Category: -Rules of Professional Practice

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Rules Governing the Utah State Bar and Rules of Professional Practice – Comment Period Closed June 19, 2023

USB14-0711. Grading and Passing the Bar Examination. AMEND. This proposed rule amendment lowers the passing bar examination score from 270 to 260.

USB14-0712. Qualification for Admission Based on UBE. AMEND. This proposed rule amendment lowers the acceptable transferred Universal Bar Exam score from 270 to 260.

USB14-0207. Finances. AMEND. This rule amendment requires the Utah State Bar to annually submit to the Supreme Court recommendations on increasing, decreasing, or maintaining current licensing fees.

RPP11-0107. Open and Public Meetings. AMEND. This rule amendment adds the newly established Advisory Committee on the Rule of Business and Chancery Procedure to this rule as a committee that must only hold open meetings.

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Rules of Professional Practice – Comment Period Closed May 12, 2022

RPP11-0581. Sanctions. Amend. Clarifies that if a lawyer is placed on probation the status of probation is public, but the terms of their probation may be private. 

RPP11-0582. Factors to be considered in imposing sanctions. Amend. This amendment requires the factfinder to consider the presumptive sanctions set forth in the rules, along with any mitigating and aggravating factors. This amendment also adds a section to provide guidance when multiple instances of misconduct are found.

RPP11-0583. Imposition of sanctions. Repeal/Replace with New Rules. This amendment repeals existing rule 11-583 addressing appropriate sanctions and replaces it with four new rules (rules 11-583 through 11-586) that set forth presumptive sanctions based on the nature of the duty violated.
RPP11-0583. Presumptive sanctions for violating duties owed to clients. New. This new rule provides presumptive sanctions to be imposed upon finding that the lawyer violated duties owed to clients, including candor, competence, diligence, conflicts of interest, and failing to preserve a client’s property and confidence.
RPP11-0584. Presumptive sanctions for violating duties owed to the public. New.  This new rule provides presumptive sanctions to be imposed upon finding that the lawyer failed to maintain personal integrity, generally, by committing a criminal act. Additionally, this new rule provides presumptive sanctions for violations of Rule 3.8, Special responsibilities of a prosecutor.
RPP11-0585. Presumptive sanctions for violating duties owed to the legal system. New. This new rule provides presumptive sanctions to be imposed upon finding that the lawyer has engaged in conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice. This rule relates to deceit, fraud, misrepresentation, improper communication with individuals in the legal system, and abuse of the legal process.
RPP11-0586. Presumptive sanctions for violating duties owed as a member of the legal profession. New.  This new rule provides presumptive sanctions to be imposed upon finding that the lawyer has engaged in conduct involving misleading communications about a lawyer or a lawyer’s services, unreasonable or improper fees, unauthorized practice of law, failure to report professional misconduct, and failure to respond to a lawful request from disciplinary authority.
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Supreme Court Rules of Professional Practice – Comment Period Closed December 5, 2021

CJA11-0510. Ethics and Discipline Committee composition. Amend. The proposed changes would allow the Ethics and Discipline Committee to recruit up to eight public members and up to 25 lawyer members, with the minimum required numbers of members remaining at four and 21, respectively.  The purpose of the amendment is to ensure that the Committee has a sufficient number of individual members to attend screening panel hearings of disciplinary matters.  The proposed changes also allow the Committee to have three to four Committee vice chairs, rather than always requiring four vice chairs.

CJA11-0511. Screening panel composition; responsibilities. Amend. The first proposed change reflects the allowed increase in the overall size of the Ethics and Discipline Committee’s four screening panels but retains the requirement that a maximum of one public member and four lawyer members will attend screening panel hearings.  The second proposed change provides that screening panel hearings must have five screening panel members, including the panel chair or vice chair and one public member.  Consent by the parties to a lower number of screening panel members is no longer allowed.  The final proposed change allows the screening panel chair to vote on panel determinations.

CJA11-0513. Committee clerk. Amend. The proposed change applies the immunity provisions of Rule 11-540 to the Committee clerk.  The immunity provisions previously were not expressly applicable to the clerk.

CJA11-0591. Reinstatement following a suspension of more than six months; relicensure. Correction. The proposed change clarifies that, unlike a petition for relicensure, a petition for reinstatement need not be accompanied by a report and recommendation from the Bar’s Character and Fitness Committee.

 

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Rules of Professional Practice – Comment Period Closed October 7, 2021

CJA11-0401.  Standing Committee on Appellate Representation and the Appellate Roster. Amend.

The following is a brief summary of the rule amendments (line numbers refer to the redline version and note where the subject amendments begin). Amendments to Rule 11-401:

·       Address the creation of the Indigent Appellate Defense Division (line 12);

·       Simplify committee composition (line 33);

·       Clarify that at least one appellate brief submitted for application purposes must be in the relevant subject matter area (line 107);

·       Add a CLE requirement (line 146);

·       Add requirements for entity exempt status and clarify when an attorney falls under that exemption (line 161); and

·       Increase term limits from three to five years (lines 135 and 145).

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Rules of Professional Practice – Comment Period Closed December 16, 2018

RPP014.515. Access to disciplinary information  is amended to prohibit the Office of Professional Conduct and their staff and employees, the Ethics and Discipline Committee and their volunteers, and any special counsel from disclosing information about a disciplinary proceeding, prior to the filing of a formal complaint or the issuance of a public reprimand. Absent a protective order requiring confidentiality, the prohibition on disclosure does not apply to the person who filed the complaint or a witness.

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