Category: -Rules Governing the Utah State Bar

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Rules Governing the Utah State Bar and Rules of Professional Practice – Effective November 1, 2023

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

Supreme Court Order for USB 14-207

RPP11-0107. Open and Public Meetings. Approved. 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.

Supreme Court Order for RPP 11-107

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Rules of Professional Conduct and Rules Governing the Utah State Bar – Effective May 1, 2023

RPC08.03. Reporting Professional Misconduct. Amend. Clarifies that a lawyer or judge participating in a Utah State Bar-sponsored fee dispute resolution program is not required to disclose information gained in that program to the Office of Professional Conduct.

Supreme Court Order for RPC 8.3

USB14-01111. Exemption from future testimony and confidentiality of records and information. Amend. Clarifies when the Bar may disclose confidential information and what information it may disclose in the context of its fee dispute resolution program. A post-comment period amendment further clarifies that disclosure to law enforcement is permitted to the extent disclosure is necessary to prevent reasonably certain death or substantial bodily harm. Also clarifies that a Fee Dispute Resolution Committee member who participates in a fee dispute arbitration may not be called as a witness in any subsequent legal proceeding related to the fee dispute.

USB14-01116. Conduct of the mediation. Amend. Permits the fee dispute mediator to serve notice of the mediation by email on the mediating parties.

Supreme Court Order for USB 14-1111 and 14-1116

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Rules Governing the Utah State Bar – Effective May 1, 2023

USB14-0402. Definitions. AMEND. Terminology amendments.

USB14-0404. Active status lawyers MCLE, NLTP, admission on motion, multi-state compliance reciprocity, house counsel and UBE requirements; MCLE requirements for Paralegal Practitioners. AMEND. Terminology amendments; clarifications around the New Lawyer Training Program.

USB14-0408. Credit hour defined; application for approval. AMEND. Terminology amendments.

USB14-0409. Categories of Elective CLE defined. AMEND. Terminology amendments.

USB14-0410. Accreditation of CLE; undue hardship and special Accreditation. AMEND. Terminology amendments.

USB14-0411. Board Accreditation of CLE. AMEND. Terminology amendments.

USB14-0412. Presumptively approved CLE providers; presumptive CLE Accreditation. AMEND. Terminology amendments.

USB14-0413. CLE Accreditation for qualified audio and video presentations,  webcasts, computer interactive telephonic programs, writing, lecturing, teaching, public service, and live attendance. AMEND. Terminology amendments.

USB14-0414. Certificate of compliance; filing, late, and reinstatement fees;  suspension; reinstatement. AMEND. Terminology amendments.

USB14-0418. Remote group CLE. AMEND. Terminology amendments.

USB14-0419. CLE Credit for Pro Bono Legal Services. NEW. Proposes a two-year pilot project that will provide CLE credit for pro bono services performed under the auspices of a Utah court, the Utah State Bar, or a sponsoring entity.

Supreme Court Order

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Rules Governing the Utah State Bar – Effective January 5, 2023

USB14-0802. Authorization to practice law. Amend.

The amendments to Rule 14-802(c)(1)(C) and (c)(1)(F) give Licensed Paralegal Practitioners (LPPs) the ability to modify the court forms that are relevant to their areas of practice. These amendments will give LPPs much needed flexibility to complete services for their clients while still working within the scopes of practice established by the Supreme Court.
Rule 14-802 was initially drafted with the intention of both defining the scope of practice for LPPs and ensuring the availability, accuracy, and effect of that scope of practice through forms that have been vetted and approved by the Judicial Council’s Standing Committee on Court Forms.
While the intent of this rule was to guide LPPs, attorneys, and the public through a new and uncharted program that authorized the limited practice of law by non-attorneys, it resulted in unanticipated results: LPPs’ effectiveness has been artificially limited, with negative results for their clients in the form of reduced cost savings and the inability to tailor pleadings to clients’ individual circumstances. The amendments to subparagraphs (c)(1)(C) and (c)(1)(F) seek to remedy that.
The amendments to Rule 14-802(c)(1)(H), meanwhile, establish that LPPs may negotiate on their client’s behalf for purposes of settlement. While these amendments are intended to be broadly applicable to all of the LPP practice areas, the immediate result is that LPPs will be able to serve unrepresented litigants on the courts’ pro se calendars.  The subparagraph (c)(1)(H) amendments are expedited under UCJA Rule 11-105(5).
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Rules Governing the Utah State Bar – Effective November 7, 2022

USB14-0705.Admission by motion. Amended as of November 7, 2022, pursuant to UCJA Rule 11-105(5). The amendments restore reciprocity language to the rule.

Since the August 1, 2022 amendments, the Utah State Bar’s Office of Admissions has fielded several inquiries about whether an attorney who is primarily licensed and practicing in a non-reciprocal jurisdiction would now be eligible for admission by motion. These questions appear to arise from the deletion of a reciprocity provision in Rule 14-705. Removing reciprocity requirements was never the intention behind the August amendments. Rather, the intention was to simply recognize that the pandemic created opportunities for remote work. As such, these amendments clarify that a reciprocal admission applicant must have been engaged in the Full-time Practice of Law in the reciprocal jurisdiction, whether remotely or in-person, during the relevant time period.
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Rules Governing the Utah State Bar – Effective August 1, 2022

USB14-0209. Utah Bar Foundation. REPEAL. The Utah Bar Foundation amended and restated its Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws and no longer has a defined membership. This rule is thus moot and is therefore repealed.

Background
The Utah Bar Foundation (UBF) was created in 1963 as a 501(c)(3) organization. Its original purpose was to raise funds from members of the legal community in order to support civil legal aid for lower-income Utahns, to fund law-related education, to further the administration of justice, and to support other worthwhile law-related causes.
Section 2.1 of UBF’s 1963 founding Bylaws stated the following: “Section 2.1 Classification, Qualification, Privileges and Election of Members. The corporation shall have one class of members consisting of all duly qualified, active members of the Utah State Bar who are in good standing. Each member shall have one (1) vote at any meeting of the members.” At some point many years ago, language in substantially the same form was codified in Rule 14-209.
UBF stopped raising private funds from the legal community in 1999 when nonprofit “and Justice for all” was created. “and Justice for all” now serves as the primary fundraising organization in the legal community.
Because UBF has evolved to receive financial support from a wide variety of sources and not solely from private legal community funds, the UBF Board held a meeting of its members to vote on proposed Amended and Restated Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws that would eliminate a defined membership. By removing the defined membership, now any active, inactive, and non-attorney with an interest in access to justice issues is eligible to serve on the Utah Bar Foundation Board of Directors. It also rendered moot the language of Rule 14-209.
The vote on the Amended and Restated Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws took place in December 2021. All duly qualified, active members of the Utah State Bar in good standing were invited to attend. Notice for that meeting was provided in the Utah Bar Journal and given via email to all qualified UBF members as their email addresses appeared on the records of the Utah State Bar.
Please contact the Foundation offices for any questions or additional information at 801-297-7046 or via email at kim@utahbarfoundation.org.

 

Supreme Court Order

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