize registered agent filing and service of process among various types of businesses including corporations, limited liability companies, and partnerships.

Under previous law, the Division of Corporations and Commercial Code was the default agent for purposes of service of process when a business had no registered agent. Now, however, those wishing to serve a business without a registered agent may serve the business’s main office by registered or certified mail. If that is not possible, a business may be served by handing process papers to any person in charge at any regular location of the business. See Utah Code Ann. § 16-17-301 (2008).

For questions, contact the Utah Division of Corporations and Commercial Code at
(801) 530-4849, or toll-free in-state at 1-877-526-3994 or log on to their website at; www.corporations.utah.gov

Below is a warning we received from an attorney at a local bank that we thought would be of concern to you. I have checked and confirmed that this collections assistance scam has made the rounds nationally for a while and is now starting to show up in Utah. One special point in this scam is that the name used as the sending attorney is often a legitimate attorney in another state.

Our thanks go out to the attorney that brought this to our attention with the following message:

On Friday, May 1st, 2009 at 1:00pm the Utah Legislature will be hosing a meeting of the Utah Tax Review Commission. This meeting is currently scheduled to be held in room 445 of the State Capitol. The agenda for the meeting is below.

AGENDA

Utah Tax Review Commission
Utah Legislature
Friday, May 1, 2009 • 1:00 p.m. • Room 445 State Capitol

1. TRC Business

2. Review of Tax Related Legislation Enacted During the 2009 General Session

3. Review of Study Items for the 2009 Interim

4. Overview of Cigarette and Tobacco Products Excise Taxes

5. Other Items / Adjourn

It is the belief of the Bar leadership that the Professional Services Tax study committee will be included in the 'Other Study Items' portion of the agenda. If there are any changes to this agenda they may be found at the Utah Legislature website located at the website below. (Minutes and an audio recording of the meeting will also be uploaded to this location. )

http://www.le.utah.gov/asp/interim/Commit.asp?Year=2009&Com=SPETAX

PDF files that are labeled as supporting information for the meeting may be downloaded from this link

http://www.le.utah.gov/interim/2009/pdf/00000488.PDF

and a list of Tax Bills passed during the 2009 general session may be found here

http://www.le.utah.gov/interim/2009/pdf/00000489.pdf

The Utah State Bar has a section of its website dedicated to tracking this issue located at http://www.utahbar.org/prof_services_tax/