This morning there was more news about the undefeated Utah UTES (13-0) being ranked No. 2 behind the Florida GATORS (13-1) in the final AP Poll for the season. The Bowl Championship Series (BCS) remains under attack, and according to virtually all, the BCS is patently unfair in its selection of the National Champion for college football. Most would like to see a playoff system replace the current BCS Championship Game for determination of the National Champion.

The Deseret News reports that Utah’s Attorney General, Mark Shurtleff will meet with members of his antitrust division next week to determine a strategy for investigating whether the BCS violates federal antitrust laws. Moreover, Ben Winslow reports that AG Shurtleff has been offered assistance from antitrust attorneys across the country.

The Eagle4Justice has offered the following comment in response to the Deseret News article:

AG Mark Shurtleff should conduct the probe and pursue any antitrust or other violations uncovered. He should accept any assistance offered by other State AGs (and expert attorneys) to assure that only appropriate litigation or other action is taken on behalf of the State of Utah.

The Utah UTES (13-0) have performed and conducted themselves as National Champions. Coach Whittingham has demonstrated that “action speaks far louder than mere words,” and that when words are used, they should be used in a positive and professional manner.

Let us proceed by action and words that will repair the unfairness of the BCS system but without all the negative hyperbole.

Stay tuned for surely there will be further developments …

The answer to the question posed above is YES!

Many years ago, in my last year of law school, we were required to take a class that provided pointers on how to treat one’s clients (and others) as an attorney. The class was taught using role-playing scenarios, with one of those scenarios being the attorney office setting. There was an attorney sitting at a desk, a client in a chair near the desk, and a telephone on the desk. You already know what happened, right?

Well of course, the attorney and client were having a conversation with the client explaining a very important point (important to the client), when the telephone rings. So, what is the attorney to do? Let it ring, and ring, and ring? Just pick up the receiver and start talking? Say, “excuse me for a moment,” answer the phone and tell off the secretary to impress the client? None of these approaches (as well as several others) was recommended, and I remembered thinking … “why are we wasting our time learning something that everyone already knows?

Unfortunately, many attorneys treat their clients and others in a discourteous manner on a regular basis. Even more unfortunate is that many attorneys believe that their time is more valuable than the time of others such that they are discourteous on a regular basis. But, does this matter?

What would your Mama say?

The fifth Scout Law is — COURTEOUS!

Earlier this week I had a meeting scheduled with an attorney in downtown Salt Lake City, spent an hour or so preparing for the meeting, drove 15 miles for the meeting, arrived on time for the meeting, waited 15-20 minutes before calling the attorney’s office when he did not show up, was advised by the receptionist that the attorney was cancelling the meeting, drove through rush hour traffic back to South Jordan, and the attorney called one and half hours later to leave a voice message about how busy his day had been and to apologize. From his voice message explanation it was obvious that it did not occur to this attorney to call me before the meeting time or even at the meeting time to say that he would like to reschedule.

Though this particular attorney has 40 years of criminal defense experience, the two clients in need of an attorney’s services were ultimately referred to another attorney for representation. Does courtesy matter? See the first sentence of this post for the obvious answer.

Bottom line, a competent and professional attorney always treats his/her clients and others with courtesy and respect at all times. Do not settle for anything less when hiring an attorney to represent you or one you care about.

Two of our sons are Scouts and working on two important merit badges, Communications and Citizenship in the Community. One of the requirements for the first merit badge is to attend a city council meeting. We recently moved to South Jordan and the City Hall is only a few blocks from our home, so we decided to attend the South Jordan City Council meeting this past Tuesday.

We arrived a few minutes before the 6:00 PM meeting start time and settled into three very comfortable chairs in the third row. One of the council members announced that the meeting would start a few minutes late as they had just completed another meeting and needed a short break. About 10 minutes later the Mayor, five Council Members, City Manager, City Attorney and Chief of Police all filed in and took their seats.

We already had our Agenda from the stack of copies placed near the door to the City Council Chambers. The Mayor opened the meeting by calling on a Council Member to give the Invocation. After that, the Mayor called on one of the six Scouts from the audience to come forward and lead everyone in the Pledge of Allegiance.

One of the more interesting reports was given by a staff member under the direction of the City Manager, who actually runs the day-to-day affairs of the city. As with many city governments, South Jordan Citizens elect their Mayor and Council Members, who in turn appoint the City Manager. See South Jordan City Organization Chart

The City Manager’s staffer gave everyone a tour around South Jordan, explaining what was going on in the different areas of the city. Here are just a few examples:

• Costco store to be built at 9800 South & Bangerter Hwy and open by Fall 2009.
• Gold’s Gym looking at old Albertson’s building for a new location.
• Olive Garden and McDonalds to be built in The District shopping center.
• The news report that South Jordan had spent all its snow removal money was wrong, and South Jordan citizens should not worry about snow removal.
• South Jordan has an ordinance that restricts parking in the street when it snows!

Woa … wait a minute, what does this ordinance say because I sure have not heard of it? So, I looked it up and found it in the Municipal Code. I also learned that during 2008, the City Council had amended the particular ordinance for which I was looking.

So, by attending the City Council meeting we learned about this Parking During a Snow Event ordinance, which may save us a ticket and a few bucks in the future.

Another interesting item was revealed during the Citizen Comment time. A well-prepared gentleman informed everyone present of his view that the possible placement of a 100-foot tall cell phone tower in a city park would not be appropriate or advisable. He provided facts, figures, photos, and a compelling argument against placing such an industrial tower in a residential neighborhood and city park.

The meeting lasted about 90 minutes and served as a good reminder that local government and its officials play a key role in keeping citizens informed as well as make laws they believe will make their city a better place to live. Therefore, the City Council and its meetings are an important part of our Justice system in Utah.

Attend a City Council meeting in your area and you may be surprised just how invigorating it can be to learn about your community.