UDLA PRESIDENT MESSAGE

It is a privilege to serve as president of the Utah Defense Lawyers Association for 2007 – 2008. Founded in 1993, UDLA currently has nearly 200 qualified and successful attorneys who are dedicated to the defense of civil actions and to the promotion of fairness and integrity in the civil justice system. Our goals are to promote a level playing field in civil litigation and to foster our members’ growth as professionals. We do this through quality CLE programs, networking and support of fellow members, and collegial and social membership meetings. I urge those in the civil deense practice to join UDLA and to participate in its activities. Our members have the ability to e-mail our entire membership and receive back responses on questions regarding plaintiff and defense experts, novel legal or factual issues, and other important issues.

I encourage you to explore the UDLA website and urge you to take a look at some of the events and activities of our association. After you have had an opportunity to visit the website, we would appreciate your comments and suggestions regarding potential improvements to the website.

We are excited about our upcoming annual seminar, which will consist of a morning CLE presentation and an afternoon golf event. It will be held on September 5, 2008. Please note this on your calendar. More details will be forthcoming.

The UDLA has evolved to become a significant force in the Utah legislative arena in lobbying, drafting, supporting, and opposing legislation. The objective of our Legislative Action Committee, chaired by Steve Trayner (Strong & Hanni) is two-fold: Advance legislation that promotes good public policy to ensure fairness and a level playing field in civil litigation, and provide countervailing views to legislators on controversial legislation.

The UDLA will advance legislative remedies submitted by our members and approved by our legislative action committee and board. In the course of your practice, you may come across statutes, case law, or rulings which result in an un-level litigation field, promote unfairness or do not represent good public policy. I encourage you to share those observations with me, any board member or member of our legislative action committee.

Lastly, there are opportunities to serve on any one of our following 5 committees:

a. Legislative Action Committee
b. Nominating Committee
c. Membership Committee
d. Annual Meeting Committee
e. Website Committee
We would appreciate your participation. Please contact any board member should you desire to become involved.

Please let us know how this organization can better serve your needs or if you have any suggestions for improvement in our organization. I look forward to seeing you at our annual meeting.

Scott A. DuBois