4th District's Claudia Laycock is Utah Bar's 'Judge of the Year'

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Fourth District Court Judge Claudia Laycock is this year's recipient of the Utah State Bar's Judge of the Year Award.

Laycock accepted the award July 31 during the Utah State Bar's Annual Conference in Sun Valley, Idaho. The award is presented each year to judges for exceptional service to the legal profession and the community.

Laycock was appointed to the bench in January 2001 by Governor Michael Leavitt. She graduated from Brigham Young University in 1974, and taught English at Provo's Dixon Junior High for seven years. In 1985, Laycock received a law degree from Brigham Young University and was admitted to the Utah State Bar. After practicing law in Provo for three years, she joined the Utah County Attorney's Office in 1988 as a felony prosecutor until her appointment to the bench.

Laycock served on the board of the Women and Children in Crisis Center in Provo for 12 years prior to her appointment to the bench. Since 2001, she has served on the Standing Committee on Judicial Branch Education, the Utah Supreme Court's Code of Judicial Conduct Committee and the Utah State Bar's Mentor Training and Resource Committee. Since 2005, she has chaired the Utah County Criminal Justice Round Table.