To facilitate your transition into the practice of law, the Utah Supreme Court, in conjunction with the Utah State Bar, has established the New Lawyer Training Program (NLTP).

In the NLTP, you will receive formal mentoring from an attorney with at least seven years of legal experience. The structure of the NLTP provides you and your mentor the unique opportunity to discuss issues integral to and inherent in the practice of law and critical to your development as an attorney that are frequently overlooked in the high-pressure environment of practice. Although the program is designed to provide an experienced coach readily available to assist you in substantive areas of the law, it primarily helps further your education in the areas of ethics, civility, and professionalism. Additionally, a mentor can help you learn to recognize conflicts, handle client relations, expose you to law office management, and address other subjects during the NLTP mentoring term.

The NLTP is one method of training you will receive in your first year of practice. In addition to formal mentoring, most new lawyers receive daily and informal mentoring outside of the structure of the NLTP from supervisors and other attorneys with whom they work. The NLTP is not a substitute for the daily training that new lawyers receive while working with experienced practitioners in their workplace. The primary purpose of the NLTP is to help new lawyers adjust to the challenges they face and answer questions regarding the practical aspects of the practice within the confines of a mentoring relationship.  

The Utah Supreme Court and the Bar intend that the NLTP remain flexible in order to complement law school programs which provided valuable practical experience and supplement the goal and purpose of the NLTP.  To that end, new lawyers may receive partial credit toward the requirements of the NLTP for their participation in clinical-type programs completed during law school.