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
2017 BOARD OF GOVERNORS ELECTION
The Secretary hereby gives notice that at the 2017 Midyear Meeting, the Nominating Committee will announce nominations for district and at-large positions on the ABA Board of Governors for three-year terms beginning at the conclusion of the 2017 Annual Meeting. The deadline for filing nomination petitions is Jan. 6. For the list of district and at-large positions, and election rules and procedures, go to ambar.org/bogelection and click Board of Governors Election.
NOTICE BY THE SECRETARY
At the 2017 Midyear Meeting, the Nominating Committee will announce nominations for district and at-large positions on the ABA Board of Governors for terms beginning at the conclusion of the 2017 Annual Meeting and ending at the conclusion of the 2020 Annual Meeting. Pursuant to S2.1 of the Association’s Constitution, the Committee will nominate individuals from the following states to represent the districts noted: Vermont (District 1), Michigan (District 2), Virginia (District 4), Georgia (District 6), Tennessee (District 12) and Iowa (District 19).
The Nominating Committee will also nominate members from the Section of Business Law, Section of International Law, and the Law Practice Division as Section Members-at-Large, and a young lawyer member who must be admitted to practice in his or her first bar within the past five years or be less than 36 years old at the beginning of the term to serve as a Young Lawyer Member-at-Large.
In addition, one Goal III member-at-large who is a minority, and one Goal III member-at-large who is a woman to serve three-year terms, shall be nominated pursuant to S26.1(d) of the Association’s Constitution. The nominations will be made notwithstanding the fact that minority members may be nominated for the district and at-large positions on the Board of Governors.
PETITIONS
To be eligible for nomination as a member of the Board of Governors by the Nominating Committee, a person must file a petition signed by 25 Association members. Nominating petitions must be filed with the Secretary at Association headquarters not later than Friday, January 6, 2017. Nominees for district representatives must be accredited to the state for which the nomination is being made and 25 Association members from the states within that district must sign the petition. While it is desirable that more than the required minimum of 25 names of members of the Association appear on the nominating petitions, only 25 names of signers of any petition will be included in the material provided to the Nominating Committee. Only signatures of lawyer members of the Association will be counted. Each nominating petition must be accompanied by a typewritten list of names, ABA member ID’s, and addresses of the signers in the order in which they appear on the petition. Petitions for nominations must specify which position the petitioner seeks; no person may petition for more than one position.
A 100-word biographical sketch of the nominee and a signed acknowledgement of the Role of a Member of the Board Governors also must accompany the petition. Forms for this purpose will be provided. The biographical sketch and a list of 25 signers from the nominating petitions will be sent to the members of the Nominating Committee prior to their meeting in February.
Nominating petitions may be obtained from the Secretary at the headquarters office of the American Bar Association, c/o Leticia D. Spencer, ([email protected]; 312/988-5160), 321 N. Clark Street, 21st Floor, Chicago, Illinois 60654-7598.
Mary T. Torres
ABA Secretary
Updated on January 12 with expanded listings.
