Posted: September 14, 2020
Rules Governing the Utah State Bar – Effective September 1, 2020
“Changes to the rules reflect that OPC is now under the supervision of the OPC Oversight Committee. The requirement that attorneys admitted on motion attend the OPC Ethics School has been removed. A definition for “formerly admitted applicant” has been added. In Rule 14-712(c)(1), the time permitted to transfer a UBE score has been extended from 24 to 36 months. Other changes include cleanup of typographical and numbering errors.”
USB14-0701. Definitions.
USB14-0705. Admission by motion.
USB14-0707. Application; deadlines; withdrawals; postponements and fees.
USB14-0708. Character and fitness.
USB14-0711. Grading and passing of the Bar Examination.
USB14-0712. Qualifications for admission based on UBE.
USB14-0714. Unsuccessful Applicants: disclosure and right of inspection.
USB14-0716. License fees; enrollment fees; oath and admission.
USB14-0717. Readmission after resignation or disbarment of Utah attorneys.
USB14-0718. Licensing of Foreign Legal Consultants.
USB14-0719. Qualifications for admission of House Counsel Applicants.
Posted: September 9, 2020
Rules of Juvenile Procedure – Effective November 1, 2020
URJP005. Definitions. Amended. Makes revisions to definitions of “adult” and “minor” in juvenile delinquency cases to comply with statutory changes in H.B. 384-Juvenile Justice Amendments.
URJP017. The petition. Amended. Makes revisions pertaining to petitions for expungement, including expungement of nonjudicial adjustments and petition for vacatur.
URJP021. Warrant of arrest or summons in cases under Section 78A-6-702 and Section 78A-6-703. Amended. Reflects statutory changes made by H.B. 384-Juvenile Justice Amendments.
URJP022. Initial appearance and preliminary examination in cases under Section 78A-6-702. Amended. Reflects statutory changes made by H.B. 384-Juvenile Justice Amendments.
URJP023. Hearing to waive jurisdiction and certify under Section 78A-6703: bind over to district court. Repealed. Rule 23 will be repealed because the underlying statute was repealed by H.B. 384-Juvenile Justice Amendments.
URJP023A. Hearing on conditions of Section 78A-6-702; bind over to district court. Amended. Reflects statutory changes made by H.B. 384-Juvenile Justice Amendments.
URJP031. Initiation of truancy proceedings. Amended. Corrects outdated statutory references.
URJP044. Findings and conclusions. Amended. Reflects statutory changes made by H.B. 384-Juvenile Justice Amendments.
URJP050. Presence at hearings. Amended. Permits and details Indian tribes’ right to participate in court proceedings pursuant to the Indian Child Welfare Act.
URJP056. Expungement. Amended. Makes revisions to statutory changes contained in H.B. 384 regarding procedures for petitioning for expungement of juvenile court adjudications and nonjudicial adjustments.
Posted: September 9, 2020
Rules of Appellate Procedure – Effective November 1, 2020
URAP003. Appeal as of right–how taken. Amend. The amendments to Rule 3: (1) incorporate the advisory committee note into paragraph (f), (2) update the reference of a clerk transmitting a certified copy in paragraph (g)(1) to the current practice of emailing the notice of appeal, and (3) clarify and cleanup the language.
URAP008. Stay or injunction pending appeal. Amend. The Rule 8 amendments: (1) amend paragraph (a) to parallel the federal Rule 8 except that only in extraordinary circumstances will an appellate court act on certain motions where the movant failed to request a stay or opposed an injunction in the trial court; (2) add requirements for bonds in paragraph (b); and (3) add new paragraph (c), which provides that for requests for relief to which Rules 65A or 62(c) of the Utah Rules of Civil Procedure applied in the trial court, any relief available pending appeal is governed by those rules.
Posted: September 9, 2020
Rules Governing the Utah State Bar, Supreme Court Rules of Professional Practice – Effective September 1, 2020
USB14-0802. Authorization to practice law. Amend. Amendments to Rule 14-802: (1) permit Indian tribes, who have intervened in proceedings pursuant to the Indian Child Welfare Act, to have a designated nonlawyer represent them; (2) clarify that practicing law under Utah Supreme Court Standing Order 15 does not violate this rule; and (3) include other technical and formatting changes.
Posted: September 1, 2020
Supreme Court Regulatory Reform – Revised – Effective August 31, 2020
Shortly after the Supreme Court adopted Rules 5.4A and 5.4B of the Rules of Professional Conduct, it became evident that the fee-splitting and fee-sharing provisions of Rule 5.4A should be included in the Sandbox envisioned by Rule 5.4B and Standing Order 15. In response to input from the Bar Commission and others, the Supreme Court unanimously voted to make the necessary changes.
The relevant provisions of Rules 5.4A and 5.4B have been combined into Rule 5.4. Rules 5.4A and 5.4B are repealed effective immediately. Combined Rule 5.4 and revised Standing Order 15 are adopted effective immediately.
Repealed Rules
Combined Rule and Revised Standing Order
Redline Revised Utah Supreme Court Standing Order No. 15
Clean Revised Utah Supreme Court Standing Order No. 15
Posted: August 31, 2020
Code of Judicial Conduct – Effective November 1, 2020
CJC03.7. Participation in Educational, Religious, Charitable, Fraternal, or Civic Organizations and Activities. Amended. The amendment modifies the circumstances under which judges may solicit funds for a judicial project.
Posted: August 25, 2020
Code of Judicial Administration – Effective November 1, 2020
CJA03-0402. Human Resources Administration (AMEND). Amendments include clarifying language, provide consistency with relevant state statutes and current practices, and align with the Judicial Council’s direction regarding Human Resource policies.
CJA03-0403. Judicial Branch Education (AMEND). Amendment authorizes the Board of Justice Court Judges (as opposed to the Management Committee) to excuse judges from the annual justice court conference, and ensure judicial mentors are timely assigned and the mentoring relationship is based upon mutually agreed learning objectives and professional development plans.
CJA04-0202.08. Fees for Records, Information, and Services (AMEND). Amendments account for the use of thumb drives and other current technology, and increase the charge for storage devices from $10.00 to $15.00.
CJA04-0106. Electronic Conferencing (REPEAL). Because remote hearing provisions exist in the rules of procedure, CJA 4-106 is repealed.
CJA04-0411. Courthouse Attire (NEW). This new rule ensures that Utah’s courts are open in accordance with Article 1, Section 11 of the Utah Constitution while balancing the need for decorum in court proceedings and the safety of all persons having business in Utah’s courthouses.
CJA06-0506. Procedure for Contested Matters Filed in the Probate Court (AMEND). Amendment changes “may” to “will” in regard to scheduling a pre-mediation conference.
Posted: August 25, 2020
Code of Judicial Administration – Effective August 21, 2020
CJA09-0101. Board of justice court judges (AMEND)
CJA09-0109. CJA 9-109. Presiding judges (AMEND)
Amendments provide an alternative to conducting elections for leadership positions in the justice courts when the justice court conference is canceled.
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