Avoiding Ethical Landmines: a Review of the 2010 Opc Annual Report
| Publication year | 2011 |
| Pages | 38 |
| Citation | Vol. 24 No. 1 Pg. 38 |
Vol. 24, No. 1, 38. Avoiding Ethical Landmines: A Review of the 2010 OPC Annual Report
Volume 24 No. 1
Jan/Feb 2011
The Utah Constitution gives the Utah Supreme Court authority to adopt and enforce rules governing the practice of law in Utah, including attorney discipline. See Utah Const. Art. VIII, § 4. In turn, the Utah Supreme Court has given the Office of Professional Conduct broad authority to receive, investigate, and in some cases prosecute claims of attorney misconduct. See Supreme Court Rules of Professional Practice, Rule 14-501 et seq.
The OPC currently consists of ten full-time employees, which include Senior Counsel, five Assistant Counsels, two Paralegals, one Legal Secretary/Assistant to Counsel, and one Intake Clerk. The OPC is charged with (among other things) screening allegations or information relating to lawyer misconduct, performing investigations, and prosecuting lawyer misconduct cases on behalf of the Bar. Every year it prepares an annual report describing its work and the work of the Ethics and Discipline Committee. Its August 2010 Annual Report is currently available online at www.utahbar.org/opc/Assets/2009_2010_annualreport.pdf.
The Report contains several interesting facts and statistics. For example, during its fiscal year July 1, 2009 to June 30, 2010, the OPC opened 1085 new cases. 313 of those new cases were "informal complaints." (An "informal complaint" is a written, notarized, and verified document alleging attorney misconduct. It is not a "formal complaint" that one would file with a District Court.) 765 of the new cases were "requests of assistance." A "request for assistance" can range from an informal inquiry to a serious allegation of attorney misconduct, but lacking the formality of a notarization or verification.
During the same fiscal year, the OPC closed 1068 cases. (Because cases do not open and close neatly in each fiscal year, statistics regarding closed cases do not...
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