Rules of Professional Conduct – Effective May 17, 2023

RPC01.01. Competence.  AMEND.  Adds comment [9], which states, “Lawyers should be aware that their mental, emotional, and physical well-being may impact their ability to represent clients and, as such, is an important aspect of maintaining competence to practice law and compliance with the standards of professionalism and civility. Resources supporting lawyer well-being are available through the Utah State Bar.”
The ABA has proposed—but not yet adopted—a comment to Rule 1.1 that contains permissive language tying lawyer well-being to competence (See Advisory Committee materials here). The above comment is Utah’s version of the ABA proposal.
The ABA and jurisdictions throughout the country have grappled with the question of how to de-stigmatize the topic of mental health in the legal profession. Utah has taken the bold step of making well-being resources, such as Unmind and Tava Health, readily available through the Utah State Bar.
Comment 9 to Rule 1.1 takes this a step further by explaining the nexus between well-being and lawyer competence. The addition is not meant to be punitive or impose additional requirements or burdens on lawyers. Rather, it is intended to be educational and to point lawyers to the importance of prioritizing their well-being.
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Rules of Appellate Procedure – Effective May 1, 2023

URAP008. Stay or injunction pending appeal. Rule 8 is being amended to remove references to specific subparagraphs within Rule 62 of the Utah Rules of Civil Procedure. Rule 62 was significantly amended effective November 1, 2021. Those amendments deleted the prior subparagraph (d). Thus, the current reference in Rule 8(b)(1) of the Utah Rules of Appellate Procedure to “Rule 62(d) of the Utah Rules of Civil Procedure” no longer makes sense. To avoid future problems, the Committee also suggests modifying Appellate Rule 8’s subparagraph (c) because it also contains a reference to a specific subparagraph of Civil Rule 62.

Supreme Court Order

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Rules of Juvenile Procedure – Effective May 3, 2023

URJP022.  Initial appearance and preliminary examination in cases under Utah Code section 80-6-503. In its 2023 legislative session, the Utah Legislature approved SJR006, modifying Rule 22 of the Utah Rules of Juvenile Procedure. The amendment addresses the probable cause determination at a preliminary examination.

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Rules of Civil Procedure – Effective May 1, 2023

URCP059. New trials; amendments of judgment.  AMEND.  Amendments made to subparagraph (e) to include “unless otherwise provided for by statute or rule” because as previously written the rule may conflict with Utah Code section 78B-6-811(5)(b), which states a court may modify a judgment for additional amounts owed if a motion is submitted within 180 days.

Supreme Court Order

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Code of Judicial Administration – Effective April 25, 2023

CJA04-0202.02. Records classification (AMEND). The proposed amendments update statutory references and include three substantive changes:

  1. Classifies records related to Court Commissioner Conduct Committee and Council actions under CJA Rule 3-201.02 as “private,” except for public censures by the Judicial Council.
  2. Safeguards contact information in domestic cases upon request, if the individual’s contact information has been safeguarded in a protective order or stalking injunction action under (8)(A) or in the cases listed under (8)(B).
  3. In response to S.B. 93, classifies:
    • sex designation records for both minors and adults as “private;”
    • name change records for both minors and adults as “public,” and
    • records in cases involving both a name change and a sex designation change, for minors and adults, as “private” (with a few exceptions).

Judicial Council Order

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Rules of Appellate Procedure – Effective May 1, 2023

URAP005. Discretionary appeals from interlocutory orders. Final Rule 5 is amended to: (1) clarify what will be deemed the entry date for an order that is entered on a weekend or legal holiday; and (2) clean up language for clarity and consistency.

URAP011. The record on appeal. Final Rule 11 is amended to: (1) add a requirement that parties include the position of all other parties when filing a motion to supplement the record; and (2) change the reference to Rule 11(e)(1) to (c)(1).

URAP022. Computation and enlargement of time. Final Rule 22 is amended to: (1) clarify what will be deemed the entry date for an order that is entered on a weekend or legal holiday; (2) clarify “legal holiday” and provide a link to the Utah Court’s website that lists the holidays on which the Utah State Courts are closed; (3) add a requirement that parties include the position of all other parties when filing a motion; and (4) clean up language for clarity and consistency.

URAP052. Child welfare appeals. Final Rule 52 is amended to: (1) clarify what will be deemed the entry date for an order that is entered on a weekend or legal holiday; and (2) clean up format for consistency.

Supreme Court Order

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Rules of Appellate Procedure – Effective May 3, 2023

URAP004. Appeal as of right: when taken. S.B. 18, the Public Expression Protection Act, originally sought to impose a 21-day deadline to file a notice of appeal from the denial of an expedited motion to dismiss a lawsuit under the Act. But the Utah Supreme Court’s legislative liaison recognized that including a deadline to file a notice of appeal in a statute could raise constitutional questions about whether that deadline infringes the Court’s procedural rulemaking authority. There was not enough time left in the legislative session for the legislature to pursue a joint resolution to amend the rules of appellate procedure to add the new deadline. Thus, to avoid future litigation on the constitutional issue, court and legislative personnel worked jointly to amend rule 4 to include the new deadline to take effect simultaneously with the bill’s effective date of May 3, 2023.  The Court has accordingly adopted the amendment to rule 4 on an expedited basis, with the public comment period to follow, pursuant to rule 11-105(5) of the Utah Rules of Judicial Administration.

Supreme Court Order

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Rules of Professional Conduct and Rules Governing the Utah State Bar – Effective May 1, 2023

RPC08.03. Reporting Professional Misconduct. Amend. Clarifies that a lawyer or judge participating in a Utah State Bar-sponsored fee dispute resolution program is not required to disclose information gained in that program to the Office of Professional Conduct.

Supreme Court Order for RPC 8.3

USB14-01111. Exemption from future testimony and confidentiality of records and information. Amend. Clarifies when the Bar may disclose confidential information and what information it may disclose in the context of its fee dispute resolution program. A post-comment period amendment further clarifies that disclosure to law enforcement is permitted to the extent disclosure is necessary to prevent reasonably certain death or substantial bodily harm. Also clarifies that a Fee Dispute Resolution Committee member who participates in a fee dispute arbitration may not be called as a witness in any subsequent legal proceeding related to the fee dispute.

USB14-01116. Conduct of the mediation. Amend. Permits the fee dispute mediator to serve notice of the mediation by email on the mediating parties.

Supreme Court Order for USB 14-1111 and 14-1116

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Rules Governing the Utah State Bar – Effective May 1, 2023

USB14-0402. Definitions. AMEND. Terminology amendments.

USB14-0404. Active status lawyers MCLE, NLTP, admission on motion, multi-state compliance reciprocity, house counsel and UBE requirements; MCLE requirements for Paralegal Practitioners. AMEND. Terminology amendments; clarifications around the New Lawyer Training Program.

USB14-0408. Credit hour defined; application for approval. AMEND. Terminology amendments.

USB14-0409. Categories of Elective CLE defined. AMEND. Terminology amendments.

USB14-0410. Accreditation of CLE; undue hardship and special Accreditation. AMEND. Terminology amendments.

USB14-0411. Board Accreditation of CLE. AMEND. Terminology amendments.

USB14-0412. Presumptively approved CLE providers; presumptive CLE Accreditation. AMEND. Terminology amendments.

USB14-0413. CLE Accreditation for qualified audio and video presentations,  webcasts, computer interactive telephonic programs, writing, lecturing, teaching, public service, and live attendance. AMEND. Terminology amendments.

USB14-0414. Certificate of compliance; filing, late, and reinstatement fees;  suspension; reinstatement. AMEND. Terminology amendments.

USB14-0418. Remote group CLE. AMEND. Terminology amendments.

USB14-0419. CLE Credit for Pro Bono Legal Services. NEW. Proposes a two-year pilot project that will provide CLE credit for pro bono services performed under the auspices of a Utah court, the Utah State Bar, or a sponsoring entity.

Supreme Court Order

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