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Vol. 74, No. 6, June 2001
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Inside the Bar
Improving Governance
Efficient, Effective Governance
This
month marks the end of the State Bar's fiscal year and the end of the first
year of a new way of doing business for the Board of Governors and the Executive
Committee.
by George C. Brown,
State Bar executive director
UNLESS YOU
READ THE BOARD OF GOVERNORS' minutes, you probably haven't noticed that
the roles of the Executive Committee and the Board of Governors have changed.
Indeed, you probably haven't noticed the effect of the changed roles.
But you will.
One result of the strategic planning initiative, begun in 1997, was a
review of how the Board of Governors and the Executive Committee actually
did their work to determine whether they were functioning as efficiently
and effectively as possible. A Special Committee on Board Governance Structure
developed recommendations, which the board adopted in June 2000.
The report called for measures to clarify the State Bar decision-making
process, improve its operation, and thereby enhance service to its members.
Recognizing that the organization is well run, the committee envisioned
that the board would become a more deliberative body, serving more in
the legislative or policy-making mode, and have the opportunity to obtain
input from representatives statewide to establish the basis upon which
the organization should be run. To give the board the time to deliberate
and decide on the more strategic issues facing the Bar, the Executive
Committee would take a more active role in implementing board policy as
already authorized by the current Supreme Court Rules (SCRs).
Implementation of the report has taken place in two phases. The first
phase began this fiscal year as the Executive Committee assumed greater
responsibility for implementing board policies. The committee met monthly,
and its work allowed the board to spend most of its time deciding issues
of importance to the profession and the association.
The second phase began at the board's final meeting for this fiscal year.
Historically, the Executive Committee has consisted of the officers of
the association and four members of the board appointed by the president.
The committee served as an advisory or "kitchen" cabinet for the president.
The Board Governance Structure Committee proposed that the number of elected
Executive Committee members be increased and that specific seats be established
for representatives of the three State Bar divisions who serve on the
board. That final change is what occurred at the May meeting. Six members
of the fiscal year 2002 board were elected to serve on the Executive Committee;
13 members now constitute the Executive Committee. And, for the first
time, one of the three public members of the board appointed by the supreme
court, Tess Arenas, was elected to serve on the committee.
In facing the future, the Board of Governors now has the time to properly
evaluate the strategic issues before it, and the Executive Committee now
is more fairly representative of the board as it implements policy and
fulfills its other respon-sibilities under SCRs. Ultimately, the members
and the public should benefit.
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