NOMINATING COMMITTEE CONSIDERATIONS
Article IX, Section 914 of the Bylaws provides that the “General Officers of the Association shall be nominated by a Nominating Committee consisting of the Zone Governors, the Unit County Governor, the Minority Governors, the Woman Governor, the five living immediate Past Presidents, and the living immediate Past Chair of the Young Lawyers Division, a member of the Conference of County Bar Leaders Executive Committee selected by the Executive Committee of the Conference of County Bar Leaders immediately following its annual meeting, a representative selected by the Executive Council of the Commission on Women in the Profession Committee, immediately following its annual meeting, a representative selected by the Executive Council of the Minority Bar Committee, immediately following its meeting held during the Spring Committee/Section Day Meeting, a representative selected by the Executive Committee of the Solo and Small Firm Section, immediately following its annual meeting, a representative selected by the Executive Council of the Young Lawyers Division, immediately following its annual meeting, a representative selected by the members of the LGBTQ+ Rights Committee in odd numbered years starting in 2011, a representative selected by the members of the Legal Services to Persons with Disabilities Committees in even numbered years starting in 2012, a representative from each of three Sections of the Association selected by a plurality of the chairs (or the chairs’ duly appointed representatives) of the Sections, present and voting at a meeting of the chairs held at least three months prior to the meeting of the Nominating Committee and a representative from each of two Committees of the Association selected by a plurality of the chairs (or the chairs’ duly appointed representatives) of the Committees present and voting at a meeting of the chairs held at least three months prior to the meeting of the Nominating Committee.”
That Section also provides that the Committee “shall meet not later than five months before the beginning of each Annual Meeting and shall make and immediately announce a nomination for each of the offices of Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer to be elected at the next Annual Meeting. In even‑numbered years they shall nominate a Chairman of the House of Delegates.”
It is important that the Nominating Committee, in its deliberations, consider the high level of activity, and the obvious commitment of time and energy that must be made by the principal officers of this Association. Each officer must contribute a significant amount of time to performing his or her duties and the time commitments required from the President, President-Elect and the Vice President are usually very significant. It is important that the candidates, as well as their firms, are made aware of the time and financial sacrifice that is involved prior to the nominations.
In recent years, Presidents have spent at least 60% and some have devoted nearly all of their professional time to the PBA. Therefore, it is important that the Nominating Committee be assured that the firms of those individuals being considered have been fully apprised of what is involved and are willing to be supportive.
As noted earlier, the activities of the presidency (and the preparation of the President-Elect and Vice President) include a wide range of items – committing large amounts of time to the naming of committee chairs, planning the board retreat, the mid-year meeting, and at least five regular Board meetings, meetings with the Chief Justice, dinners with the Judiciary, visits to neighboring state bar associations, attending ABA meetings, and traveling around the state to visit with PBA members and county bar leaders, attending the YLD summer and winter meetings and special meetings of committees and sections, appearing before the Legislature, presiding at the semi-annual Committee/Section Day – and a wide range of other duties.
The President, President-Elect and the Vice President must be prepared to treat this Association “with the same standard of care and attention that he (she) would a . . . very large and important client.”
As the chief representative and spokesperson of the Association, the President must sometimes address difficult, controversial and even unpleasant issues. The President sometimes is called upon to mediate or resolve disagreements among groups and constituencies within and outside of the Association. As noted in the ABA’s excellent booklet, The New Bar President, “if you cannot prepare your mind to do this, you ought not take the job.” It is important that the Nominating Committee make that same tough judgment about those individuals who are being considered for top leadership positions.
It is the critical function of the Nominating Committee to assure that the people who lead PBA are those who have the time, the determination and the courage to help this Association move forward and to face the difficult challenges that lie ahead.
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Rule 351. Nominations and Elections of Officers.
- Nominations for the General Officers of the Association made by the Nominating Committee or by petition pursuant to the Bylaws, shall be certified to the House by the Secretary.
- In elections by the House, when there is more than one (1) nominee for each office to be filled, voting for the total slate of officers recommended by the Nominating Committee, may be by one (1) vote. When there is more than one candidate for nomination to an office, voting for that office shall be by written ballot. In such case, the presiding officer shall appoint five Delegates in the House to act as tellers who shall have charge of the preparation, distribution, collection and counting of the ballots.
- Balloting for an office shall proceed until one candidate shall have received a
majority of all votes cast.
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Section 914. Nominating Committee.
(a) The General Officers of the Association shall be nominated by a Nominating Committee consisting of the following members:
(1) the Zone Governors; the Unit County Governor; the Minority Governors; the Woman Governor; the five living immediate Past Presidents; the living immediate Past Chair of the Young Lawyers' Division;
(2) a member of the Conference of County Bar Leaders Executive Committee selected by the Executive Committee of the Conference of County Bar Leaders immediately following its annual meeting;
(3) a representative from each of three Sections of the Association selected by a plurality of the chairs (or the chairs’ duly appointed representatives) of the Sections, present and voting at a meeting of the chairs held at least three months prior to the meeting of the Nominating Committee;
(4) a representative from each of two Committees of the Association selected by a plurality of the chairs (or the chairs’ duly appointed representatives) of the Committees present and voting at a meeting of the chairs held at least three months prior to the meeting of the Nominating Committee;
(5) a representative selected by the Executive Council of the Commission on Women in the Profession Committee, immediately following its annual meeting; and
(6) a representative selected by the Executive Council of the Minority Bar Committee, immediately following its meeting held during the Spring Committee/Section Day Meeting.
(7) a representative selected by the Executive Committee of the Solo and Small Firm Section, immediately following its annual meeting;
(8) a representative selected by the Executive Council of the Young Lawyers Division, immediately following its annual meeting;
(9) a representative selected by the members of the LGBTQ+ Rights Committee in odd numbered years starting in 2011; and
(10) a representative selected by the members of the Legal Services to Persons with Disabilities Committees in even numbered years starting in 2012.
The living Past President who has last retired from office shall be chair of the Committee. For this purpose the Committee shall meet not later than five months before the beginning of each Annual Meeting and shall make and immediately announce a nomination for each of the offices of Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer to be elected at the next Annual Meeting. For elections to be held in odd‑numbered years they shall nominate a Chair of the House of Delegates
(b) Not less than ten days written notice of any meeting of the Nominating Committee shall be given by the Secretary to each member of the Committee. No Zone Governor, Unit County Governor or Governor serving pursuant to Section 907 may be nominated for election as a General Officer by the Committee, or by petition, during the period for which such Governor was elected or appointed.
(c) Additional nominations for General Officers may be made by petition signed by 100 Active Members, no more than 50 of whom may be by Active Members accredited to the same Zone.
(d) All such petitions shall be filed with the Secretary at Association Headquarters not later than two months prior to the first day of the Annual Meeting and shall be accompanied by the written consent of the nominee.
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Section 921. Nomination Procedures Exclusive. -- If nominations for office have been
called for as provided in this article, only candidates who have been nominated in accordance therewith shall be eligible for election. In the event a nomination has been made and the nominee later withdraws at any time before being elected by the House, the Nominating Committee shall meet to fill the vacancy and petitions may be filed for consideration by the House by other candidates, unless the nomination is made less than thirty (30) days prior to the date scheduled for election by the House. In such event additional nominations may be made from the floor of the House, provided resumes are provided to the Delegates before the House is called to order.
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Section 814. Conference Telephone Meetings. -- One or more persons may participate in any meeting, except a meeting of the House of Delegates, by means of conference telephone or similar communications equipment by means of which all persons participating in the meeting can hear each other. Participation in a meeting pursuant to this section shall constitute presence
in person at such meeting.
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Section 511. The President.
(a) The President is the chief executive officer of the Association. The President shall preside at meetings of the Board of Governors, 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.
(b) 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.
Section 512. The President‑Elect and Vice President.
(a) The President‑Elect shall prepare a plan for his or her term as President, make committee appointments to take effect upon commencement of his or her term as President, establish and maintain contact with Local Bar Associations and conferences or associations of Local Bar Leaders and coordinate the work of the Zone Governors and the Unit County Governor and perform such other duties as may from time to time be assigned by the Board of Governors or the President, and shall carry out such duties as are required of the office of President‑Elect by the Bylaws. In the event of the absence or disability of the President the President‑Elect shall act as President.
(b) The Vice President shall supervise, monitor and coordinate the work of the sections and committees and perform such other duties as may from time to time be assigned by the Board of Governors or the President, and shall carry out such duties as are required of the office of Vice President by the Bylaws. In the event of the absence or disability of both the President and President‑Elect, the Vice President shall act as President.
Section 513. The Chair of the House of Delegates. ‑‑ The Chair of the House of Delegates shall:
(1) Preside at meetings of the House of Delegates.
- Preside, in the absence of the President, President‑Elect and Vice President, at events at which the President would preside if present.
- Appoint committees of the House, as provided by the Rules of the House, and designate the chair thereof.
- Carry out such other duties as are required of the office of Chair of the House by the Bylaws.
Section 514. The Secretary. ‑‑ The Secretary shall:
- Keep the seal of the Association and the respective minutes of the House of
Delegates and the Board of Governors.
- Keep the roster of the Delegates in the House.
- Receive, certify and publish nominations of Delegates, Governors and
officers.
- Accredit Active Members to Zones and receive, certify and publish the
results of mail ballots for Zone Delegates, Zone Governors and the Unit
County Governor. The Secretary shall conduct the nomination process and election of the Unit County Governor as provided in Section 908.
- Receive and keep as the property of the Association all papers, addresses and reports to the House.
- Establish, update and monitor the timetables and policy and procedure
documentation of the Association and give notice when notice is required to be given to the House, the Board, or the Members.
- Perform such other duties as may from time to time be assigned by the Board of Governors or the President and carry out such duties as are required of the office of Secretary by the Bylaws.
Section 515. The Treasurer.
(a) The Treasurer shall:
- Supervise the safekeeping of the funds and investments of the Association,
and report periodically on the financial condition of the Association to the House of Delegates and Board of Governors.
- Prepare the annual report required by Section 1041 of the Bylaws.
- Perform such other duties as may from time to time be assigned by the Board
of Governors or the President and carry out such duties as are required of the office of Treasurer by the Bylaws.
(b) The annual report of the Treasurer shall be submitted for examination and audit by a certified public accountant designated by the Board.
Section 516. The Executive Director. ‑‑ The Executive Director shall administer the facilities and staff of the Association subject to the direction of the Board of Governors and the President. Any administrative function of an officer of the Association may be delegated to and performed by or under the direction of the Executive Director.
Nominating Committee Protocols