What a great convention we had in Sun Valley! It was nice to gather in person once again, to see old friends and meet new ones, and to discuss the exciting changes taking place in the practice of law in Utah and at the Bar. Hopefully you had a chance to join us either in person or online.
Thanks to the convention co-chairs, Judge Laura Scott and Jaelynn Jenkins. The planning committee consisted of Jonathan Hafen, Lara Swensen, Lori Seppi, Nicholas Frandsen, Brian Porter, Andrew Lillywhite, Hannah Follender, Jonathan Hanks, Quinn Sperry, Jason Groth, Tyler Foutz, Trevor Bradford, Jared Braithwaite, Christian Clinger, Benjamin Onofrio, Brant Christiansen, Derek Julio, Blaine Rawson, Michael Garrett, Karla Block, Megan Smith, Joseph Brubaker, Nathan Nielson, Erik Strindberg, Ben Lear, Catherine Lake, Jeffrey Enquist, Matthew Bell, Erik Christiansen, J. Ed Christiansen, Blake Voorhees, Tonya Wright, Eric Robinson, Bradley Jacobsen, Clayton Simms and Peter Smyth.
Presenters included Judge Samuel Alba, Kristen Angelos, Cherise Bacalski, Carson Bagley, Tanner Bean, Stacy bernal, Kathryn Bond Stockton, Troy Booher, Carrie Boren, Chief Judge Michele Christiansen-Forster, Matt Connors, Kate Conyers, Leslie Culver, Rustin Diehl, Sharon Donovan, Chief Justice Matthew Durrant, Heather Farnsworth, Jonathan Hafen, Judge Royal Hansen, David Hirschi, Dean Elizabeth Kronk Warner, Judge Clemens Landau, Judge Barry Lawrence, Justice Thomas Lee, Maribeth LeHoux, Elaina Maragakis, Melissa Moeinvaziri, Andrew Morse, Stephen Nelson, Shawn Newell, Langdon Owen, Tyra Patterson, Justice John Pearce, Leonor Perretta, Justice Paige Petersen, Associate Chief Judge Jill Pohlman, Kayla Quam, G. Christopher Ritter, David Read, Judge Todd Shaughnessy, Chief Judge Robert Shelby, Dean Gordon Smith, Dr. William Smith, Quinn Sperry, Erik Strindberg, Tyler Whitacre, Jeanetta Williams, Stewart Young, Heather White, and Alyssa Williams. Special thanks also to the bar CLE staff, Michelle Oldroyd, Lydia Kane and Carli Castanares.
There have been several notable changes with staff at the Bar the last few months. Joni Seko, the Bar’s Deputy General Counsel for Admissions for the past 30 years, and her husband Stephen Seko, left to pursue other opportunities. Richard “the man with the bell” Dibblee, the Assistant Executive Director, retires at the end of August. Carrie Boren, the NLTP Director, will head up Admissions. Rob Jepson, the Bar’s Access to Justice Director resigned and Pamela Beatse has taken over. Elizabeth Wright has assumed the position of Executive Director, replacing John Baldwin. Nancy Sylvester, whom many of you know from her work at the Administrative Office of the Courts is the Bar’s new General Counsel.
I look forward to the ongoing work with the Bar Commission to bring about necessary change and in addressing the challenges of the coming year. I welcome you to reach out the Commission. We are still working on making liaison assignments for the Commission, but the members and their terms are:
--Katie Woods, President-elect, term ends July 2022
--Marty Moore, First Division, term ends July 2023
--John Bradley, Second Division, term ends July 2022
--Michelle Quist, Third Division, term ends July 2022
--Traci Gundersen, Third Division, term ends July 2023
--Mark Morris, Third Division, term ends July 2023
--Andrew Morse, Third Division, term ends July 2023
--Chrystal Mancuso-Smith, Third Division, term ends July 2024
--Gregory Hoole, Third Division, term ends July 2024
--Tyler Young, Fourth Division, term ends July 2024
--Rick Hoffman, Public Member, term ends July 2023
--Shawn Newell, Public Member, term ends July 2023
Ex-officio members include Heather Farnsworth, Immediate Past President; Nate Alder, Bar Member’s Delegate to the ABA; Kim Cordova, Bar’s Representative to the ABA; Erik Christiansen, Bar Representative to the ABA; Camila Moreno, Young Lawyers Delegate to the ABA; Dean D. Gordon Smith, J. Reuben Clark College of Law; Dean Elizabeth Kronk Warner, S.J. Quinney College of Law; Amy Fowler, LGBT & Allied Lawyers of Utah Representative; Ramzi Hamady, Minority Bar Association Representative; Kim Neville, Women Lawyers of Utah Representative; Margaret Plane, Judicial Council Representative; Tonya Wright, Paralegal Division Representative; and Nick Stiles, Supreme Court Liaison. I am thankful for the Commission for their hours of service and true desire to improve our Bar. There is much work to be done.