Busy Legislative Session Shakes Up the Legal World
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Utah's legislative session just wrapped up, and, wow, was it busy for the Bar this year. Lots of bills were introduced to amend, alter, and in some ways shake up the legal world. Several of our Bar Commissioners testified in public hearings, and many, many Utah lawyers were involved in speaking for, or against, proposed legislative action. I really appreciate all of you who spent time participating in the legislative process. I, myself, spent many hours on the phone with Bar Commissioners, the Supreme Court, legislators, lobbyists, and lawyers regarding the items up for consideration. The Bar has a volunteer-driven Governmental Relations Committee, chaired by Jaqualin Friend Peterson and Sara E. Bouley, and this committee spends countless hours pouring over the legislation, and making recommendations to the Bar Commission to support, oppose, or remain neutral on issues that affect the practice of law and access to justice issues. I want to truly thank the members of this committee for the immense amount of time spent on this. Without their time and expertise, the Bar would not be as prepared to participate in the legislative process.
The Bar supported many, many legislative bills that served to amend statutes that were viewed as antiquated, ineffective, or even harmful. On criminal statute reform, our Governmental Relations Committee ensures that representatives from both the prosecutorial and defense bar weigh in, and most times all involved come to a unanimous consensus on the position the Bar should take. On family law statute reform, our Family Law Section plays an important role in providing insight and comments about reforms that affect access to justice for their clients. And on, and on. In short, the Bar Commission goes into the legislative session very well informed by Bar committees and sections, which are all volunteer-driven, and we cannot articulate how very valuable and ESSENTIAL this is to us. All the hard work done during the legislative session is done within the parameters for legislative action set by the Utah Supreme Court. THANK YOU.
I leave the session concerned, however. One bill the Bar maintained an opposition to was SB129, which passed, and eliminates the Bar's ability to recommend Utah-licensed attorneys to Judicial Nominating Commissions. In the past, the Bar was mandated to recommended two out of seven seats on each commission. Now, the entirety of the nominating commissions are selected by the Governor, with no requirement that those persons appointed be lawyers. The Bar remains understandably concerned that the voices of Utah lawyers have been eliminated from weighing in on a matter as important as the appointment of new judges, and believe that this action by the legislature creates great risk of partisanship invading what should be a politically-neutral judicial selection process. Representatives from the Bar, the Court, and other Commissions testified at the hearing on this bill to voice their opposition. Yet, the bill passed. We remain concerned.
Your elected Bar Commissioners provide a great service by representing their constituents at our Commission meetings, and by relaying the thoughts, questions, and concerns that their attorneys have. We are proud of their efforts during the legislative session, and I encourage you to reach out to your commissioner if you ever have a position that you would like the bar to consider, or to advocate for. You can find who your commissioners are here: https://www.utahbar.org/about/meet-bar-commissioners/
Thank you for your participation in these important issues. The greatest thing about the Bar, is it keeps the voices of Utah lawyers strong and able to be heard, even in rooms that may not want to hear them.
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Notice of Legislative Positions Taken By the Bar and Available Rebate
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Positions taken by the Bar during the 2023 Utah Legislative Session and funds expended on public policy issues related to the regulation of the practice of law and the administration of justice are available at www.utahbar.org/legislative.
The Bar is authorized by the Utah Supreme Court to engage in legislative and public policies activities related to the regulation of the practice of law and the administration of justice by Supreme Court Rule 14-106.
Lawyers and LPPs may receive a rebate of the proportion of their annual Bar license fee expended for such activities during April 1, 2022, through March 31, 2023, by notifying Financial Director Lauren Stout at lauren.stout@utahbar.org.
The proportional amount of fees provided in the rebate include funds spent for lobbyists, staff time spent on legislative matters, and expenses for Bar delegates to travel to the American Bar Association House of Delegates.
Prior year rebates have averaged approximately $7.38. The rebate amount will be calculated April 1, 2023, and we expect the amount to be consistent with prior years.
Tax Notice
Pursuant to Internal Revenue Code 6033(e)(1), no income tax deduction shall be allowed for that portion of the annual license fees allocable to lobbying or legislative-related expenditures. For the tax year 2022, that amount is 1.18% of the mandatory license fee.
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2023 Utah State Bar Elections Begin April 1
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The 2023 Utah State Bar elections will begin April 1. A link to the online election will be supplied in an email sent to your email address of record. The email will come from vote@electionsonline.com, so make sure you allow that email address or check your spam folder. You may update your email address information by using your Utah State Bar login at https://services.utahbar.org/. (If you do not have your login information please contact onlineservices@utahbar.org and our staff will respond to your request.) Online balloting will begin April 1 and conclude April 15. Upon request, the Bar will provide a traditional paper ballot by contacting Christy Abad at adminasst@utahbar.org. Information about the candidates can be found here.
In the First Division, J. Brett Chambers is running uncontested and, according to Bar bylaws, shall be declared elected.
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President-Elect:
Cara M. Tangaro
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Cara M. Tangaro is the sole candidate for the office of President-elect. Utah State Bar bylaws provide that if there is only one candidate for the office of President-elect, the ballot shall be considered as a retention vote and a majority of those voting shall be required to reject the sole candidate.
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J. Brett Chambers
New First Division Commissioner
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Kim Cordova
Third Division
Candidate
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Traci A. Gundersen
Third Division
Candidate
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Mark O. Morris
Third Division
Candidate
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Glen K. Thurston
Third Division
Candidate
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John H. Rees
Third Division
Candidate
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Bar Employee Among Alumni Honored by S.J. Quinney College of Law
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The S.J. Quinney College of Law has announced its alumni award winners, and Scotti Hill ('18), the Bar's Ethics Council, was one of two winners of the Young Alumni Award. The second Young Alumni Award went to Matthew Vanek ('13) of the Salt Lake Legal Defender Association.
Others honored included Stewart P. Ralphs ('90), Executive Director of Legal Aid Society of Salt Lake, Karen Fojtik ('93), U.S. Attorney's Office, and Taymour Semnani, (Honorary Alum), an associate at Clyde Snow.
Award winners will be honored at the S.J. Quinney annual alumni dinner on April 21.
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All Lawyers Now Under Annual CLE Compliance Cycle
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All active status lawyers admitted to practice in Utah are now required to comply annually with the Mandatory CLE requirements. The CLE reporting period is July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2023.
The annual CLE requirement is 12 hours of accredited CLE. The 12 hours of CLE must include a minimum of one hour of Ethics CLE and one hour of Professionalism and Civility CLE.
At least six hours of the CLE must be Live CLE, which may include any combination of In-person CLE, Remote Group CLE, or Verified E-CLE. The remaining six hours of CLE may include Self-study CLE or Live CLE.
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Criminal Law Section Sponsors "Gideon at 60" Event Commemorating Gideon v. Wainwright
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The criminal law section of the Utah State Bar is sponsoring a celebration commemorating Gideon v. Wainwright, the Supreme Court case that established the right of an accused person to have an attorney at no cost.
The event, held at Publik in Salt Lake City on March 16 at 5:30, is free. Speakers include retired Utah Supreme Court Justice Michael Zimmerman of Zimmerman Booher, Destiny Garcia, Executive Director of Clean Slate Utah, criminal defense attorney Ron Yengich and Debra Nelson, Chief Appellate Officer for Utah’s Indigent Appellate Defense Division.
The celebration will feature live music, drinks, appetizers and the presentation of the Gideon Award. There will also be prize drawings for public defenders present.
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