Volunteer for CA State Bar Committee Appointments

One great way to encourage innovation in the legal profession is to lead the legal profession. The CA State Bar is looking for about 200 volunteers to fill positions on numerous committees, boards and commissions. See the CA State Bar's posting below.

http://www.calbarjournal.com/December2013/TopHeadlines/TH5.aspx

State Bar committees need volunteers

The State Bar is recruiting about 200 dedicated volunteers to fill about 200 positions on more than three dozen committees, boards and commissions. Groups with open positions range from committees dealing with access and fairness issues to section executive committees focused on particular areas of the law to a committee addressing questions of professional responsibility and conduct.

If your interest is the day-to-day delivery of legal services to poor and middle-income individuals, administering the IOLTA program and exploring ways to improve access to civil justice, positions on legal services committees are also available. Most of the appointments carry a three-year term. You can get an application by calling the bar’s appointments office at 415-538-2370 or by faxing 415-538-2305. The deadline to apply for most positions is Feb. 3, 2014.

A complete list of openings, application forms and detailed committee information are available at the State Bar’s website at www.calbar.org/appointments. Applicants can apply to up to three committees, but can only be appointed to one. The State Bar’s Board of Trustees will make the appointments between May and July 2014, and committee terms begin Sept. 14, 2014.

The committees seeking applicants include:

• Courts/administration of justice committees which review proposed changes in civil procedure, alternative dispute resolution, appellate and federal rules, procedures and practices, as well as comment on proposed legislation governing these issues
• Insurance committees, which act as counsel to the board of trustees on insurance matters and oversee the bar’s member group insurance programs, including life, accidental death and dismemberment, disability, personal auto and homeowners, long-term care, workers’ compensation and professional liability
• Regulatory committees such as the Committee of Bar Examiners,Committee on Mandatory Fee Arbitration and Legal Specializationcommissions, which are established by statute and oversee mandated admission, arbitration and certification programs of the State Bar
• The Council on Access and Fairness, which is devoted to increasing diversity in the legal profession

Other positions are also open on bar committees:

• Six positions will open on the American Bar Association House of Delegates next August. State Bar delegates serve two-year terms and may serve three consecutive terms. The State Bar does not reimburse its delegates for travel or meeting expenses. All applicants, including incumbents seeking reappointment, must file the 2014-15 application form by Feb. 3.
• In addition, two lawyer positions on the Judicial Council will become vacant. Members serve staggered three-year terms that run from Sept. 15 to Sept. 14. Applicants must file the 2014-15 State Bar application by Feb. 3.
• The Commission on Judicial Nominees Evaluation will have 15 openings on its 2015 roster. Applications are due by June 2, 2014 for terms that begin Feb. 1, 2015.
• In addition, two positions will open on the 2015 Lawyer Assistance Program Oversight Committee. Members serve four-year terms that can be renewed. All applicants, including incumbents seeking reappointment, must file the 2014-15 application form by June 2, 2014.

More information about these appointments and application requirements is available on the State Bar website under Other Entity Appointments.