67-5-17 - Attorney-client relationship. - Utah Statutes

67-5-17. Attorney-client relationship.
(1) When representing the governor, lieutenant governor, auditor, or treasurer, or whenrepresenting an agency under the supervision of any of those officers, the attorney general shall:
(a) keep the officer or the officer's designee reasonably informed about the status of amatter and promptly comply with reasonable requests for information;
(b) explain a matter to the extent reasonably necessary to enable the officer or the officer'sdesignee to make informed decisions regarding the representation;
(c) abide by the officer's or designee's decisions concerning the objectives of therepresentation and consult with the officer or designee as to the means by which they are to bepursued; and
(d) jointly by agreement, establish protocols with the officer to facilitate communicationsand working relationships with the officer or agencies under the officer's supervision.
(2) Nothing in Subsection (1) modifies or supercedes any independent legal authoritygranted specifically by statute to the attorney general.
(3) When the attorney general institutes or maintains a civil enforcement action on behalfof the state of Utah that is not covered under Subsection (1), the attorney general shall:
(a) fully advise the governor, as the officer in whom the executive authority of the state isvested, before instituting the action, entering into a settlement or consent decree, or taking anappeal; and
(b) keep the governor reasonably informed about the status of the matter and promptlycomply with reasonable requests for information.
(4) In a civil action not covered under Subsection (1) or (3), the attorney general shall:
(a) keep the governor reasonably informed about the status of the matter and promptlycomply with reasonable requests for information;
(b) explain the matter to the extent reasonably necessary to enable the governor to makeinformed decisions regarding the representation; and
(c) abide by the governor's decisions concerning the objectives of the representation andconsult with the governor as to the means by which they are to be pursued.
(5) The governor may appear in any civil legal action involving the state and appointlegal counsel to advise or appear on behalf of the governor. The court shall allow the governor'sappearance.

Enacted by Chapter 212, 2000 General Session