Utah State Bar Holds Convention in St. George

http://www.utahbar.org/cle/springconvention/2013_schedule.html

Utah State Bar Holds 25^th Spring Convention in St. George

Nearly 350 attorneys gather at the Dixie Center, March 14-16

The Utah State Bar is convening nearly 350 attorneys in St. George on March 14 through 16 for its Spring Convention—its annual gathering of 25 years.

The Utah State Bar was established in 1931 and, under the authority of the Utah Supreme Court, regulates the practice of law.  This includes administering the Bar exam, staffing the Office of Professional Conduct, and offering continuing legal education.  Attorneys in Utah are required every two years to attend 24 hours of continuing legal education, including at least three hours of accredited ethics, with one of the three in professionalism and civility.  Bar President Lori Nelson said, “March is an ideal time for our attorneys to get away to beautiful Southern Utah to earn up to 10 hours of continuing legal education.”

The vision of the Utah State Bar is to lead society in the creation of a justice system that is understood, valued, respected, and accessible to all.  At the Spring Convention, the Bar will recognize two attorneys who have contributed to achieving these goals:  The Dorathy Merrill Brothers Award for the advancement of women in the legal profession, and the Raymond S. Uno Award for the advancement of minorities in the legal profession. 

The Bar’s Spring Convention features two dozen break-out sessions on topics from Practicing Law in Southern Utah Courts to Social Media in the Workplace, president-elect candidate speeches, legislative updates, and keynote speeches on business practices.

Bar President-Elect Curtis Jensen has been a resident of St. George for 26 years and is one of the founding partners of Snow Jensen & Reece, P.C.  Jensen says he “enjoys the climate and quality of living offered in southern Utah. The peaceful, close-knit community is a desirable place to raise a family. As the economy continues to improve, St. George proves to still be one of the best communities to reside in.”  

Lori Nelson Bio:  http://www.joneswaldo.com/attorneys/71/lwn

Article just prior to her becoming president:

New president wants to focus on Bar’s value to members.

By Aaron Falk

The Salt Lake Tribune

July 17, 2012 04:20PM

Lori Nelson plans to hit the ground running when she officially assumes the role of Utah State Bar president later this week.

Nelson, a partner at the Salt Lake City firm of Jones Waldo Holbrook & McDonough, will become the first woman to serve as president of the legal association since 2004 and the fourth female president in the Bar’s history when she is sworn in by Utah Supreme Court Chief Justice Matthew Durrant on Thursday during a summer convention in Sun Valley, Idaho.

For the past year, Nelson has been shadowing outgoing president Rod Snow as he has helped implement a number of public service efforts.

“He’s done a lot of tremendous things and I want to make sure those programs really solidify and take off,” Nelson said.

During Snow’s term as president, the Bar rolled out a pro bono commission, a framework for matching low-income Utahns with volunteer attorneys in their part of the state. Snow also helped launch a program that will put a judge or lawyer in each of Utah’s high school at least once a year to discuss civics.

In addition to promoting those programs, Nelson said she hopes to improve the Bar for its members.

“I want to change my focus a little and focus on value to the members,” she said.

A number of attorneys have taken up other professions or gone back to school in the midst of the economic recession, Nelson said. Through the Modest Means program that should launch next fall, she hopes to pair up underemployed attorneys with clients who don’t qualify for court-appointed counsel but can’t afford regular attorneys fees. Lawyers would sign up for the program and agree to bill at lower rates.

Nelson also wants to improve the Bar’s image.

“There’s a negative public perception about lawyers,” she said. “Lawyers aren’t these shark people swimming around wounded victims. Lawyers are out serving in the community, doing quality work and can be the person you turn to when you need help.”

The Bar has already begun airing radio spots, promoting attorneys and their volunteer efforts.

To a similar end, Nelson hopes to crack down on misleading advertisements from local lawyers. An attorney who claims, “Hire me and I’ll win,” for example, might have to pull the ad and receive approval from the Bar, depending on the findings of a committee studying the issue, Nelson said.

Those ads are “damaging to the public and also damaging to lawyers’ reputations,” she said.

As part of the Bar’s changing of the guard, Curtis M. Jensen will begin serving his term as president-elect. Jensen, a shareholder in the law office of Snow Jensen & Reece, will follow Nelson as president in 2013-2014.

Utah State Bar President-Elect Curtis Jensen

Curtis Jensen

 Curtis Jensen is one of the founding partners of Snow Jensen & Reece, P.C.  He represents clients throughout the intermountain area in all aspects of real estate, construction, banking, business, and civil litigation. He is an advocate of implementing strong claim prevention methods and practices and is very adept in resolving disputes without protracted litigation.  He is licensed to practice before the state courts of Utah and Federal District Court for Utah.  He is also admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court.  He has been recognized multiple years as one of Utah Business magazine’s Elite Lawyers.  He currently serves as the Utah State Bar President-Elect, past Utah State Bar Commissioner, liaison to the Utah State Bar’s Ethics Advisory Opinion Committee, Character Fitness Committee, Budget and Finance Committee, Lawyer Referral Service Committee as well as on several local boards and associations, including Chairman of the Washington County School District Foundation, Chairman of the Santa Clara City Planning Commission.