Military Spouse JD Network ( MSJDN )

Military Spouse JD Network ( MSJDN )

Military Spouse JD Network

Board Meeting Minutes

Tele-Conference

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

8:00-9:30 pm EST

  1. Call to Order

The Board convened on Wednesday, June 13, 2012 at 8:00 pm Eastern Standard Time. Board members in attendance were Erin Wirth, Samantha Musso, Stephanie Crosse, Lori Volkman, All Board Officers (President- Mary Reding Smith, Vice President- Rachel Winkler, Secretary- Erin Mitchell Richeson and Treasurer- Sally Reddy) were in attendance. Laura Dempsey joined the meeting at 8:50 pm EST.

The meeting was called to order by President, Mary Reding Smith at 8:02 pm EST.

  1. President’s Reflection and vision

The President provided a personal reflection on her journey as an attorney and military spouse seeking admission to the Ohio State Bar Association. The President's also reflected on the contributions of Lori Volkman and Erin Wirth had that continued to bring forth the issues of military spouse attorneys to the forefront with pieces in The Washington Post and the American Bar Association. The actions by these spouses and countless others who have assisted the founders by providing communications briefs, lobbying various state bar associations and providing connections in the Department of Defense and the White House truly allowed the MSJDN to evolve into an organization with membership topping 400, in its first year of existence.

The President’s vision is to lead the MSJDN into a strong financial position, establish strong policies, procedures and achieve the goals that will be set in the strategic plan.

  1. Board Structure and Operations
  1. President

The President serves at the pleasure of the Board. The role of the President is that of a facilitator: to bring the talents, skills and connections together for the growth, advancement and benefit of the MSJDN. After this meeting, the President will not call motions and will only vote to break a tie.

  1. Board Members

The Members of the Board are volunteers. The Board will not have a staff or an executive structure. This Board is a working Board that will coordinate both strategy and implementation. The Board will take the responsibility of laying a successful foundation for the future generations of military spouses. Should Board members decide that they are no longer interested in her position or if she would like to expand her duties, she should communicate that desire to the President.

All Board Members will be requested to sign Confidentiality Agreements and Conflict of Interest Forms

  1. Structure of Virtual Board Meetings

The Board will operate under a modified Roberts Rules of Order. Resolutions or motions will only be brought to a Board vote if it pertains to a change to the Bylaws or the Strategic Plan. Motions can be brought by any member of the Board. During this meeting, the President will call the Motions. To second a Motion, Board members are instructed to state her name prior to seconding the motion. The President will then call for a discussion. Following discussion, the President will call for a vote. If there is opposition, the Secretary will run down the roster for a roll call for the vote.

During virtual board meetings, members are reminded to place their phones on mute while the meeting is in session.

  1. Officers Reports
  2. President's Report
  1. Mission Statement of the MSJDN

The President presented the Mission Statement proposed during the Strategy Meeting in Washington, D.C.

Motion to approve the proposed Mission Statement of the MSJDN: The Military Spouse JD Network is an international network of legal professionals improving the lives of military families.

  1. MSJDN Focus Areas

The President presented the MSJDN Focus Areas proposed during the Strategy Meeting in Washington, D.C.

Motion to approve the proposed Focus Areas of the MSJDN: Sustainability, Fiscal Responsibility, Networking and Advocacy/Public Engagement.

  1. American Bar Association Resolution 108

Resolution 108 calls on local Bar Authorities to accommodate military spouses and their unique lifestyle was passed by the American Bar Association. Since the resolution passed, it became ABA policy. The proposed Model Rule will be completed and ready for the American Bar Association in a few weeks. The Board will begin working on standardizing the submissions to state bar associations to advocate for the admission of military spouses, given the consumption of time and resources required to individualize the materials for each state bar association and State Supreme Courts.

  1. ABA Recommendations- Conference of Chief Justices

The ABA recommended the MSJDN attend the Conference of Chief Justices, a virtual meeting of Chief Justices of State Supreme Courts across the country. The ABA will draft a resolution for the Conference of Chief Justices that states every State Chief Justice supports Resolution 108.

  1. ABA Recommendations-National Conference of Bar Presidents

The ABA recommended that the MSJDN attend the National Conference of Bar Presidents, which takes place during the American Bar Association Conference. This year, the Conference will be held August 2-6 in Chicago, IL.

During the Conference, on Open Mic Morning, ABA Committees have the opportunity to present issues of importance to the National Conference of Bar Presidents. Two ABA committees that are supportive of MSJDN, (ABA Commission on Women in the Professor and ABA Legal Assistance for Military Personnel), have requested time for Open Mic Morning and have agreed to allow MSDJN the opportunity to discuss Resolution 108.

The State and Local Bar Association presidents will be given a packet of information ahead of the MSJDN Presentation. The packet will include the following: an introductory letter, Resolution 108 and a proposed Model Rule based on Resolution 108.

MSJDN members are encouraged to solicit senior military leaders (active duty and retired), judges, prominent attorneys, past presidents of Bar Associations to sign, endorse and or support this letter. This task must be completed in six weeks.

Discussion: Erin Wirth reported that there are many members of the MSJDN with beneficial connections with leaders in the military and legal community. Mary Reding Smith asked that individuals providing support should do so in a confirmatory email.

The President requests Board members email her to volunteer to spearhead the project.

  1. Officer Structure:

The President presented the descriptions of the officer positions and the Board slate: President: Mary Reding Smith; Vice President: Rachel Winkler; Secretary: Erin Mitchell Richeson; Treasurer: Sally Reddy.

  1. Treasurer’s Report
  1. Overview

President Mary Reding Smith and Erin Wirth have funded all events and purchases to date.

  1. Membership Fees

A survey regarding membership fees was conducted a while back. 75% of the responders indicated they were willing to pay membership fees. Some people indicated they would not be willing to pay, which may cause our membership to suffer.

  1. Discussion

The Treasurer opened the floor to discussions of membership fees for the MSDJN.

Questions Raised:

  • What are the incentives of memberships if we decide to charge a fee?
  • Do we change the format of the Facebook page given that it is comprised of individuals who are not actual members of the MSJDN?

Considerations:

  • The MSDJN is different from other military spouse groups. As attorneys who are affiliated with bar associations, we all know some amount of dues are necessary.
  • If people do not want to pay the dues, there may be a reason.
  • Our dues structure may have to be based on many different factors (i.e. employment status, law student status or other financial hardships)
  • One of the necessary forms for the 501(c)(3) paperwork is an estimation of income over the next three years. If we will be counting on those fees for the income of the MSJDN, then we will need to be able to count/factor in the membership fees. So this decision should be made around the same time that the IRS paperwork is filed.

The treasurer will take this issue back to the Finance Committee and develop a report.

  1. Accountant

Board members are requested to email Treasurer with any connections with

accountants or accounting firms.

  1. Secretary’s Report
  1. MSJDN Document Storage- Dropbox
  1. Overview

Dropbox will be the Board’s primary method for storage of all documents. Each Board member has been given access to the Dropbox with the email address provided to Mary Reding Smith.

Organization is key with the Dropbox so as members are adding documents, it is imperative that they file documents in the respective folders.

Every quarter, the documents will be downloaded to ensure security of the files.

  1. Dropbox Privileges

Each committee has a folder. Chairpersons are free to share those folders with members of their committees.

Board Documents may only be shared with Board Members.

Any member wishing to use another email address is requested to email the Secretary.

V. Committees

  1. Suggestions for Committee Management

An email address can be created for each committee. Committee Chairs are free to solicit membership via Facebook. Committee Chairs will be given time to present their reports during the monthly board meetings.

  1. Public Engagement
  1. Communications Committee- Lori Volkman
  2. Internal Communications- Erin Mitchell Richeson, Rachel Winkler, Erin Wirth
  3. External Communications- Lori Volkman and Rachel Winkler
  4. Government Relations Committee- Mary Reding Smith
  5. State Rule Changes- Rachel Winkler
  6. Committee Members- Lori Volkman, Erin Mitchell Richeson
  7. ABA Commission on Women in the Profession Liaison
  8. MSJDN has been asked to apply for a liaison position at the ABA Commission on Women in the Profession. This position will be posted and solicited for on Facebook.
  9. This position is not part of a formal liaison program.
  10. We do not have responsibilities if we do take on the position.
  11. If we’re at the meetings, one of us will show up and report on what we’re doing or issues that we have or we see as military families that the Commission would be interested in, then we would then have a direct relationship with the Commission.
  12. President is working on establishing a liaison position for the ABA Legal Assistance for Military Personnel Commission as well.
  1. Finance Committee- Sally Reddy, Chair
  2. Network Development- Stephanie Crosse, Chair
  3. Membership Development- Samantha Musso, Chair
  4. Governance and Planning- Erin Wirth, Chair
  5. Strategic Plan- Lori Volkman
  1. All Board members are requested to view the strategic plan and insert projects that you would like to see the MSJDN implement.
  2. The strategic plan will be a working document
  1. Other Committee Members: Rachel Winkler
  1. Pro Bono Committee- Erin Wirth, Chair
  1. This committee is charged with locating Pro Bono projects to adopt as an organization (i.e. ABA LAMPS or Justice for Troops; how we can expand our interests for military families).
  2. Stephanie Crosse a member of the committee
  1. Motion to approve the proposed Committees of the MSJDN

VI. Proposed Position: Chairperson

  1. Necessity of Position (Erin Wirth)

In organizations, it’s often helpful to have an added layer of checks and balances and support for the president and other officers. The suggestion for a chairperson is based on the idea that all of the Board members have many different tasks and obligations. The Chair will be the extra layer of support for the organization, to increase our human resources sustainability. This person can speak for the organization and be there for support.

  1. Questions Raised
  • Would the Chairperson be responsible for fundraising?
  • Would the Chairperson be someone carrying over from the last term of officers? Could this be where this position goes in the future?
  • How does the Chairperson position differ from the VP position, which states that they will take over the presidency in the event the president has to step down?
  1. Answers to Questions
  • The Finance Committee is responsible for fundraising and the Chair would not be expected to lead that charge.
  • The position of Chair would be appropriate for a former officer.
  • The Chairperson would be someone on the Board to also provide leadership. Often officers and Committee Chairs are focused on other identified priorities. Often, it’s good to have someone who is outside of that lens to suggest things that are not getting the priority that they should.
  1. Other Considerations
  • There should be a clear leader of the Board, whether that is a president or Chairperson. Having someone with the title of Chairperson could get rather confusing outwardly. We can shape our organization however we want of course, but the structure should be clear both inside and outside.
  • The position itself is good, especially for a young organization. But the suggestion is to have a change of title.
  • The focus for this position should not be in viewed in what is needed right now; rather the focus should be on establishing the position/structure for the long term, should the need arise for extra support for any president or any committee in the future.
  1. Conclusion of Discussion:
  • Governance and Planning Committee will lead the discussion on the title for this position and the overall necessity for this position.
  1. New Business
  1. E-Mentor Program (Stephanie Crosse)
  1. Overview

The E-Mentor Program is sponsored by Academy Women, a leadership and professional development organization that addresses the needs of female military officers. They have three e-mentor programs where they facilitate mentoring through the Internet: (1) Female Officers, (2) Future Women Officers, and (3) Military Spouses. All users complete a profile and then they re provided a list of potential mentors or protégés.

The desire was to have our members agree to serve as mentors in their database so

we could be mentors to military spouses. In addition to the mentoring piece, there is also a message board. Academy women want to populate their mentor pool so as they have new members signing up, they will be able to match individuals quickly.

  1. Discussion
  • Would MSDJN’s participation in this organization change the scope of the outreach and networking we are trying to do within our own organization?
  • Would this program be a stepping-stone for more outreach or are we changing the focus of our mission?

B. Clarification of the E-Mentoring Site (Laura Dempsey)

The organization is a mentoring website, but it truly is a marketing tool for alliance members. You can either be a mentor or be an alliance member. The vision for the alliance members is that you can create your own group. Premier attorneys from law firms or the ABA come on as mentors and exchange information with military spouses.

So a law firm could come on and talk about how an attorney spouse could get a job telecommuting with that firm. Or telecommuting legal companies could post jobs on how military spouses can work from home.

There is no obligation for MSJDN members to mentor or be mentored by anyone. All of the alliance members are invited to get on there, join the group and advertise your organization and even refer spouses to other organizations. It’s not a formal mentoring program.

Instead, it is a service that the Chamber of Commerce is providing those who want to have another marketing tool to use in connecting people more senior or more junior in their field.

  1. Conclusion
  2. The discussion on the E-Mentoring Program will be tabled at this time.
  3. Stephanie Crosse and Rachel Winkler will look at how other alliance members are making this tool functional and beneficial for their organizations.
  4. Stephanie Crosse will analyze the value add of joining the E-Mentoring site considering the MSJDN’s use of other marketing tools (i.e. LinkedIn and Facebook).
  5. Other interested members should contact Stephanie Crosse
  1. Announcements
  1. Southern California Event- University Town Center, San Diego
  1. Board members are requested to extend invitation to attorneys in the area (partners of firms and those interested in the military community who are also interested in what we’re doing).
  1. ABA Annual Meeting
  1. The National Conference of Women Bar Associations is putting on an event during the ABA and has invited MSJDN members to attend their event on August 3rd from 9:00-5:00pm in Chicago. Cost is $125. The Conference is looking into sponsorships or scholarships for MSJDN members. If there will be a MSJDN member there, they would like that person to provide an update on what we are doing.
  2. The National Conference of Women Bar Associations is accepting members for their Board. Applicants’ local women’s bar association has to be a member of the National Women’s Bar Association and the local bar has to support the application for their bar.
  1. Veterans on Wall Street- June 21st- New York City
  1. sponsored by Citibank and other Wall Street Banks. The organizers of this event have also asked for big law firms to participate in this event.
  1. President’s Office Hours
  1. Mondays- noon (EST) on the Conference Call number. Available for people to ask questions.
  1. Adjournment

There being no further business to come before the meeting, the meeting was adjourned at 9:41 PM Eastern Standard Time.

Respectfully Submitted,

Erin Mitchell Richeson, Secretary

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