Announcements

Salt Lake City, Utah— In what is being called one of the most significant moves to narrow the access-to-justice gap ordinary  people confront when faced with legal issues, the Utah Supreme Court on Wednesday voted unanimously to approve pursuing changes to the regulatory structure for legal services.
The changes, recommended by a joint Supreme Court/Utah Bar work group, focus on updating rules governing lawyers and allowing non-traditional legal services to be tested and approved in a, “regulatory sandbox.”
The result could mean expanding legal services that will meet the unmet legal needs of a large swath of society.
This is, “[m]aybe the most significant action for the access gap in years,” said Dr. Tom Clark, a leading figure in the access-to-justice arena, and a member of the work group. Chief Justice Matthew Durrant echoed Dr. Clark’s assessment, and reaffirmed the Utah Supreme Court’s, “dedication to tackling the access-to-justice gap,” and thanked the work group for its, “groundbreaking report.”
The work group, chaired by Utah Supreme Court Justice Deno Himonas and former Utah Bar president John Lund, spent the last year working on how best to optimize regulation in a manner that fosters innovation and promotes other market forces so as to increase access to and affordability of legal services. The result was a 71-page study: (https://www.utahbar.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/FINAL-Task-Force-Report.pdf).
The next step will be for the Supreme Court to create an implementation task force, which will begin work on putting the recommended changes in place.

Aurora, UT—The Sevier County Judicial Nominating Commission has announced the appointment of Judge Cyndee Probert to fill the Aurora City Justice Court vacancy. The position will replace Judge Cordell Pearson who left the position in December, 2019.

Judge Cyndee Probert was appointed to the Fillmore City Justice Court in 2015. Judge Probert graduated  from  the  American  Institute  for  Medical  Assisting  with  a  certificate in   medical office management. She was then employed at Sevier Valley Hospital. Judge  Probert  was  later  employed  for  eight  years  as  an  in-court  clerk  and  office  manager  where she  served  both  the  Millard  County  and  Fillmore  City  Justice  Courts. Judge Probert is currently enrolled and completing  coursework  at  the  National  Judicial  College. She is also a member on the Board of Justice Court Judges.

The Commission unanimously passed an emergency rule waiving interest and penalties for late filed 2019 tax returns and payments of Corporations and Pass through entities such as LLCs.  To receive this adjustment, these returns and payments have to be filed no later than July 15, 2020.  The Commission also confirmed that by Utah statute, individuals will have the same time to file and pay their 2019 taxes as provided by the IRS, which is also July 15, 2020.  Interested parties and tax practitioners are encouraged to go the Tax Commission Website and review the meeting materials reflecting the official action of the Commission.

Tax Filing and Payment release