Update on the New Bar Center
Construction is moving along inside the new bar center located at 16037 S.W. Upper Boones Ferry Rd., near Durham Road in Tigard. Walls are going up on the interior of the third and second floors. Developer OPUS Northwest has set a completion date of Dec. 20, 2007.

The first floor will house a large multi-purpose conference center with up-to-date audio and video technology, mostly planned for recording CLE seminars. It will also be available for rental sometime after the move-in, which is planned for the weekend of December 22.

Frank Hilton, from the law firm of Dunn Carney, has donated a set of oak office furniture inherited from his father, also an attorney. It will be used to create a members’ room on the second floor for any bar member visiting the bar center. A computer with Internet connection and a printer will be available in the room, which the bar’s legal heritage group is helping to decorate in a 1930s-1940s style.

The bar’s library, open to all bar members, will be housed on the third floor, next to the CLE publications department. CLE seminars and video replays will begin at the new bar center after the first of the year. Large programs will continue to be provided in downtown Portland.

The OSB signed a lease/purchase agreement in 2006 to build the three-story 73,000-square foot building. The Board of Governors is committed to funding the new building without raising membership fees. The current OSB Center in Lake Oswego has been sold, and the bar is currently leasing that facility. More information and background on the board’s decision process is available on the bar’s website at www.osbar.org.

Attorney Openings on the UTCR Committee
The Uniform Trial Court Rules (UTCR) Committee is seeking attorneys to fill two committee positions. One position is for a criminal defense attorney and the other is for a civil law attorney. These are volunteer positions with appointments made by the chief justice of the Oregon Supreme Court. Candidates should have significant trial court experience.

The UTCR committee is an advisory group to the chief justice, making recommendations on the UTCR and supplemental local rules (SLRs). It typically meets twice a year, fall and spring, in Salem. Members work with judges, attorneys and court personnel from across the state on issues that directly affect litigation practice. For more information visit www.ojd.state.or.us/programs/utcr/index.htm.

To apply, please send a resume and a letter describing your law practice, areas of expertise, qualifications, interest in the committee and involvement in activities and groups similar to this committee to: utcr@ojd.state.or.us or to Bruce C. Miller, Office of the State Court Administrator, Supreme Court Building, 1163 State St., Salem, OR 97301-2563. The deadline for application is Dec. 1, 2007.

Public Notice of Correction to Uniform Trial Court Rule (UTCR) 8.050(5)
Pursuant to UTCR 1.020(6), the UTCR Reporter has corrected a typographical error in UTCR 8.050(5) (domestic relations post judgment modifications) by changing the statutory citation in that section from ORS 107.137 to ORS 107.139.

When UTCR 8.050(5) was posted for public comment in January of 2007, it included a correct citation to ORS 107.139. The final version of the rule, effective Aug. 1, 2007, had an inadvertent typographical error that listed the citation as ORS 107.137. The typographical error rendered this portion of the rule nonsensical and inconsistent with the purpose of the amendment. If you have questions or comments, please contact Bruce C. Miller at (503) 986-5500 or bruce.c.miller@state.or.us.

Uniform Law Commission Approves Four New Acts

By Lane Shetterly

The Uniform Law Commission recently concluded its 116th annual meeting in Pasadena, Calif. The ULC approved four new acts dealing with issues ranging from the problems of resolving multi-state jurisdictional disputes over adult guardianships, to new rules addressing the timely issue of discovery of electronic information.

Uniform law commissioners are appointed by every state, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The commissioners draft proposals for uniform laws on issues where disparity between the states is a problem.

As they have done each summer since 1892, uniform law commissioners gathered for a full week to discuss — and debate line by line, word by word — legislative proposals drafted by their colleagues during the year. The following four acts approved in California are now available for state enactment.

The new Uniform Adult Guardianship and Protective Proceedings Jurisdiction Act addresses the issue of jurisdiction over adult guardianships, conservatorships and other protective proceedings. Because there are more than 50 guardianship systems in the U.S., problems of determining jurisdiction are frequent. This act contains specific guidelines to specify which court has jurisdiction to appoint a guardian or conservator for an incapacitated adult. The objective is for only one state to have jurisdiction at any one time.

The Uniform Rules Relating to Discovery of Electronically Stored Information should bring up-to-date the state rules and statutes concerning discovery in civil cases. With the emergence of electronic technology, the extent to which individuals and institutions store or maintain information in an electronic form has clearly increased since the adoption of rules governing discovery generally. By some estimates, more than 90 percent of corporate information is being stored in some sort of digital or electronic format. This new act mirrors the recently adopted amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure dealing with electronically stored information.

The Uniform Interstate Depositions and Discovery Act provides simple procedures for courts in one state to issue subpoenas for out-of-state depositions. The act establishes a simple clerical procedure under which a state subpoena in the "trial state" can be used to issue a subpoena in another state. The goal is to simplify and standardize the current patchwork of procedures across the various states for deposing witnesses for purposes of out-of-state litigation.

The Uniform Limited Cooperative Association Act addresses the cooperative form of business, a unique business entity from other forms of business organizations. This act creates an alternative to other cooperative and unincorporated structures. It is more flexible than most current law and provides a default template that encourages planners to utilize tested cooperative principles for a broad range of entities and purposes.

The Uniform Emergency Volunteer Health Practitioners Act, approved in 2006, and already adopted in three states, addresses the healthcare needs of disaster victims by allowing medical professionals to cross state lines in declared emergencies. The UEVHPA establishes a system whereby healthcare practitioners may register to provide volunteer services either before or during an emergency. It further authorizes healthcare facilities and disaster relief organizations in affected states or territories to use registered professionals and to rely on the registration systems to confirm that these professionals are appropriately licensed.

Amendments were also approved to the Uniform Representation of Children in Abuse, Neglect and Custody Proceedings Act and the Model Entity Transactions Act.

Information on all of these acts, including the approved text of each act, can be found at the ULC website at www.nccusl.org.

Once an act is approved by the ULC, it is officially promulgated for consideration by the states, and the legislatures are urged to adopt it. Since its inception, the ULC has been responsible for more than 200 acts, among them such bulwarks of state statutory law as the Uniform Commercial Code, the Uniform Probate Code, the Uniform Partnership Act, and the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act.

Seeking Memorabilia for Members’ Room
The Oregon Legal Heritage Interest Group needs your help to decorate the members’ room at the new OSB center. Based on a donation of office furniture by the family of Frank Hilton, the room will have a "1930s law office" theme.

The group is looking for deeds, calendars and other documents (no books, please) from the early 1900s as well as old typewriters or other office equipment a lawyer might have used. All donations will become a permanent part of the members’ room.

To donate an item, send it to: Janet Kreft, P.O. Box 594, Gresham, OR 97030. If you have questions, call Kreft at (503) 465-9900.

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