Posted: August 24, 2020
Code of Judicial Administration – Effective August 21, 2020
CJA03-0413. Judicial Library Resources. AMEND. Changes the reporting structure of the law library director from the appellate court administrator to the state court administrator. Also reduces the number of print publications that are authorized.
Posted: August 13, 2020
Supreme Court Regulatory Reform-Effective August 14, 2020
The Utah Supreme Court approves the following regulatory reform efforts effective August 14, 2020. Please see https://utahinnovationoffice.org/ and the press release for more information.
Supreme Court Standing Order
Standing Order 15: This order establishes a pilot legal regulatory sandbox and an Office of Legal Services Innovation to assist the Utah Supreme Court with respect to overseeing and regulating the practice of law by nontraditional legal service providers or by traditional providers offering nontraditional legal services.
Rules of Professional Conduct
Rules Governing the Professional Independence of a Lawyer: The Supreme Court repeals former Rule 5.4 of the Rules of Professional Conduct and replaces it with Rules 5.4A and 5.4B.
- Rule 5.4A: This rule governs lawyers delivering legal services in the traditional and conventional model. New Rule 5.4A(a) outlines the foremost duties of a lawyer – the duty of independence of judgment, duty of loyalty to the client, and duty of confidentiality – applicable to the rest of the Rule. The preeminence of these professional core values is further explained in new Comments [1] and [2] as they pertain to sharing fees with nonlawyers, with lawyers in a separate firm, and accepting referrals and payments from parties other than the client. In order to loosen the restriction on fee sharing, Rule 5.4A(b) allows a lawyer to share legal fees with a nonlawyer as long as written notice is given at the outset of the representation or before sharing fees from an existing client.
- Rule 1.5: Paragraph (e) of this rule has been eliminated to allow dividing fees among lawyers who are not in the same firm.
- Rule 5.4B: This rule is applicable to lawyers participating in the pilot legal regulatory sandbox. Like Rule 5.4A, the core professional values for lawyers underlying this rule are stated at the outset under subsection (a). Comments [1] and [2] reiterate and clarify the importance of the underlying core values and duties of a lawyer, notwithstanding the novel arrangement with nonlawyers. Rule 5.4B(b) allows a lawyer to practice law in an organization that is managed or owned, in whole or in part, by nonlawyers, as long as (i) the client is given written notice that nonlawyers have a financial interest in the organization or nonlawyers have managerial authority over the lawyer, and (ii) the client receives in writing the financial or managerial structure of the organization.
Lawyer Advertising Rules: The Supreme Court significantly simplified the lawyer advertising rules in the Rules of Professional Conduct. Rules 7.1, 7.2, 7.3, 7.4, and 7.5 have been repealed and replaced with new Rule 7.1. Notably, this change eliminates the prohibition against in-person solicitation found previously in Rule 7.3.
- Rule 7.1: Prohibits (i) making false and misleading claims about the lawyer or the lawyer’s services, and (ii) interacting in a way that involves coercion, duress, or harassment.
Redline and Clean Rules
Clean Rules Rules 7.1 through 7.5
Link to Revised Regulatory Reform Rules
Posted: July 23, 2020
Rules of Appellate Procedure – Effective November 1, 2020
URAP048. Time for petitioning. Amend. First, the amendments to URAP Rule 48(c) clarify that the new paragraph (b) of Rule 35 does not affect the time for filing a petition for a writ of certiorari, unless the Court of Appeals treats the request as a petition for rehearing under Rule 35(a). Second, the amendments to Rule 48(e) are meant to conform to current Supreme Court practices in reviewing requests for time extensions. Third, the amendments remove paragraph (f) to conform with Standing Order 11. Fourth, there are general clean-up amendments proposed throughout the rule.
Posted: July 23, 2020
Rules of Appellate Procedure – Effective July 8, 2020
URAP029. Oral arguments. Amend. The amendments to URAP Rule 29 explain that the appellate courts may hold oral argument by alternative means, including phone and videoconference. Effective July 8, 2020.
Posted: June 25, 2020
Rules of Juvenile Procedure – Effective November 1, 2020
URJP009. Detention hearings; scheduling; hearing procedures. Amended. Contains technical changes to paragraph (m) to address statutory references, which were repealed and replaced in 2020.
Posted: June 24, 2020
Code of Judicial Administration – Effective June 22, 2020
CJA01-0201. Membership – Election. AMEND – Makes changes to general provisions regarding election of Judicial Council members to implement in rule SB0167 from the 2020 general session.
CJA06-0102. Election of District Court judges to the Judicial Council. AMEND – Makes changes to provisions regarding election of District Court members of the Judicial Council to implement in rule SB0167 from the 2020 general session.
CJA07-0101. Juvenile Court Board, Executive Committee and Council Representatives. AMEND – Makes changes to provisions regarding election of Juvenile Court members of the Judicial Council to implement in rule SB0167 from the 2020 general session.
Posted: June 22, 2020
Rules Governing the Utah State Bar – Effective November 1, 2020
USB14-0806. Admission pro hac vice. Amend. The amendments to Rule 14-806 exempt non-Utah licensed attorneys who are representing an Indian Tribe in a child custody proceeding pursuant to the Indian Child Welfare Act. The amendments also remove the requirement that original documents be submitted with the application and contain other clean up edits.
Posted: June 18, 2020
Rules of Appellate Procedure – Effective November 1, 2020
URAP035. Petition for rehearing. Amend. The amendments to Rule 35: (1) provide a mechanism for filing a letter for nonsubstantive/clerical errors, (2) incorporate Standing Order 11 (regarding filing documents by email), and (3) include general cleanup for clarity and consistency.
URAP036. Remittitur. Amend. The amendments to Rule 36 incorporate Standing Order 11 (regarding filing documents by email) and include general cleanup for clarity and consistency.
Posted: June 18, 2020
Rules of Appellate Procedure – Effective June 7, 2020
URAP037. Suggestion of mootness; voluntary dismissal. Amend. The amendments to Rule 37 update the statutory reference related to declarations. These amendments were expedited on June 9, 2020 under Rule 11-105.
Posted: June 12, 2020
Rules of Juvenile Procedure – Effective November 1, 2020
URJP009. Detention hearings; scheduling; hearing procedures. Amended. Makes revisions to comply with statutory changes to 78A-6-112 and 78A-6-113 and brings rule in compliance with H.B. 384-Juvenile Justice Amendments (2020) and prior juvenile justice reforms. The revisions place restrictions on the amount of time and the conditions under which the minor may be held in detention. Requires a court determination of grounds for admission within 24 hours including weekends and holidays. Revises standard from reasonable basis to probable cause. Deletes the Advisory Committee Note.
URJP032. Initiation of ungovernability and runaway cases. Amended. Revised to reflect that petitions related to children who are ungovernable or are runaways may only be filed by the Division of Juvenile Justice Services pursuant to statutory changes contained in S.B.65-Child Welfare Amendments (2020).