BY
LAWS
OF
THE
FAMILY
LAW SECTION
STATE
BAR OF
Section
1
IDENTIFICATION
1.1
NAME This Section shall be
known as the “Family Law Section, State Bar of Nevada,” and hereinafter shall
be designated simply as “the Section”.
1.2
PURPOSE The general purpose of
the Section shall be the promotion of the objects of the State Bar of Nevada
(State Bar) within the particular fields designed by the name of this Section.
To that end, it shall be the purpose of the Section, to further the knowledge
of the members of the Section, the Bar and the Judiciary in all aspects of
Family Law; establish and administer seminars (subject to prior approval of the
State Bar CLE Director); provide for and distribute Family Law publications;
and assists the Board of Governors in the implementation of programs, polices,
standardization and guidelines in the field.
Section
2
MEMBERSHIP
2.1 ENROLLMENT Any member in good standing with the State Bar, upon
request to the Secretary of the Section, shall be enrolled as a member of the
Section by the payment of annual Sections dues.
2.2 TERM
The term of membership in the Section shall be for a period of one (1) year,
corresponding to the membership year established by payment of State Bar dues.
2.3 THE MEMBERSHIP Members so enrolled and whose dues are paid pursuant
to the provisions of this Section shall constitute the membership of the
Section.
2.4 DUES
Dues for membership in the Section shall be in an amount set by the Section and
approved by the Board of Governors, payable upon enrollment and thereafter
annually in advance each year, at the beginning of the State Bar’s fiscal year
succeeding each enrollment. Such fees shall be prescribed by the Board of
Governors and shall be paid into the treasury of the State Bar along with all
other funds generated by this Section, to be used for the purposes of defraying
costs and expenses of this Section or such other purposes as the Board of
Governors may designate. Within the meaning of this Section, the time
intervening between successive annual meetings is deemed to be one (1) year.
2.5 DELINQUENCY Any member of the Section whose annual dues are more
than six (6) months past due shall thereupon cease to be a member of this
Section.
Section
3
COMMITTEES
The council
of this Section is authorized to establish, or to empower the Chairperson of
the Section to establish such committees as it may deem necessary and desirable
to promote effectively the activities of the Section within the jurisdiction of
the Section and with the approval of the Board of Governors. In establishing a
new committee, the Council shall state in writing the area of its proposed
activities. No action of any Section committee shall be effective until
approved by the Council or by the Section.
Section
4
MEETINGS
OF THE MEMBERSHIP
4.1 ANNUAL MEETING This Section shall holds its annual meeting at its
continuing legal education meeting in the Spring of each year.
4.2 QUORUM The members of the Section present at any meeting shall constitute a
quorum for the transaction of business.
4.3 CONTROLLING VOTE Action of the Section shall be by majority vote of
the members present.
4.4 VOTING ELIGIBILITY Any member of the State Bar and Section whose good
standing can be certified by official State Bar records for thirty days prior
to the time of voting shall be eligible to vote.
4.5 AGENDA Among the matters of business to be transacted at the annual meeting
of the membership shall be the election of Officers and Council members. The
agenda shall consist of other matters as decided by the Chairperson or Council.
4.6 ALTERNATE
FORMS OF VOTING The council may
direct that a matter be submitted to the members of the Section for a vote by
alternate means, including mail or facsimile. In that event, binding action of
the Section shall be by a majority of the votes received from members in
accordance with rules fixed by the Council.
Section
5
OFFICERS
5.1 OFFICERS The Officers of the Section shall be the Chairperson,
Vice-Chairperson, Secretary, and Financial Officer.
5.2 CHAIRPERSON The Chairperson shall:
1.
Preside at all
meetings of the Section and of the Council.
2.
Plan and
superintend the programs of the Section during that term, subject to the
direction and approval of the Council.
3.
Superintend the
performance of all duties of the Section.
4.
Keep the Council
duly informed and carry out its decisions.
1.
Perform such
other duties and acts as are necessary and proper to the office or as may be
designated by the Council.
2.
Make an annual
written report to the Board of Governors which shall be available at the annual
meeting of the State Bar.
5.3 VICE-CHAIRPERSON The Vice-Chairperson shall be elected in the same
manner as the Chairperson and for the same term. The Vice-Chairperson shall aid
the Chairperson in the performance of the responsibilities of office in the
manner and to the extent the Chairperson may request, and shall perform such
further duties and have such further powers as usually pertain to this office,
or as may be designated by the Chairperson or the Council. In case of death,
resignation, or disability of the Chairperson, the Vice-Chairperson shall
perform the duties of the Chairperson for the remainder of Chairperson’s term
or disability, as the case may be. In
the event the Chairperson is temporarily unavailable, the Vice-Chairperson
shall assume and perform the duties of the Chairperson.
5.4 SECRETARY The Secretary shall be elected in the same manner as the Chairperson
and for the same term. The Secretary shall consult and assist all the officers
of the Section; be the liaison between the Section and the State Bar staff
regarding the retention and maintenance of books, papers, documents, and other
property; keep a true record of the proceedings of all meetings of the Section
and of the Council; and attend generally to the business of the Section as
directed by the Chairperson. The
Secretary shall maintain the official copies of the By-laws, Minutes,
Membership Rolls, List of Council Members and Officers of the Council.
5.5 FINANCIAL OFFICER The Financial Officer shall be elected in the same
manner as the Chairperson and for the same term. The Financial Officer shall
monitor all accounts, reports, and other documents prepared as to Section
funds, revenues and expenditures, and seek to make certain that all such
accounts, reports, and other documents are at all times accurate and correct;
report on the Section’s present and projected financial condition at each
meeting of the Section Council; advise the Officers and Council as to the
financial impact of any proposed action by the Officers, Council or Section
which, in the judgment of the Financial Officer, would have a significant
impact on the financial condition of the Section; at least once a year, prepare
and submit a projected budget to the Council for approval or modification at
such time as may be expressly fixed by the Council, which shall be done in
a sufficient time to submit the same to
the membership and the State Bar Board of Governors for approval. The Section
budget shall be effective only upon approval by the Board of Governors, a copy
of which, once approved, shall be maintained by the Financial Officer. The Financial Officer shall also submit a
copy of the Section budget to the Section membership, at the annual meeting, a
report on the Section’s financial affairs and financial condition; prepare such
other recommendations and special reports on financial affairs of the Section
as may be requested by the Chairperson of the Section.
5.6 TERM
All officers shall serve a one (1) year term on election by secret ballot from
among the membership of the Council at the annual meeting. In the event of a
tie vote that cannot be resolved in three successive ballots, the Section
membership shall vote to break the tie as set out in Section 4.6. Officers may
be re-elected to the same office more than once but may not serve more than
eight (8) consecutive years on the Council.
Section
6
THE
COUNCIL
6.1 POWERS The Council shall be vested with the powers and duties necessary for
the administration of the affairs of the Section. The policy of the Council
shall be consistent with the policies set by the Board of Governors. It shall
especially authorize all committees which entail the payment of money, and
shall authorize the expenditure of all monies appropriated by the State Bar for
the use or benefit of the Section. It shall not, however, authorize commitments
which entail the payment of more money during any fiscal year than the amount
appropriated to the Section for the fiscal year. The Council shall elect the
Officers from among its members.
6.2 COMPOSITION The Council shall be composed of:
1.
A non-voting
member appointed by the Board of Governors as an “ex officio member,” who shall
serve for such term as designated by the Board of Governors. The most recent past Chairperson shall serve
in this position unless there is good cause to depart from the same.
2.
Fourteen voting
Council members (including the members elected as Officers), each of whom shall
serve two-year terms, with the council members being comprised of six (6)
members from the North and eight (8) members from the South. The terms of the council members shall be
staggered and the Chairperson shall only have a vote in the event of a tie
situation.
3.
If a Chairperson
leaves that position by expiration of term of office (as opposed to death,
disability, or resignation), the retiring Chairperson shall become a voting ex
officio member of the Council for a period of one (1) year, even if that
person’s term of office on the Council has otherwise expired.
6.3 CONTROLLING VOTE Action of the Council shall be by majority vote of
those members present. A quorum consisting of a majority of the Council members
shall be required to conduct its business.
6.4 MEETINGS The Council shall hold at least four (4) regular meetings each year.
to dispatch any necessary business, with those meetings being held quarterly in
January, at the annual meeting as provided for in Section 4.1., June and
September, or as close to those times as practicable. The Chairperson may, and
upon request of three (3) members of the Council shall, call special meetings
of the Council between annual meetings.
6.5 POLL OF COUNCIL In urgent matters requiring immediate attention, the
Chairperson may, and upon request of three (3) members of the Council shall,
submit in writing to each of the members of the Council a proposition upon
which the Council may be authorized to act, and the members of the Council may
vote upon the proposition either by written ballot , by telephone or electronic
(e-mail) vote, confirmed in writing which may be accomplished by electronic
means, to the Secretary, who shall record the proposition and votes in the
matter.
6.6 COUNCIL AUTHORITY Between meetings of the Section, the Council shall
have full power to do and perform all acts and functions which the Section
itself might perform. Any such action taken by the Council shall be reported to
the Section at its next meeting.
6.7 NO COMPENSATION No salary of compensation for services shall be paid
to or by any Officer, member of the Council, or member of any committee, except
as may be specifically authorized by the Board of Governors.
6.8 TERMS Members of the Council shall serve from their election at the annual
meeting for two (2) years. They may serve four (4) consecutive terms. In no
case may a member of the Council serve more than eight (8) consecutive years.
The time served in filling a vacancy for part of a term shall not be included
in computing the eight-year limit, nor shall the eight-year limit preclude a
member of the Council who serves as Chairperson-elect during his or her eighth
year from thereafter serving as Chairperson.
Section
7
SUCCESSION
OF OFFICERS AND VACANCIES
7.1 OFFICERS AND COUNCIL Between annual meetings of the Section, the Council
may fill vacancies in its own membership, or in the offices of
Vice-Chairperson, Secretary, or Financial Officer. Members of the Council and
Officers so elected shall serve until the next annual meeting of the Section at
which time the membership of the Section shall elect Officers or Council
members to fill any unexpired terms existing at the time. The Board of
Governors shall by appointment fill any vacancy of its ex officio member.
Officers and Council members may succeed themselves.
7.2 ABSENTEEISM If any Officer or member of the Council shall fail to
attend two consecutive meetings of the Council, his office shall be
automatically vacated, unless excused upon good cause accepted by members of
the Council.
Section
8
CONTINUING
LEGAL EDUCATION PROJECTS
All
educational projects of the Section for which CLE credits will be sought must
be submitted to the Continuing Legal Education Committee for approval. The
Continuing Legal Education Committee will administer and coordinate all such
projects with the Section. Net profits or losses of such projects will be
divided in a manner considered appropriate by the Continuing Legal Education
Committee.
Section
9
AMENDMENT
TO BYLAWS
These
Bylaws may be amended at any annual meeting of the Section by a majority vote
of the members of the Section present and voting, providing such proposed
amendment shall first have been approved by a majority of the Council. They
shall become effective upon approval by the Board of Governors, and may be
amended or repealed at any time by the Board of Governors on its own motion.
Accepted:
President