ABA Announcements
AMENDMENTS TO THE ABA CONSTITUTION AND BYLAWS
The Constitution and Bylaws of the American Bar Association may be amended only at the ABA Annual Meeting upon action of the House of Delegates. The next Annual Meeting of the House of Delegates will be held August 14-15, 2017, in New York, New York. Proposals to amend either the Constitution or Bylaws may be submitted by any ABA member. It is preferable that proposals be submitted in the form of a memorandum that details the purpose and effect of the proposal.
In order to be considered at the 2017 Annual Meeting, a proposed amendment must be received by the Policy and Planning Division at the American Bar Center on or before Friday, March 10, 2017. This deadline is essential in order to allow time for proposed amendments to be considered by the Standing Committee on Constitution and Bylaws.
Exact language will be drafted by the Standing Committee on Constitution and Bylaws and submitted to the sponsors for approval. This procedure will ensure that all amendments that are approved conform to style required by the rules.
Articles 12 and 13 of the Constitution require that notice of proposed amendments must be given to all ABA members at least 30 days in advance of the meeting at which the amendments are to be considered. Therefore, proposed amendments will be published in the July 2017 issue of the ABA Journal. The proponent or his or her designee must be in attendance to present the amendment for debate by the House of Delegates at the meeting at which the proposal will be considered.
Copies of Article 12, concerning amendment of the Bylaws, and Article 13, concerning amendment of the Constitution, will be provided to any member upon request to the Policy and Planning Division at the American Bar Center, 321 N. Clark Street, 21st Floor, Chicago, Illinois 60654.
Mary T. Torres, ABA Secretary
DELEGATE-AT-LARGE ELECTION
Pursuant to §6.5 of the ABA Constitution, six Delegates-at-Large to the House of Delegates will be elected at the 2017 Annual Meeting for three-year terms beginning with the adjournment of that meeting and ending with the adjournment of the 2020 Annual Meeting. Candidates for election as Delegate-at-Large are to be nominated by written petition. The deadline for filing nominating petitions for the 2017 election in New York, New York, is Tuesday, May 16, 2017.
Under the Constitution, no more than one nominee from a particular state, territory or possession may be elected in the annual election. If more than one member accredited to the same state, territory or possession submits nominating petitions, each will be notified within ten days of the fact that there is more than one nominee.
Voting will take place adjacent to the 2017 Annual Meeting registration area at the conference headquarters hotel, the Hilton New York. The polls will be open during the same hours as registration, except that the polls will close on Monday, August 14, 2017, at 5:00 p.m. The votes will then be tallied and the six nominees with the highest number of votes (taking into account that no more than one may be elected from the same state, territory or possession) will be declared elected as Delegates-at-Large. In the event of a tie vote, I, as the Secretary, will determine the winner by lot. Rules that restrict campaigning for the position of Delegate-at-Large will be mailed to all nominees upon receipt of petitions.
Nominating petitions may be obtained from the Office of the Secretary, Attn: Leticia Spencer, American Bar Association, 321 N. Clark Street, Chicago, Illinois 60654. The petition must be signed by twenty-five (25) members of the American Bar Association. The signing by any member of one petition will not disqualify him/her as the signer of other petitions. Each petition must be filed electronically or by mail with my office at the above address by the close of business at 5:00 p.m. (CT), Tuesday, May 16, 2017. The filing must include the written consent of the nominee and a biographical sketch approved by the nominee consisting of not more than seventy-five (75) words. All biographical sketches will be printed and available to Association members as they register or collect their credentials at the registration desk at the 2017 Annual Meeting.
Any questions regarding the foregoing should be sent promptly to the Office of the Secretary c/o Leticia Spencer at [email protected] or 312-988-5160.
DELEGATE-AT-LARGE ELECTION (VACANCY)
Due to the nomination of Michael H. Byowitz and Tom Bolt to the ABA Board of Governors, two Delegates-at-Large vacancies will exist. To fill these vacancies, two Delegates-at-Large to the House of Delegates will be elected at the 2017 Annual Meeting for a one-year terms beginning with the adjournment of that meeting and ending with the adjournment of the 2018 Annual Meeting. Candidates for election as Delegate-at-Large are to be nominated by written petition. The deadline for filing nominating petitions for the 2017 Delegate-at-Large vacancy election in New York, New York, is Tuesday, May 16, 2017.
Voting will take place in the ABA registration area. The polls will be open during the same hours as registration, except the polls will close on Monday, August 14, 2017 at 5:00 p.m. The votes will then be tallied and the two nominees with the highest number of votes in the vacancy election will be declared elected as Delegates-at-Large. In the event of a tie vote, I, as the Secretary, will determine the winner by lot. Rules that restrict campaigning for the position of Delegate-at-Large will be mailed to all nominees upon receipt of their petitions.
Nominating petitions may be obtained from the Office of the Secretary, Leticia D. Spencer, American Bar Center, 321 N. Clark Street, Chicago, Illinois 60654. The petition must be signed by twenty-five (25) lawyer members of the American Bar Association. The signing by any member of one petition will not disqualify him/her as the signer of other petitions. Each petition must be filed with my office at the above address by the close of business at 5:00 p.m. (CT), Tuesday, May 16, 2017. The filing must include the written consent of the nominee and a biographical sketch approved by the nominee consisting of not more than seventy-five (75) words. All biographical sketches will be printed and available to Association members as they register or collect their credentials at the registration desk at the Annual Meeting.
Any questions regarding the foregoing should be sent promptly to the Office of the Secretary at the Bar Center in care of Leticia Spencer at [email protected] or 312-988-5160.
Mary T. Torres, ABA Secretary
GOAL III MEMBERS-AT-LARGE ON THE NOMINATING COMMITTEE
The ABA President will appoint one Goal III minority member-at-large and one Goal III woman member-at-large to the Nominating Committee for the term 2017- 2020. Nominations for these appointments will be broadly solicited from the diversity commissions, sections, divisions and forums, state and local bar associations, and the membership at large. If you are interested in submitting a nomination or have questions, contact Leticia Spencer ([email protected]) c/o Office of the Secretary, by Wednesday, April 12.
Mary T. Torres, ABA Secretary
