The President
The PBA Bylaws provide that the President "is the chief executive officer of the Association. The President shall preside at meetings of the Board of Governors and of the Assembly, shall deliver at the Annual Meeting an appropriate address, shall carry out such duties as are required of the office of President by the Bylaws, shall perform such other duties as may from time to time be assigned by the Board of Governors, and shall perform such other functions as are appropriate to the office, subject, however, to the control of the House of Delegates and the Board." Article V, Section 511(a).
The Bylaws also provide that "the President may call a meeting of the chairs of all committees either jointly with all Section chairs or otherwise. Any chair unable to attend may delegate that function to a member of his or her Section or Committee." Article V, Section 511(b).
The functions of the President, the job description if you will, goes well beyond the provisions of the Bylaws.
--As stated in "The New Bar President and Members of the Board", an ABA publication, "the chief function of a bar president is to provide leadership for the bar association, to be a person around whom others can rally and move...a bar association president is the one who gives a voice to the aspirations, desires, and wants of a voiceless membership."
--The President does not get involved in the daily administration of the bar. That is the function of the Executive Director, the chief operating officer.
--The President, in suggesting program directions for the bar, "must be aware of the necessity to maintain some continuity of activities from the past...and should see to it that new projects proposed have a reasonable life expectancy," "The New Bar President and Members of the Board", at 3. The President must be cognizant of the Association's resources (staff, financial, and time) that are available for such new projects.
--The President's specific duties include:
(a) presiding at the five regular meeting of the PBA Board of Governors and at any other special meetings which he or she may need to call to deal with emergencies as they arise;
(b) presiding at telephone conference calls of the Executive Committee of the Board;
(c) presiding at the annual Board Retreat, held in June, generally at a nearby location, and, beginning at the time he or she is President-elect, working with the Executive Director in the planning and preparation of the retreat agenda;
(d) attending private meetings with the Chief Justice of Pennsylvania;
(e) presiding at PBA sponsored dinners with Pennsylvania's three appellate courts (sometimes held in conjunction with meetings of the Board and, in the future, hopefully, to include working sessions with the court prior to dinner);
(f) participating in semi-annual meetings of the Mid-Atlantic Bar Conference (Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, and the District of Columbia);
(g) attending special meetings of PBA committees and sections and the Young Lawyers' Division summer meeting, usually held in July at a mid-state location, and the Young Lawyers' Division Winter Meeting, in February;
(h) occasionally presiding at some special conferences convened by the Association (i.e. Citizens' Conference);
(i) attending the Annual Seminar of the Conference of County Bar Leaders, held in the Spring, in-state;
(j) being a member of the ABA House of Delegates and, in that capacity, attending two ABA meetings annually and the meetings of the National Conference of Bar Presidents held just prior to ABA meetings at the same location;
(k) participating in and often being invited to speak at county bar annual dinners. (On the average, a President should expect to accept six to ten such invitations within a 12-month period. Those that he or she cannot accept because of scheduling conflicts may be passed on to the President-elect);
(l) participating in PBA caravaning activities
(m) visiting neighboring state bar associations to attend their dinner programs. (We find that, on the average, five such invitations will be extended and perhaps two will be feasible.);
(n) representing PBA in appearances before the legislature and its committees and, on occasion, in private meetings with the legislative leadership and key committee chairs;
(o) attending PBA's bar/media seminar in those years when it is convened (approximately every third year) and, each year, presenting our Schnader Awards;
(p) attending dinners annually at the Governor's mansion in Harrisburg honoring our Pennsylvania Courts; and
(q) beginning at the time he or she is President-elect, the President is responsible for making appointments to PBA's committees and naming the chair of those committees. This is done with the Deputy Executive Director-Membership Services Division in a time-consuming process that usually begins in late March and continues up to the time of the Annual Meeting. (The appointment process is aided by committee preference forms that are made available to all members in our publications). Board liaison assignments are made at the same time. Bylaws Article VII, Section 702(a).
There are other items, which are less specific but equally, important:
(a) It is useful, even necessary, for a President to be at headquarters once a month.
(b) It is also important that the President assist the President-elect in preparing for the presidency.
(c) The President, at the conclusion of the term, must "know when to get off the stage gracefully."
The various specific and nonspecific job functions listed above suggest an enormous commitment of time, which translates into a considerable financial burden on the President of this Association.