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.

Professor Stephen Wood

Administrative law has been an eye opener for the cinic in me. The constitution is the one legal document that most non-lawyers have at least heard of. And it calls for, I thought, 3 Branches of Government. That makes me a "Formalist." That's too bad, because the Supreme Court has already explained that my sort of claim "cannot turn on conclusory reference to the language of [the constitution]." Anyway, when you're as smart as the Supreme Court, you can see that between the lines and penumbras of the constitution there are 4 branches of government.

Consistency in the law:

Law in the 19th Century:

It is quite true that these proceedings would have cost you many hundreds of pounds, whereas you probably have not as many pence. But the law makes no distinction between rich and poor.

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Law in the 21st Century:

The clerk cannot give you legal advice. If you need legal assistance you should see a lawyer. If you cannot afford a private lawyer, legal services may* be available.

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Professor (Judge) Dee Benson

I have drawn professors before, and I have drawn sitting judges before, and I have drawn a professor who used to be a judge, but this is my first time to have a class from a sitting judge: Evidence with Professor Dee Benson. It's also my first class with more than 200 people in it.

3L Jarom Ricks