Executive Committee: Message from the Chair

• Publication year: 2017
• Author: Uzzi O. Raanan

Executive Committee: Message from the Chair

Uzzi O. Raanan

THE SECTIONS TO LEAVE THE STATE BAR

In the words of Bob Dylan, "the times they are a-chan-gin." On October 2, 2017, Governor Edmund G. Brown, Jr. signed Senate Bill 36 (the State Bar's 2018 dues bill) into law, setting into motion drastic changes for the State Bar of California. Most notably, the new law will transfer operations of the sixteen voluntary sections of the Bar and the California Young Lawyers Association ("CYLA") into a newly-formed private non-profit association. In anticipation of the new entity, many leaders and volunteers from the sections and the State Bar are working tirelessly to ensure that the transition is seamless and does not have a negative impact on the sections' valuable work. The transition to the new entity will occur in January 2018.

Separation from the Bar will present wonderful opportunities, allowing the sections to thrive without the growing costs and restrictions associated with being part of a regulatory governmental agency. The benefits will include:

1. Private, Non-Profit Status: The sections and CYLA will form a private, non-profit corporation organized under § 501(c)(6) of the Internal Revenue Code, which will operate more freely—as do the other state and local professional associations. The new entity will be one of the largest voluntary associations of lawyers in the country, second only to the American Bar Association.
2. Communications Will Return to Normal: The new association will not be subject to the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act, the California Public Records Act, or similar requirements imposed on governmental entities. Meetings will occur without the need to post public notices weeks ahead; electronic communications among section members will once again be unrestricted; and meeting participants will no longer need to open their offices and homes to the public in order to attend telephonic meetings.
3. Association's Governing Body: The new association will be governed by a board composed of one representative from each of the sixteen sections and CYLA. Each of the seventeen board members will have equal voting power, resulting in a "one section, one vote" system of governance.
4. Section Funds and Intellectual Property: The State Bar will transfer to the new association the sections' financial reserves and intellectual property, including publications, educational materials, and membership lists.
5. Collection of Association Dues: Critical to the new association's...