If You are Local Counsel in Utah, You Should Read This

Contact: Keith A. Call

Originally appeared in the Utah State Bar Journal Jan/Feb 2018

A year and a half ago, I wrote about the ethics of serving as local counsel. See Keith A. Call & Robert T. Denny, Serving as Local Counsel, 29 Utah B.J. 48 (July/Aug 2016). Since that time, the Utah law of local counsel has had a major shakeup.

In September 2017, the Utah Bar Ethics Advisory Opinion Committee (EAOC) gave Utah lawyers important new guidance. Any Utah lawyer who serves as local counsel should read this opinion. See Utah State Bar Ethics Adv. Op. Comm., Op. No. 17-04 (Sep. 26, 2017). Here are a few highlights.

Acting as Mail Drop is Insufficient
Sometimes out-of-state counsel seeks to retain local counsel for no other reason than to “rent” a Utah Bar license with a Utah address. Perhaps the most important take-away from the new EAOC opinion is that acting as a mere mail drop will not fulfill your ethical duties as local counsel.  Read full article >>>

When you need a professional liability lawyer in Utah.

Our lawyers are ready to help.  For questions about this blog post, or about the professional liability or other services SCM provides, contact Keith A. Call.