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Handbook | Sections

Purpose

The purpose of the Sections is to promote the mission of the Law Society. Sections can provide another mechanism for fulfilling this mission by facilitating the association of an attorney or law student with other lawyers and law students interested in a particular area of the law or of the legal profession. This purpose can be accomplished by:

  • Creating a system for communicating and sharing information with other Section members that allows them to:
    • Network
    • Educate
    • Refer
    • Mentor
    • Strengthen and Support
  • Meeting as a Section at the annual Law Society Conference
  • Being innovative in ways that are consistent with the Law Society’s mission and that respect local Chapter activities and development.

Principles

Chapters are organized geographically. It is advantageous for lawyers to connect by area of practice or legal profession. Not all geographic areas have a significant number of lawyers practicing in each area of law. Throughout the Law Society there are sufficient numbers of lawyers practicing in any one area of law to provide a reasonable network. Providing a network for Law Society members practicing in the same area of law allows members to strengthen and support each other.

Guidelines

The Law Society has organized “Sections” according to specific areas of law and of the legal profession. Each Section Chair is a member of the Sections Committee. The Sections Committee Chair oversees the Sections and assigns a secretary to maintain notes, agendas, and member listings, and facilitate communication through LinkedIn.

Section Chairs seek to:

  • Identify potential Section members, gather contact information, and invite participation in the Section.
  • Create a system for communicating and sharing information within the Section by using services such as LinkedIn (or other on-line software). The Sections Committee can help to set up a LinkedIn group as necessary. Other communication methods might include blogs, list-serve, newsletters, conference calls, simulcasts, and the like.
  • Communicate at least quarterly with their Section.
  • Determine Section member needs and interests as they relate to the mission statement and develop plans accordingly.
  • Seek to develop a spirit of support and camaraderie among Section members.

Sections are encouraged to be innovative within the scope of appropriate activity consistent with the 501(c)(3) status and mission of the Law Society, including maintaining political neutrality. The Executive Committee may approve or disapprove of any particular Section activity. If Sections wish to meet in person, they should meet in connection with legal conferences at which their members are likely to be in attendance already, such as the Law Society Annual Conference, and conferences consistent with the Section’s area of law (ABA, AIPLA, ACC, etc.). Sections should respect and not compete with activities of local Chapters.

Section Chairs will report quarterly on the activities of their group. They will meet quarterly via conference call with the Chair of the Law Society’s Sections Committee to exchange ideas, report on activities and discuss plans.

Sections are open to lawyers and law students who are members of the Law Society. Sections should welcome those not currently practicing law. Law Society members can join more than one Section.

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