Still time to apply for a Bar committee
The annual committee preference forms for Bar members seeking appointments for the presidential term of President-elect Gene Pettis are now available on The Florida Bar’s website.
If you do not have access to a computer, call (850) 561-5600, ext. 5757, and request a form to be mailed or faxed.
As president-elect, Pettis will make the next 500 or so committee appointments, and he wants to make sure he has a diverse bunch of lawyers from which to choose.
To encourage greater participation, he recently launched the “Get Involved” campaign and has asked voluntary bars to help vet and name candidates for inclusion in the Bar’s 68 standing committees, plus opportunities to serve on special committees, grievance committees, and the unlicensed practice of law circuit committees.
To apply to serve on a committee, members must fill out the committee preference form and submit it online.
“Serving on a Florida Bar committee can be a demanding and important responsibility,” Pettis said. “However, you will find it to be a meaningful and rewarding experience. It will provide you with the opportunity to enhance our profession and to improve the service we provide to others.”
In making committee appointments this spring, Pettis said several factors will be considered, including prior service to the Bar and voluntary bar organizations; the opportunity to have new members; diversity of gender, ethnicity, geography, and areas of practice; as well as prior levels of committee participation and contributions in conjunction with the evaluation of committee chairs.
If you are currently serving on a standing committee, check The Florida Bar’s website to determine when your term on the committee expires. If your term expires in 2013, you must complete and submit your committee preference form to be considered for reappointment.
If you are not currently serving on a standing committee and wish to be considered, complete the form and return it prior to January 15, 2013.
If you are serving on a substantive law committee and wish to continue to do so, you must complete and return the committee preference form by January 15, 2013, to be considered for reappointment.
“I would love to see it where we are broadening and deepening our pool, with organizations reaching within their own sector, vetting their own members, and encouraging their young, older, and more experienced lawyers to get engaged in every aspect of the Bar,” Pettis said.
