COUNSELING & ETHICS IN UTAH DIVORCE PRACTICE

I attended this CLE for Family Law at BYU. It was rather interesting, and I got a cookie. Two of the speakers are featured below.
Tamara Fackrell, J.D., spoke on mediation in divorce. She asked attorneys to disclose to mediators what "hot spot" issues their clients have. Apparently these are issues which instantly trigger tantrums. Divorce clients are understandably under a lot of strain. Here's an interesting thought: If a client is really too angry and irrational to be coached and trusted to behave at mediation, maybe disclosing "hot spots" to the mediator is impliedly authorized by rule 1.14(c) to protect the interest of a "client with a diminished capacity."




Bert L. Dart, Jr., J.D., spoke on civility among lawyers. He said civility is being emphasized more yet practiced less. He introduced me to the term "paid hater." This is an attorney who attempts to serve the client by adopting their client's anger and despicable tactics (their diminished capacity). These lawyers quickly burn out at work, and quickly burn through their credibility at the bar.

Senior Law Librarian and Assistant Director of Externships, Steven E. Averett

The first person I met at BYU was Steve Averett. He introduced himself, asked if I was a new student, congratulated me on getting in, and offered me a tour. I happened to sit across from him duringa CLE today. There's no caption here, but I think the peaceful style of this drawing refects his personality.

Professor Paul Durham

Professor Paul Durham teaches Law Practice Management in addition to working as a real lawyer at a big law firm. The class is unique in that it focuses on actually practicing law, as opposed to the more typical tangential relationship to the Bar Exam. For example, the older an account receivable gets the less likely it is that it will ever be paid. I can apply that to myself: if I quit paying my bills so promptly I could pay fewer of them.