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The 350 prospective Utah lawyers who took the state bar exam Wednesday are supposedly qualified to hang out a shingle and practice in a court of law.

But many are recent law school graduates who have never written a legal motion, don't know where court is and might be startled when their keychain sets off the metal detectors at the courthouse door.

A new, mandatory Utah Supreme Court program promises to fill in gaps in the art of lawyering not covered in the classroom by pairing freshly minted attorneys with veteran mentors. Recently elected Bar President Stephen Owens, charged with implementing the New Lawyer Training Program, says it may be essential in a state like Utah.

"It's a very young bar," said Owens, who at 41 is older than half of the state's 7,500 active lawyers.

Darren Levitt, 31, finds himself contacting mentor Susanne Gustin, a criminal defense attorney of 18 years, twice each day.

The two communicate by phone and email, with Levitt asking everything from how to handle an upset client to figuring what to charge for certain services to navigating routine court procedures.

"In school, you learn how to spot legal issues," Levitt said. "What you don't learn is the day-to-day procedural things that occur in a law practice, like communicating with the court and opposing parties, what needs to be filed and some of the local rules."

Levitt said he would manage without Gustin's help, but his professional life would be more stressful.

For instance, Levitt last week was unsure what to do after realizing he would be unable to attend a scheduled court appearance. Gustin guided him through the process of contacting prosecutors and then filing a "motion to continue" with the court. No big deal, once you know how to do it.

And when Levitt needed to file an "appearance of counsel," letting the judge know he was on the case, Gustin simply sent him the form she always uses. "No reason for him to re-invent the wheel," she said.

In exchange for helping Levitt "learn the ropes," Gustin will earn 12 hours of continuing legal education credit over the next year. But that is not what motivates her.

"I'm doing it because I appreciate the people who helped me along the way, and I feel I have to give back," Gustin said. "And it makes for better lawyers. We all benefit when we have better lawyers in our community."

In a video message on the Bar's Website, Utah Supreme Court Justice Christine Durham says she hopes the program will give new lawyers "a chance to get some breadth of perception on the culture of their new profession." It also should "more effectively teach ethics, civility and professionalism," she says.

The mentoring program, the second of its kind in the nation, is mandatory for all new lawyers passing the bar exam, and for lawyers moving to Utah who have practiced less than two years. Mentors must have at least seven years of experience, no past or pending Bar disciplinary actions and be approved by the Utah Supreme Court's Advisory Committee on Professionalism.

Currently, 350 mentor attorneys have been approved, Owens said, but the Bar is working toward having a total of 500, because that is the number of new attorneys who join the ranks each year.

In addition to the mentoring program, Owens says that during his tenure as Bar president he'll focus on protecting the integrity and independence of the courts and increasing the amount of free legal services that attorneys donate to needy clients.

"We want them to call 'em like they see 'em," Owens said, referring to a judge's ability to make decisions on the merits of a case without regard to any potential political consequences.

Owens said he will advocate for adequate funding for the courts to fill judicial vacancies and pay better salaries to judges. He also wants the judicial selection process to be "respectful and fair" and says judicial retention election reviews should be "entirely apolitical."

Those themes key off of recent events: threatened furloughs in the state courts due to budget cuts, the controversial rejection of a Court of Appeals candidate by senators, and a revamped committee to oversee the judicial election review process.

As for so-called pro bono services, Owens said a recent study shows that nationwide and in Utah, 75 percent of attorneys donate more than 50 hours a year in free legal services.

"I don't know of any other profession that does that," he said.

But Owens said he wants to get the other 25 percent more involved.

Owens said that attorneys whose specialty -- corporate law, for instance -- does not readily lend itself to giving advice about matters like divorce, custody or tenant-landlord disputes, can fulfill their obligation by donating money to "and Justice for all," an organization that coordinates pro bono efforts and supports a number of legal services.

The legal system must provide attorneys at no cost to indigent criminal defendants, but Owens points out there's no similar mandate regarding civil litigation.

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