-Rules Governing the Utah State Bar – Page 2 – Utah Court Rules

Posted: January 23, 2023

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).

Supreme Court Order for (c)(1)(C) and (c)(1)(F)

Supreme Court Order for (c)(1)(H)

Posted: December 12, 2022

Rules Governing the Utah State Bar – Effective December 9, 2022

USB14-0701. Definitions. Amended as of December 9, 2022, pursuant to UCJA Rule 11-105(5). The amendments add as a defined term “UBE Transfer Applicant.”

USB14-0809. Practice Pending Admission. Amended as of December 9, 2022, pursuant to UCJA Rule 11-105(5).The amendments add UBE Transfer Applicants to the list of applicants that may practice while their admissions application is pending.

Supreme Court Order

Posted: November 8, 2022

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.

Supreme Court Order

Posted: July 15, 2022

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

Posted: July 14, 2022

Rules Governing the Utah State Bar – Effective August 1, 2022

USB14-0701. Definitions. AMEND.

In acknowledging the remote work environment created by the pandemic, amendments remove the requirement that “active practice” activities be performed in the jurisdiction in which the applicant is admitted.
Amendments also remove teaching full-time at an approved law school as an “active practice” activity in favor of creating an exception for this type of work under Rule 14-705, which is the admission by motion rule.

USB14-0705. Admission by motion. AMEND.

Amendments remove geographic restrictions for purposes of counting years of practice toward admission by motion requirements.
Amendments allow time in Utah to count toward time practicing in another jurisdiction so long as the lawyer has complied with Rule 5.5 of the Utah Rules of Professional Conduct.
Amendments reduce the amount of time a lawyer must have practiced in another jurisdiction from 60 months to 36 months.
Amendments also exempt full-time Utah law professors from the requirement of being engaged in the active full-time practice of law for the relevant time period, so long as they have worked at least 80 hours per month as a law professor during that time.

USB14-0712. Qualifications for admission based on UBE. AMEND.

Paragraph (c)(2) currently provides that a UBE score may be transferred up to 5 years after exam administration if the attorney applicant can prove that they have practiced for at least 2 ½ years.
Repeal of paragraph (c)(2) would bring the rule in line with Rule 14-705 amendments by funneling such applicants through the admission by motion process rather than the UBE score transfer process.

USB14-0809. Practice Pending Admission. AMEND.

Amendments to paragraph (c)(3) conform to Rule 14-705 amendments regarding geographic restrictions and time spent practicing.
Amendments also expand practice eligibility:
- from one year to eighteen months after certificate issuance, and
- from one failed Bar exam attempt to two failed Bar exam attempts.

Supreme Court Order

Posted: June 9, 2022

Rules Governing the Utah State Bar – Effective June 8, 2022

USB14-0807. Law school student and law school graduate legal assistance. AMEND.

Amendments extend law school graduate practice eligibility:
- from one year to eighteen months after graduation, and
- from one failed Bar exam attempt to two failed Bar exam attempts.
Amendments also fix a number of formatting issues, simplify language, and add headings for easier application.
New paragraph (g)(3)(G) provides that if a 14-807 practitioner substantially aids in the preparation of written materials in an appellate case, including briefs and memoranda, the supervising attorney may, at the attorney’s discretion, credit the 14-807 practitioner by including the practitioner’s name on the filing below the supervising attorney’s name.

Supreme Court Order

Posted: February 9, 2022

Rules Governing Licensed Paralegal Practitioners and Rules Governing the Utah State Bar – Effective May 1, 2022

URGLPP15-0701. Definitions. Amend. Clarifies the scope of practice within family law to include gender change petitions and common law marriage, as well as creates a definition for “Specialized Course of Instruction” and “Substantive Legal Course” used elsewhere in Rule 15-703.

URGLPP15-0703. Qualifications for licensure as a licensed paralegal practitioner. Amend. This rule has been revised to add relevant subheadings for ease of reading, as well as a substantive amendment permitting qualified academic credit to be applied toward an applicant’s substantive law-related experience hours requirement.

USB14-0802. Authorization to practice law. Amend. Mirrors the clarifications set forth in Rule 15-701 which define an LPP’s permitted areas of practice.

Supreme Court Order

Posted: January 4, 2022

Rules Governing the Utah State Bar – Effective May 1, 2022

USB14-0113. Paralegal Division. Amend. In the context of the Paralegal Division, rule amendments are intended to capture the interplay between Licensed Paralegal Practitioners (LPP’s) and non-Bar-licensed paralegals. The amendments may be summarized as follows:

A paralegal may also include an LPP as defined in Rule 14-101;
The certification requirements are waived for LPP’s joining the paralegal division;
The term “bar licensee” refers to both a lawyer and an LPP; and
An LPP may be a sponsor of a paralegal affiliate in the paralegal division.

Supreme Court Order

Posted: August 2, 2021

Rules Governing the Utah State Bar – Effective November 1, 2021

USB14-0802. Authorization to practice law. Amend. The rule will now allow an LPP to stand or sit with their client during a proceeding to provide emotional support, answer factual questions as needed that are addressed to the client by the court or opposing counsel, take notes, and assist the client to understand the proceeding and relevant orders. This amendment differs from what circulated for comment by clarifying and limiting the scope of the LPP’s assistance at counsel table.

Supreme Court Order

Posted: March 24, 2021

Rules Governing the Utah State Bar – Effective May 1, 2021

Changes include the following and the attached letter from David Hirschi, Chair of the MCLE Board. “The Supreme Court Board of Mandatory Continuing Legal Education is proposing changes to the MCLE Rules that govern licensed attorneys. For more information, please see the attached letter from David Hirschi, Chair MCLE Board.”

David Hirschi MCLE Letter