State Bar of Wisconsin

BYLAWS OF THE PUBLIC INTEREST LAW SECTION OF THE STATE BAR OF WISCONSIN

ARTICLE I

Name and Purpose

Section 1. Name.  The name of the Section shall be the Public Interest Law Section of the State Bar of Wisconsin (the “Section”).

Section 2. Purpose.  The Purpose of this Section is to provide a forum for public interest lawyers statewide to discuss and promote public interest issues and concerns; to encourage and strengthen the interest and participation of State Bar members in providing public interest services to individuals and groups; and to enhance the visibility and viability of public interest law.

ARTICLE II

Membership and Dues

Section 1. Eligibility for Membership.  Any person who is a member of the State Bar in good standing shall be eligible for membership in the Section.

Section 2. Application for Membership.  Any person eligible for membership in the Section may become a member (“Member”) upon completing the appropriate State Bar of Wisconsin application form and payment of Section dues, if any.

Section 3. Dues.  Dues may be assessed to Members of the Section in such amounts and for such purposes as the Board of Directors of the Section may from time to time determine.

Section 4. Membership privileges.  Voting and privileges at any meeting of the section shall be limited to dues-paying members in good standing as determined by the most recent membership list certified to the Secretary/Treasurer of the Section by the State Bar of Wisconsin.

ARTICLE III

Meetings

Section 1. Section Meetings.  The Section shall meet in conjunction with the Annual Meeting of the State Bar and at such other times and places as the Board shall direct.

Section 2. Notice of Meeting.  The general notice of the annual meeting given by the State Bar shall constitute notice of the Section meeting for purposes hereof.  A notice published in a newsletter of the Section or in the Bar Bulletin or other general publication of the State Bar shall constitute notice of the Section meeting for purposes hereof.  A notice published in a newsletter of the Section or in the Bar Bulletin or other general publication of the State Bar sent to Members of the Section shall be considered sufficient notice of any meeting.

Section 3. Quorum and Procedure.  Seven Members shall constitute a quorum for a meeting of the Section.  Meetings shall be conducted so that the sense thereof may be determined and so that any Member present may have a reasonable opportunity to be heard, but strict adherence to Parliamentary rules is not required.  Voting by proxy will not be permitted.

Section 4. Power of Meetings.  Business of the Section, with the exception of public policy positions discussed in Article VII below, may be dealt with by a simple majority of the Members present and voting at any regular or duly called special meeting of the Section at which a quorum is present.  A special meeting may deal only with matters encompassed within the stated purpose of that meeting.

ARTICLE IV

Officers

Section 1. Officers of the Section.  The Officers of the Section shall consist of a Chairperson, Vice Chairperson/Chair-Elect and Secretary/Treasurer, each of whom shall be Members of the Section and members of the board of directors of the section at the time of their nomination, election and throughout their term of office.

Section 2. Election of Officers.  The three officers shall be elected by a ballot of the Board of Directors.  The election shall be held at each year’s annual meeting.

Section 3. Term.  The term of office of the officers shall be from the time of their election until the next annual election and until their successors shall be elected.  In the event an officer is unable to complete the term for which elected, the Board of Directors, at its next meeting following knowledge of such inability, shall appoint a successor officer for the balance of the unexpired term of such officer.

Section 4. Duties of the Chairperson.  The chairperson shall preside at all meetings of the Section and at all meetings of the Board of Directors’ perform the duties customary to that office; endeavor to lead the Section so as to accomplish its purposes; appoint an acting secretary in the event the Secretary is absent; appoint members of the Standing Committees of the Section; appoint such special committees as are necessary for the proper functioning of the Section and appoint members thereof; requisition funds from the State Bar, including funds received from Section dues, as authorized by the Board of Directors; and prepare for the State Bar an annual report of the activities of the Section.

Section 5. Duties of the Vice Chairpersons/Chair-Elect.  The Vice Chairperson/Chair-Elect shall act as Chairperson in the event of the Chairperson’s absence or inability to serve and during any period in which the office of Chairperson is vacant.  At the expiration of the one-year term of office of the Chairperson the Vice Chairperson/Chair-Elect shall succeed to the office of the Section Chairperson.

Section 6. Duties of the Secretary.  The Secretary shall act as secretary of the Section and Board of Directors and of all meetings of the Section; take minutes of meetings; be the custodian of all records and papers belonging to the Section; maintain a list of the members of the Section with the latest information provided as to their post office addresses; and be responsible for reporting all the financial aspects of the Section to the Board.

ARTICLE V

Board of Directors

Section 1. Membership.  The Board of Directors of the Section shall consist of the ten (10) Directors elected by the Members, the three (3) officers of the Section and the immediate past Chairperson.

Section 2. Nomination.  On or before February 1 of each year, the Chairperson shall appoint a nominating committee.  The nominating committee shall choose a nominee for each directorship to be voted upon by the Members, and shall certify to the Secretary in writing on or before March 15 the names of the persons so chosen.  Any Member of the Section in good standing shall be eligible for nomination as a Director.  Any five (5) members may make nominations by a writing signed by them and filed with the Secretary on or before March 15.  The names of the persons to be voted upon by the Members, nominated by the methods herein provided for, shall be forwarded to the Executive Director of the State Bar so as to be placed on a ballot to be mailed to the Members on or before the first Friday of May in each year.  If there is no contested position, ballots shall not be mailed and the section members shall be notified of the directors by newsletter or on the listserv.

Section 3. Term and Responsibilities.  The term of Directors shall be for three (3) years commencing July 1 of the year in which the Director is elected and ending on June 30th of the third year of service.

1. Vacancy.  In the event there is a resignation or death of a Board member, the Chairperson may appoint a member to fill the remainder of the term.
2. Attendance.  If a Board members fails to attend three meetings or has two unexcused absences, the Chairperson may declare the position vacant and appoint a member to fulfill the remainder of the term.
3. Committees.  Each Board member shall participate in at least one committee.  If any Board member fails to elect a committee, the Chairperson may select a committee for that Board member.

ARTICLE VI

Committees

Section 4. Nominating Committee.  The nominating committee, which shall consist of three members of the Board of Directors, shall perform those functions referred to in Article V.  In selecting its nominees, the Committee is requested to use its best efforts to obtain nominees who either are engaged in the practice of public interest law or have an interest in providing or promoting quality legal services to low income populations or under-represented groups.

Section 5. Education Committee.  The Education Committee shall prepare appropriate programs for the Section at the annual meeting of the State Bar and for such other meetings as the Board of Directors or the Education Committee shall deem to be of interest to Members.

Section 6.  Law School Committee.  The Law School Committee shall work with students from the two Wisconsin law schools in building relationships with the State Bar as members; in promoting the ideals of public interest law through combined programs with both schools and by serving as mentors to students interested in the practice of public interest law; and other methods to present public interest law as a viable career choice for law students.

Section 7. Communications Committee.  The Communications Committee shall develop written and internet information of substantive interest to members of the Section.  It shall have general oversight responsibility for the production of an internet website of resources for public interest lawyers and the general public.  It shall also have general oversight responsibility for the production of the newsletter produced by the Section, and shall also prepare other written materials on topics of general interest to members of the organized Bar, on its own initiative, at the request of the Board of Directors of the Section, or by initiation of the officers and the staff of the State Bar.

Section 8. Advocacy and Legislation Committee.  The Advocacy and Legislation Committee shall track all state and national legislation of potential interest to Section members.  The Committee shall also communicate with Section members about pending relevant advocacy and legislative issues.  The Committee shall, where appropriate, recommend positions to the Section Board of Directors.

ARTICLE VII

Public Policy Issues

Section 1. Scope of Public Policy Activities.   The Public Interest Law Section may provide comment on public policy issues, become involved in public policy activities or seek legislative remedies on matters that affect the following issues and/or areas of law: Issues impacting low-income and underrepresented persons, government benefits, consumer protection, housing, disability rights, elder law, access to healthcare, constitutional/civil rights, environmental justice, fair employment/labor, women's rights, violence against women and reproductive health care.

Section 2. Public Policy Positions.  The Board of Directors may express an opinion on matters of public policy under the following conditions:

1. Relevance.  The matter is within the scope of the Section as outlined in Article VII, Section 1, and is one on which the Section’s view would have particular relevance.
2. Procedures.  The public policy position is taken in accordance with the procedures outlined in Article VII, Section 3.
3. Section Position Only.  The public policy position is clearly adopted on behalf of the Section only and is relayed only as a Section position.
4. Summary.  A summary of the position is provided to the Board of Governors or its Executive Committee.

Section 3. Procedures.  The Section board adopts a public policy position under the following conditions:

1. The position is not in conflict with a public policy position of the State Bar of Wisconsin,
2. The Section Board has approved the position by a minimum 60 percent majority vote,
3. All votes have been individually cast by each Board member,
4. The Section Board will reaffirm policy positions every 2-year legislative session.

Section 4. Conflict Resolution.  The Section will use uniform conflict resolution procedures as established by the Executive Committee or the Board of Governors to resolve conflicting public policy positions between Sections.

ARTICLE VIII

Amendments

The Bylaws of the Section may be amended, from time to time, by the majority vote of the Directors at any Board of Directors meeting held concurrently with an Annual Meeting, or at a special meeting of the Board of Directors called for the purpose, or by a majority vote of the Members at the Annual Meeting.  No amendment shall be adopted or be effective which shall be inconsistent with the purposes of the Section or with the Bylaws of the State Bar.  Amendment of the Bylaws shall be subject to approval of the Board of Governors.

Amended May 5, 2001
Revisions approved by BOG May 6, 2009