Commissioner's Report

• Publication year: 1993
• Pages: 7
• Citation: Vol. 6 No. 5 Pg. 7

Commissioner's Report Vol. 6 No. 5 Pg. 7 Utah Bar Journal May, 1993

Small Firm Practitioners

Charles R. Brown, J.

As President Randy L. Dryer pointed out in the October 1992 issue of the Utah Bar Journal, approximately 57% of all attorneys in Utah practice alone or in firms of five persons or less. Although solo and small firm practitioners constitute a majority of the Bar, their involvement in Bar matters has historically been substantially less than proportional to their numbers. There is generally a perception by those practitioners that the Bar is less than responsive to their needs.

With an understanding of that perception and a goal to improve the response of the Bar to the needs of those practitioners, President Dryer created a special Task Force on Solo and Small Firm Practitioners which is chaired by Richard Burbidge and of which I am a member. The goal of the Task Force is to formulate an understanding of the concerns and needs of those members of the Bar and to make recommendations to the Bar Commission as to actions and programs which can be undertaken to better serve those members.

The Task Force has been conducting an informal survey of those practicing in a small firm environment and analyzing those areas of concern in order to make its recommendations to the Bar Commission. Time has been provided at the Annual Convention in July for the Task Force to present the recommendations and to receive comments from the public.

Some of the concerns which were expressed in the informal survey are:

1. Disenfranchisement. A significant number expressed the opinion that the Bar Commission is dominated by the larger firms and that the Commission does not have an understanding or concern for the unique needs of small firm practitioners. There is a feeling that many Bar programs and policies are adopted with little concern regarding how those programs or policies may impact smaller firm practitioners.

The complaints often mentioned in this area include bar dues, disciplinary treatment and the utilization and benefits of the Law and Justice Center.

2. CLE. Although they generally support the concept of mandatory continuing legal education, small firm practitioners believe that the present CLE system results in an economic disadvantage to them. This includes the cost of CLE, the amount of time spent away from their practice in order to complete their CLE requirements and, for those outside of the greater Salt Lake area, the travel...