BAR TO EXAMINE SECTIONS, COMMITTEES, AND RELATED RULES

Incoming President Michael Fox Orr says The Florida Bar will undertake a first-of-its-kind review of its sections, divisions, standing committees, and their governing rules during the coming year in an effort to evaluate how the organization is structured and operates.

"What you are going to see from the Board of Governors is a review that has not really been done before," Orr told the Council of Sections June 17 at The Florida Bar Convention in Orlando. "This year we are going to be doing a comprehensive review of everything. All sections, all committees, the rules related to the sections, and how the sections function."

The mission of the Council of Sections is to foster communication among the sections and promote efficiency within The Florida Bar. Each of the Bar's 23 sections and divisions has a representative on the council.

“You are probably going to start getting phone calls come July and August from your board members about discussions that are being had,” he said, without going into specifics, but noting that some might find the discussions “uncomfortable, simply because they may require change or having discussions about change.”

Orr invited everyone involved in section work to be a part of those discussions and said the Board of Governors will work through the Council of Sections as the review progresses. More than 33,000 Florida Bar members belong to one or more sections.

Orr said section and committee leaders will be invited to the board’s October meeting, where the proposed “changes and improvements related to our organization’s structure” will be presented.

“It is going to be big, and I’m excited you are all going to be part of it,” he said.