Message From the President, Feb 2017

As practicing attorneys, our professional life is regulated by the North Carolina State Bar.  Our February meeting will feature presentations by our 18th Judicial District Bar Councilors, Barbara Christy and Steve Robertson.

The North Carolina State Bar is an agency of the State of North Carolina (N.C.G.S. §84-15) and is governed by councilors (N.C.G.S §84-17).  As part of their governing responsibilities, the councilors regulate the professional conduct of licensed attorneys and certified paralegals (N.C.G.S. §84-23).  This regulation includes admission to practice (N.C.G.S. §84-24) as well as discipline and disbarment (N.C.G.S. §84-28 et seq.).

The Council consists of 69 Councilors (5 officers, 61 Councilors elected by their respective judicial districts, and 3 non-attorney public members)(N.C.G.S. §84-17).  Each of the 45 Judicial Districts is represented by at least one Councilor.  An additional 16 Councilors are allocated among the districts every six years, based on the number of active members in the districts (N.C.G.S. §84-17).  For example, the 10th District (Wake County) has 8 Councilors; the 26th District (Mecklenburg) has 7 Councilors.

To be eligible for election, a prospective councilor must be an active member of the North Carolina State Bar and must either reside in the district to be represented or have filed a written statement with the Secretary of the North Carolina State Bar that the member desires to vote in that district (N.C.G.S. §§ 16 & 18).

The  Councilors are elected for three year annual terms beginning January 1 in the year following their election, and are limited to three successive three year terms, with no prohibition on the number of three year successive terms provided a three year period of nonservice intervenes in each instance (N.C.G.S. §84-18).

The fiscal and operating policies of the North Carolina State bar are set out in detail in a sixteen page publication available on the Bar’s website (http://www.ncbar.gov/media/376797/fiscal-policies.pdf).  Although Councilors receive some compensation for time spent in attending meetings and for travel expense (N.C.G.S §84-20), service as a Councilor is just that: service.

Please plan to attend our meeting on the evening of February 16, 2017 at Starmount Forest Country club to hear the important work our Councilors are performing.