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YLD Leadership Considering Bylaw Amendment

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Jan 4, 2017

The Tennessee Bar Association Young Lawyers Division Board is considering adopting the below amendment to the bylaws of the Division.

Please review at your convenience and respond with any comments to Long Range Planning committee member Troy Weston at tweston@eblaw.us before January 14, 2017.

The proposed amendment is as follows:

Article IX. Public Policy
 
Section 1. The Division, through the voting members of the Board, as defined in Article VI, Section 2 of these Bylaws, shall consider, debate, and make policy recommendations on matters of interest and concern to the legal profession and young lawyers.
 
Section 2. All recommendations shall be in the form of a resolution, and must be approved by a majority vote of a quorum of the voting members of the Board. Voting may occur in-person, electronically, or telephonically, provided that all resolutions must have first been submitted for discussion at a meeting of the Board prior to the vote.
 
A quorum shall be one-third of the Board’s voting members, consistent with Article VI, Section 6 of these Bylaws. When voting takes place in-person, members who are unable to be present in person shall be deemed present for the purposes of voting on any motion so long as the member is available by teleconference during the entire discussion regarding the motion and for the vote.
 
Voting may also take place telephonically via a teleconference of voting members of the Board. A quorum shall be one-third of the Board’s voting members.
 
Electronic voting is also permitted, and shall require a majority vote of all voting members of the Board.
 
Telephonic and electronic voting shall only be utilized after a resolution has been discussed at a Board meeting.
 
Section 3. Any member of the Board may, by written notice to the Division’s secretary, introduce a resolution for the Division to consider.
 
Section 4. Each resolution shall be in writing and consist of a written report that supports the recommendation. The report shall state the relevant facts, authority, and argument with candor and reasonable objectivity. The report shall not imply a policy that is not evident from the recommendation. The secretary of the Division shall be responsible for promulgating a concise form for resolutions and accompanying reports.
 
All resolutions shall conclude with a paragraph stating, “The Young Lawyers Division of the Tennessee Bar Association urges the Board of Governors to,” and shall be followed by a concise statement of the action sought in the resolution.
 
If the resolution is for the Division to join another entity in sponsoring a resolution in the American Bar Association Young Lawyers Division Assembly (“ABA Assembly”), the written report shall set forth the text of the proposed resolution and identify all proposed co-sponsors of the resolution.
 
Section 5. All resolutions must be submitted to the secretary of the Division in such a time as to allow publication in E-DICT prior to the meeting at which the resolution is to be discussed. In the event that a resolution is not submitted in time for publication in E-DICT, the Division president, in his/her sole discretion, may (1) delay discussion of the resolution until the next Board meeting, (2) seek publication of the resolution in TBAToday, (3) authorize electronic communication of the resolution and accompanying report to members of the Division, or (4) make the text of the resolution and accompanying report available on the Division’s website. If the president chooses to make the resolution and report available on the Division’s website, the TBA staff person responsible for assisting the Division shall alert members of the Division to this proposed resolution through notices posted on all the Division’s social media accounts.
 
In no event shall a resolution be considered for a vote unless notice has been provided to members of the Division at least five days prior to the Board’s meeting in a manner described in the preceding paragraph.
 
Section 6. Immediately upon receipt of a resolution, the secretary shall determine whether it complies with the form mandated in these Bylaws. If the resolution or report does not comply with the Bylaws, the secretary shall notify the proponent seeking introduction of the resolution of the deficiency in writing, and provide a copy of the communication to the Division’s president. If the resolution does comply with the Bylaws, the secretary shall docket the resolution and provide it to the Division’s Executive Committee and to the TBA staff person responsible for assisting the Division.
 
Upon receipt of a compliant resolution, the secretary of the Division shall assign the resolution a number. The assigned number shall follow the form of the year in which the resolution is introduced followed by the sequential number of the resolution for that year; e.g., the first compliant resolution proposed in 2017 would be docketed as “Resolution 17-1.”
 
All compliant resolutions shall be added to the agenda of the next Board meeting occurring after the notice mandated in Article IX, Section 5 has been provided to the members of the Division.
 
Section 7. The secretary of the Division shall oversee all discussion of resolutions, except that the president may delegate another member of the Board to oversee discussion if the secretary wishes to speak about a resolution or is one of the sponsors of the resolution. The secretary shall ensure that the discussion of any resolution is as fully informed as possible, and that each opposing viewpoint is fairly considered. Rules appertaining to the discussion of resolutions shall follow the most recent edition of Robert’s Rules of Order Newly Revised, unless inconsistent with these Bylaws.
 
All Board members, whether voting or nonvoting, shall be permitted to participate in discussion relating to a proposed resolution. Additionally, the secretary may recognize any member of the Division to speak about the proposed resolution. The secretary may also recognize any TBA staff member, TBA officer, or TBA committee or section chair as an invited guest who may speak about the proposed resolution.
 
All discussion must be germane to the issues raised by the proposed resolution.
 
Section 8. All resolutions shall recommend action to the Tennessee Bar Association Board of Governors. Resolutions may seek the adoption of public policy by the Tennessee Bar Association, recommend positions regarding pending or potential legislation, or seek authority to propose or join in the proposal of a resolution to the ABA Assembly.
 
Section 9. All resolutions adopted by the Division shall be presented to the Tennessee Bar Association Board of Governors by the president or president-elect of the Division, except that, in a manner consistent with the Board of Governors’ bylaws, the president or president-elect may delegate the responsibility for presenting a successfully adopted resolution to another member of the Division.