Local Industry News and Notes 11.26
Awards
BYU law school named in Super Lawyers list–Brigham Young University’s J. Reuben Clark law school made the 2010 Super Lawyers U.S. Law School list. The Provo law school ranked 129th.
The University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law ranked 99th in the list, which ranks law schools according to the total number of graduates named to the state and regional Super Lawyers lists in 2009. In the event of a tie between schools, the cumulative peer evaluation and research scores of graduates are used as tie-breakers.
“Most law school rankings look at things like bar passage rates, professor-to-student ratios and the number of books in the library, but ignore the end product – the quality of lawyers produced,” said Super Lawyers publisher and founder Bill White.
The Super Lawyers rankings also include regional law schools, which have traditionally been overlooked in other rankings. The top three schools on this year’s Super Lawyers list are Harvard Law School, the University of Michigan Law School and the University of Texas School of Law.
Zions bank gets distinguished service award–Zions First National Bank received the National Association of Government Guaranteed Lenders’ Distinguished Service award for its leadership, support for government relations, and its commitment to SBA lending.
Zions Bank has ranked as No. 1 SBA lender in Utah for 16 consecutive years and in Idaho for eight consecutive years. During the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, Zions Bank approved 38 percent of the SBA-backed 7(a) loans approved in Utah and more than 33 percent of the SBA-backed loans approved in Idaho’s Boise District.
Local Industry News and Notes 11.25
People On the Move
Fibernet CFO to join Utah Valley Chamber of Commerce board — Lee Livingston, chief financial officer of Fibernet Corp., an Orem Internet services provider, has joined the Utah Valley Chamber of Commerce’s board of directors.
Livingston will help coordinate and plan chamber functions to the local business community. Fibernet received the 2009 Chamber Chairman’s Award in June.
Real Estate
Canadian auctioneer to open in SLC — Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers of Burnaby, B.C., is opening a new auction center in Salt Lake City.
The Canadian auctioneer of industrial equipment, which has conducted auctions at temporary locations in Utah since 1985, signed a seven-year lease at the Salt Pointe Commerce Center in Lake Point, approximately 20 miles west of Salt Lake City. The new site has about 37 acres of developable land.
“We have decided to establish a presence in Utah because it has proven to have a diverse business climate serving a variety of industries, including construction, transportation, agriculture, mining and oil and gas,” said Mike Johnston, divisional manager of Ritchie Bros.
Ritchie Bros. typically holds three to five public auctions at each of its auction sites around the world. The last multi-million dollar auction in Utah, held Nov. 13, attracted more than 1,000 registered bidders from 21 countries.
Corporate Giving
Harmons raises $110,250 to buy turkeys and hams for Utah Food Bank — Several Harmons grocery stores and their customers raised $110,250 to buy turkeys and hams for the Utah Food Bank this Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Around 3,700 turkeys will be unloaded on Wednesday at the Indian Walk-in Center at 120 W. 1300 South in Salt Lake City for Crossroads Urban Center’s turkey drive give-away for the area’s working poor. According to Linda Hilton of Crossroads, 50 percent of their clients are new to the charity system and include people who are now unemployed for the first time in their lives after many years of full time work, including some who were in management positions.
Harmons said 10,025 people purchased $10 turkey certificates this month, raising $100,250. The grocery store chain kicked in an additional $10,000 for a grand total of $110,250, which will go toward buying 8,000 turkeys for Thanksgiving to deliver to local food pantries, and other groups in Orem and Ogden.
