Utah Bar Young Lawyers Division

Welcome to the new blog for the Young Lawyers Division of the Utah State Bar. In the next few weeks, we will continue to make several improvements to our website.

The first change you might notice is that our website is accessible through a new website address. We will now operate our website primarily through www.utahyounglawyers.org. We believe this change will bring more traffic since the new address is much more recognizable, memorable and easier to find.

The purpose of the blog is to quickly post anything of interest to the young lawyers. The blog will contain event notifications (including CLEs, social events, etc.), job postings and other items of general interest to young lawyers.

The success of the blog will depend in part on your help. If you have an event you would like to advertise to the almost 2,000 young lawyers in the State, let us know. We also need submissions for job postings.

You can send events and other possible postings to Craig Hall at craigh@wjordan.com or to Stephanie Pugsley (current President of the Utah YLD) at SPugsley@joneswaldo.com.

The leadership of the Utah YLD is committed to using the latest technology to increase awareness and communication to help all young lawyers throughout the State.

A notice from the current Uta Law Review staff:

"In an effort to get to know our alumni better (and to infuse some fun into our otherwise dreary, copywork-riddled fall) we, the current Utah Law Review staff, cordially invite you and your family to join us for our beginning of the year BBQ on Friday, September 21, at Sunnyside Park in Salt Lake City from 5 pm - 8 pm.

We have tried our best to obtain the email addresses of as many of your co-staffmembers as possible, but there are many gaps in our records. If you are still in contact with other Utah Law Review alumni, please encourage them to attend."

Our very own Stephanie Pugsley (YLD President) and Karthik Nadesan (YLD President-Elect) were selected by the Deseret News as "People on the Move."

http://deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,695207836,00.html

Congrats!

The theme for Law Day 2008 has been announced:

THE RULE OF LAW
Foundation for Communities of Opportunity and Equity

Fifty years ago President Eisenhower proclaimed the first Law Day a "day of national dedication to the principle of government under law." We invite you this May to celebrate this enduring principle during the 50th anniversary of Law Day with the theme, The Rule of Law: Foundation for Communities of Opportunity and Equity.

Law Day will take place on May 1, 2008.

Sean Reyes of the firm Parsons, Behle & Latimer has been nominated for the National Outstanding Young Lawyer award given out by the American Bar Association. Sean was selected as the Utah Young Lawyer of the Year in 2006.

Along with the nomination were included letters of recommendation from (among others) Govenor Huntsman, Chief Justice Durham and Nate Alder (Pres. Elect of the Utah State Bar).

Good luck Sean!

The Women Lawyers of Utah Annual Fall Retreat will be held on October 19-20, 2007 at the Chateaux at Silver Lake in Deer Valley, Utah. Karen Lockwood, former President of the D.C. Women's Bar Association, will be the Keynote Speaker at this year's Retreat. She will speak about D.C.'s Initiative on Retention of Women in Law Firms.

If you have any questions about the Retreat, please contact Eve Furse at evefurse@yahoo.com.

Take a look at the wonderful new addition to our website!

"On Demand Mentor" video presentations (available for free viewing on the website) offer insights and sensible pointers shared by successful Utah practitioners with years of experience practicing law. In each ten-minute tutorial the presenting attorney provides a concise digest of a topic selected from his or her area of expertise. Topics range from overviews of substantive areas of the law to practice tips for being an effective advocate.

Take a look at On Demand Mentor.

The July 2007 Bar Exam Results have been posted. A joint admissions ceremony to the Utah Supreme Court and the U.S. District Court of Utah will be held on October 30, 2007 12:00 p.m. at the Salt Palace Convention Center.

Congratulations to everyone who passed!

The sixth annual Bar Sharks for Justice Pool Tournament is being held on October 10th and 17th, Wednesday evenings starting at 6:00 p.m. All matches will take place at Lumpy's Downtown - 145 Pierpont Ave., Salt Lake City. To register a team, go to www.andjusticeforall.org to download a registration form or call 924-3182. Registration deadline is October 4, 2007.

Simply come to Lumpy's on any or both nights of play. You can socialize with old friends, meet new colleagues and cheer on your favorite team.

All proceeds benefit "And Justice for All."

On the first Wednesday of each month, the Utah Young Lawyers Division holds its Executive Council Meeting. The primary purpose of this meeting is for the YLD officers and committee chairs to discuss and vote upon items that affect the young lawyers throughout the State.

However, this is certainly not a "closed-door" meeting. It is also a wonderful opportunity for any young lawyer to learn more about YLD and what YLD does. If you are interested in becoming more involved in YLD, this is a great chance to meet the officers and committee chairs, to listen to the different committees, and to hear about what types of activities/projects we have coming up. It is also a good opportunity to figure out what projects you may want to help with or what committee(s) you may want to join.

Next YLD Executive Council meeting will be held on Wednesday, October 3, 2007, 12:00 noon, at the Utah Law and Justice Center (645 South 200 East, Salt Lake City). Hope to see you there!

As an update to this post, Sean Reyes has been chosen by the Young Lawyers Division of the American Bar Association to receive the 2006-2007 National Outstanding Young Lawyer Award. The award will be presented to Sean at the February 2008 Midyear Meeting of the American Bar Association in Los Angeles, California.

Sean was selected after the American Bar Association reviewed nominations received from all over the country. The award is presented to a young lawyer who exhibits professional excellence, service to the profession and the bar, service to the community, and/or a reputation for the advancement of legal ethics and professional responsibility.

This is the first year the ABA has presented this award, so it is a special honor to have the first award go to an attorney from Utah.

Congratulations to Sean for receiving this very prestigious award!

Russell Wood, a communications doctoral candidate student at the University of Utah is conducting a research project and is looking for attorney volunteers to assist in the research. As part of his research he is looking for attorneys that would be willing to participate in a research study to better understand what occurs during negotiation. Much of the available information on negotiation is based on subjective statements of opinion or reports of practice. Academic research attempts to develop a more objective understanding of negotiation. This study proposes to consider negotiation from a relational communication perspective with the intent of offering new insights into negotiation practices.

Participation would include about an hour of time (including travel) where you would negotiate a mock case with another lawyer for about 20 minutes. The communication between the two lawyers (not the outcome of the negotiation) would be studied and analyzed by the researcher after you are gone. The researchers anticipate that the information developed in the study (and subsequent academic publications) will help professionals, and people in general, to have a better understanding of negotiation. Hopefully, for many people that will lead to an improved negotiating experience, better skills, and more productive outcomes from negotiation.

If you are interested please contact Russ Wood directly at: (801) 943-3316 (home) or 913-8544 (cell) or Russ.Wood@utah.edu

A Message on Pakistan from ABA President William H. Neukom:

Since Saturday, President Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan has suspended the national constitution, detained eight members of the Supreme Court and arrested more than 1,500 Pakistani lawyers. This is a profound breach of the rule of law. The American Bar Association urges President Musharraf to rescind these actions immediately.

Courts are society's referees. A judiciary that can impartially apply fair rules, without outside interference, is a cornerstone of lawful government. President Musharraf sought to justify his actions by citing the threat of terrorism. But shutting down a nation's lawful institutions of justice will hurt, not help, the fight against terrorism.

The ABA, which represents more than 413,000 members worldwide, has a longstanding commitment to advancing the rule of law. When a nation's Constitution is suspended, and its Supreme Court is shut down, that is a blow to the rule of law everywhere. The ABA therefore calls on all governments, bar associations and other civil society organizations to support the rule of law, by using every peaceful, legal means to persuade President Musharraf to restore justice to the people of Pakistan.

The Young Lawyers Division of the Utah State Bar is sponsoring a Holiday Service Event:

November 12 – 20, 2007

Please Donate:
~ New and gently used children's games and books ~
~ Blankets, Towels, Coats, Gloves ~

Please drop off donations at:

Salt Lake City
Utah Law and Justice Center
645 South 200 East

Or

St. George
The offices of Snow, Christensen & Martineau
37 West 1070 South

Questions? Contact: Rachel G. Terry at rterry@fabianlaw.com or Emily Smith at esmith@swlaw.com

So many are in need and count on you to help. For that warm holiday feeling, just give!

As mentioned in a previous post, Sean Reyes has been named 2007 National Outstanding Lawyer of the Year by the American Bar Association.

The Deseret News and the Salt Lake Tribune have acknowledged Sean's accomplishment with recent articles.

Once again, congratulations Sean.

Tribune article: http://www.sltrib.com/business/ci_7446609
Deseret News article: http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,5143,695227946,00.html

As mentioned in this Salt Lake Tribune article, the Utah State Bar has recognized four members of the Young Lawyers Division for their service to the community and legal profession.

David Hall, with the firm of Parsons Behle and Latimer, received the distinguished service award, given in recognition of leadership in legal profession. Hall has been a member of the Utah Young Lawyers Executive Council for the past five years and served as the Utah YLD president in 2006-2007.

Kelly J. Latimer, Christina L. Micken, and Matthew D. Wride were honored as distinguished pro bono lawyers of the year.

Congratulations!

Utah YLD member Jason Coles, an attorney from Park City, passed away last month in a skiing accident. He leaves behind a wife (Laurie Seal-Coles - also a YLD member) and a 2 month-old daughter.

http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_7766099

The obituary is listed here.

A memorial fund has been set up for the family. You can donate funds in one of three ways:

1) You may simply go into a branch of Zions Bank and request to make a donation to the Jason Coles Donation Account.
2) If you have an Zions account, you may call in and ask Zions to make a transfer from your account into he Jason Coles Donation Account.
3) You may also mail in your donation to Zions Bank, 2029 E. 7000 S. Salt Lake City, UT 84121 and request your funds be deposited in the Jason Coles Donation Account.

At a time when TV shows depict attorneys as maniacal figures known more for their courtroom antics than their professionalism, the head of Utah's bar association says attorneys must battle those stereotypes and maintain a high level of professionalism.

FULL STORY: http://deseretnews.com/article/1%2C5143%2C695240137%2C00.html

The Utah State Bar Young Lawyers Division in partnership with the Wills for Heroes Foundation unveils Wills for Heroes, a new statewide program to help police officers, firefighters, and other first responders. Through the program, volunteer attorneys provide wills and other estate planning documents for emergency first responders and their spouses or partners. Our first event will take place on Friday, March 14, 2008, as part of the St. George Bar Convention. For more information, go to www.willsforheroes.org and www.abanet.org/yld/wills/home.html or contact Rachel Terry or Emily Smith.

More information is available here.

On February 9, 2008, the American Bar Association Young Lawyers Division awarded the first ever ABA YLD National Outstanding Young Lawyer Award to Sean D. Reyes of Salt Lake City, Utah. “We are thrilled to honor Mr. Reyes,” explains Jay E. Ray, Immediate Past Chair of the ABA YLD. According to Mr. Ray, “Sean is exactly the type of young lawyer the award was created to recognize—one who exhibits professional excellence, service to the profession and the bar, service to the community, and has a reputation for legal ethics and professional responsibility.”

See more regarding the award and Sean's accomplishments on this link from the ABA website.

Sean was also recently featured in an article written by the Salt Lake Weekly. Among other things (several of which are rather interesting), the article highlights Sean's recent award from the ABA.

Congratulations to Sean.

Justin Goldstein, the ABA YLD President, recently visited Salt Lake City and with some of the Utah YLD leadership. Of his visit, he commented:

"The next day, it was on to an early flight to meet the Utah young lawyers for lunch and an opportunity to congratulate the first ABA YLD National Outstanding Young Lawyer Award winner, Sean Reyes. Congratulations to Sean (we’ll present the award formally to Sean at the ABA Midyear Meeting in Los Angeles in February) and to all of the Award applicants. It was great to see our friends from Utah, and I really appreciate their hospitality for my trip out west. Thank you Stephanie Pugsley, Michelle Allred, Julie Ladle, Karthik Nadesan, Craig Hall, Sean Reyes, and Deb Griffiths-Handley."

http://www.abanet.org/yld/affiliate/janfeb08/goldstein.html

Thanks for dropping by Justin. You're welcome back anytime!

Utah State Bar Litigation & Securities Law Sections
Luncheon

Stoneridge v. Scientific Atlanta, Inc. et al: The Current State of Aider/Abettor LIability in Federal Securities Fraud Litigation

Date: Monday, April 14, 2008

Time: 12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m.

Speaker: Michael Power, 2L, S.J. Quinney College of Law

Location: Moot Courtroom, University of Utah, S.J. Quinney College of Law
Cost: $20.00 for section members; $30.00 for non-members; FREE for law students
CLE Credit: 1 hour CLE

RSVP: Kindly RSVP by April 10th by sending email to sections@utahbar.org or by filling out the online form. Please note that all RSVPs via email are confirmed within 24 hours. Please provide your name and bar number. Thank you.

3L Transition to Practice
Presented by the University of Utah Student Bar Association

The questions you have.
The questions you haven’t thought of yet.
The Young Lawyer’s Division brings a panel of young, practicing attorneys for a discussion on…

The Transition to Practice

No nonsense answers.

Tuesday, April 8, 2008
12:15 p.m. to 1:10 p.m.
Room 105

Don’t miss one of the most popular events each year.

Congratulations to the new lawyers sworn in at the joint admissions ceremony to the Utah Supreme Court and the U.S. District Court of Utah held on May 23, 2008.

A complete list of the new Utah lawyers can be found here.

Our own YLD President Stephanie W. Pugsley was named the S.J. Quinney College of Law at the University of Utah Young Alumnae of the Year for 2008, her alma matter. She received this award at the annual alumni luncheon held May 8, 2008 at the Salt Lake City Center Marriot. She was recognized for her work with the YLD, Wills for Heroes and other projects.

Congratulations Stephanie!

The Young Lawyers Division Received the 2008 Section of the Year Award at this year's Utah State Bar Summer Convention. Thank you to all of the volunteers who have put in their time and effort. Congratulations YLD!

Salt Lake Tribune article