Family Law Section Bylaws

ARTICLE I
Name and Jurisdiction

Section 1. The name of this Section shall be the Family Law Section.

Section 2. The purpose of this Section shall be to promote the objectives of the Houston Bar Association within the field of family law.

ARTICLE II
Membership and Dues

Section 1. Any member of the Houston Bar Association, upon request to the Secretary of this Section, and upon payment of the dues for the current year, shall be enrolled as a member of this Section. Members so enrolled whose dues are paid shall constitute the membership of this Section.

Section 2. Each member of the Section shall pay annual Section dues of $10.00 if admitted to the Texas Bar for five (5) years or less, or, $20.00 if so admitted for more than five (5) years. After the initial payment of a member's dues, subsequent dues shall be payable in advance on July 1 of each year. Any member of this Section whose annual dues shall be more than six months past due shall thereupon cease to be a member of this Section. Anyone becoming a new member after April 1 of any year shall, upon payment of one full year's dues, be credited as paid through June 30 of the following year.

Section 3. The annual Section dues may be changed only upon a 2/3rds vote of the Board. Any member of this Section whose annual dues shall be more than six months past due shall, at the option of the Board, thereupon cease to be a member of this Section.

Section 4. All the Family and Juvenile Trial Division Judges of the District Courts of Harris County, Texas, shall be ex-officio members of this Section, and they shall be exempt from the payment of dues.

ARTICLE III
Officers and Board

Section 1. The officers of this Section shall be a Chairperson, a Chairperson-Elect and the Immediate Past Chairperson, a Secretary, and a Treasurer.

Section 2. There shall be a Board, which shall consist of the officers, together with nine (9) other members to be elected by the Section as hereinafter provided.

Section 3. The Chairperson and the Chairperson-Elect shall be nominated and elected, in the manner hereinafter provided, at each annual meeting of this Section, to hold office for a term beginning at the close of the annual meeting at which they shall have been elected and ending at the close of the next succeeding annual meeting of this Section, and until their successors shall have been elected and qualified. The Secretary and the Treasurer shall be nominated and elected, in the manner hereinafter provided, at every other annual meeting of this Section to hold office for a term beginning at the close of the annual meeting at which they shall have been elected, and ending at the close of the second succeeding annual meeting of this section, and until their successors shall have been elected and qualified. No Chairperson shall succeed his/herself for consecutive terms as Chairperson, except as provided in Article IV, Section 3. The Chairperson-Elect shall automatically become the Chairperson of the Section at the close of the next succeeding annual meeting of the Section following the meeting at which he/she shall have been elected Chairperson-Elect.

Section 4. At the meeting of the Section at which these by-laws are adopted, three (3) members of the Board shall be nominated and elected to serve one year ("year" as herein used meaning a term beginning at the close of the annual meeting which immediately preceeded the meeting at which said election occurs and ending at the close of the next annual meeting of the Section).

Section 5. Board members shall be eligible for election as officers, but no member shall be eligible for re-election to the Board until one (1) year shall have elapsed subsequent to the expiration of his/her term of office. No officer shall be eligible for re-election to his/her same office until one (1) year shall have elapsed subsequent to the expiration of his/her term of office (&qout;term of office" as used herein shall not include a period of service as a provisional or acting officer prior to the first annual meeting of this Section after its creation, nor a part of a term thereafter, to which the incumbent was appointed to fill a vacancy).

Section 6. If any elected member of the Board shall fail to attend two (2) successive meetings of the Board the office held by such member may be vacated by the Board, and the Board shall proceed to fill the vacancy by majority vote forthwith for the unexpired term; provided, however, that upon good cause shown by the defaulting member in the judgment and discretion of the Board, and upon such member's written request directed to the Chairperson of the Board, the Board may by a majority vote, elect to excuse such member's default and reinstate such member for the balance of the elective term to which he/she was originally elected.

ARTICLE IV
Nomination and Election of Officers
and Members of the Board

Section 1. Before the annual meeting the Chairperson shall appoint a Nominating Committee of at least three members of the Section, of whom not more than one may be a member of the Board. The Nominating Committee shall make and report to the Section, at the annual meeting, nominations for Chairperson-elect, Secretary, Treasurer, and for members of the Board for terms then expiring and to fill any Board vacancies then existing.

Section 2. Two members of the Nominating Committee shall constitute at quorum, and if less than a quorum is present, the Chairperson of the Section shall appoint new members sufficient to constitute a quorum. Other nominations may be made from the floor of the annual meeting of the Section, unless the election shall be conducted by mail.

Section 3. All elections shall be by majority vote of those present and voting by show of hands (unless otherwise ordered by resolution duly adopted by the Section) at the annual meeting at which the election is held, and all elections shall be held at the annual meetings. Provided, however, the Board may upon resolution timely adopted, cause such election to be conducted by mail ballot, with such ballots to be mailed to members listed upon, and at the addresses indicated upon, the Secretary's last member roll prior to such mailing of ballots. Such mailing, if any, shall occur at least ten (10) days prior to the annual meeting and the results shall be announced by the Board at the annual meeting.

ARTICLE V
Duties of the officers

Section 1 Chairperson: The Chairperson shall preside at all meetings of the Section and of the Board. The Chairperson shall formulate and present at each annual meeting of the Houston Bar Association a report of work of the Section for the then past year. The Chairperson shall perform such other duties and acts as usually pertain to his/her office and as may be reasonably necessary to discharge his/her other duties hereunder.

Section 2. Chairperson-Elect: Upon the death, resignation or during the disability of the Chairperson, or upon his/her absence or refusal to act, the Chairperson-Elect, if one has been elected, shall perform the duties of the Chairperson, unless and until the Board shall have designated another person as Chairperson. The Chairperson-elect shall perform such duties only during so much of the term as the absence or disability of the Chairperson continues. In addition the Chairperson-elect shall perform such duties as the Chairperson shall delegate to him/her.

Section 3. Secretary: The Secretary shall be the custodian of all books, papers, documents, and other property of the Section. The Secretary shall keep a true record of the proceedings of all meetings of the Section and of the Council, whether assembled or acting under submission. The Secretary, in conjunction with the Chairperson, as authorized by the Board, shall attend generally to the business of the Section.

Section 4. Treasurer: Responsibility for fiscal matters is hereby vested in the Treasurer who shall diligently handle the funds of the Section and its finances. The Treasurer shall render an accounting at such times as the Board in its discretion may direct. The Treasurer shall approve all disbursals of funds of the Section.

ARTICLE VI
Duties and Powers of the Board

Section 1. The Board shall have the general supervision and control of the affairs of the Section subject to the provisions of the Constitution and By-laws of the Houston Bar Association and the By-Laws of this Section. During the interval between meetings of the Section, the Board shall have full authority to act for the Section in any way in which the Section itself would be authorized to act, and any such action taken by the Board pursuant to this provision shall be reported to the members of the Section at the next meeting of the Section. The Board shall especially authorize all commitments or contracts which shall entail the benefit of the Section. It shall not, however, authorize commitments or contracts which shall entail the payment of more money during any fiscal year than the amount reasonably anticipated to be available to the Section for such fiscal year. Neither the Board, nor any member thereof, nor any member of the Section, shall incur any debt, liability or obligation on behalf of the Houston Bar Association, or represent to any person or entity that he/she is authorized to do so, without the express written approval of the Board of Directors of the Houston Bar Association by resolution thereof, or by its authorized officers.

Section 2. Special meetings of the Section may be called by the Chairperson upon approval of a majority of the Board, at such time and place as the Board may determine.

Section 3. The Secretary shall give written notice to all of the members of the Section of such annual, special and/or seminar meeting of the Section, such notice to be given a reasonable time in advance of the meeting unless otherwise herein provided. The members of the Section present at any meeting of the Section shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business.

Section 4. All binding action of the Section shall be by a majority vote of members present.

Section 5. Seminars and institutes may be held at such times and places as the Board may determine.

Section 6. Meetings of the Board may be held by conference telephone call, or any other means of remote communication wherein the participating members may hear and or see each other simultaneously, provided that at least 24 hours prior notice has been given to each Board member by telephone or otherwise. The action of a majority of a quorum participating in such telephone or remote communication meeting shall be binding and shall be recorded in the minutes of the Section by the Secretary, or such other participating Board member designated by the Chairperson, or his/her substitute.

ARTICLE VIII
Miscellaneous Provisions

Section 1. The fiscal year of the Section shall be the same as that of the Houston Bar Association.

Section 2. No debts or liabilities shall be incurred by the Section, or any officer, without the approval of the Board.

Section 3. No salary or compensation shall be paid to any officer or member of the Board.

Section 4. Any action by this Section must be approved by the Board of Directors of the Houston Bar Association before the same becomes effective as the action of the Houston Bar Association. Any resolution adopted or action taken by this Section may on request of the Section be reported by the Chairperson of the Section to any meeting of the Board of Directors of the Houston Bar Association.

Section 5. These By-Laws shall become effective upon approval thereof by the Board of Directors of the Houston Bar Association and by this Section.

ARTICLE IX
Amendments

These By-Laws may be amended at any meeting of the Section by a majority vote of the members of the Section present and voting, provided that such proposed amendment shall first have been approved by a majority of the Board, and, provided further, that no amendment so adopted shall become effective until approved by the Board of Directors of the Houston Bar Association.