2017-2018 Membership Manual
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2017-2018 Membership Manual Ȫ ArizonA Bankruptcy American Inn of Court Ȫ Professionalism in Practice Copyright c 2017 ABAIC Executive Committee, 2017-2018 PREPARED BY ANDREA WIMMER,ESQ.&DR.MICAH WIMMER HTTPS://TINYURL.COM/AZBKINN Source Materials: American Inns of Court, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. (Topic: Inns of Court); Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia (Wikis: American Inns of Court, Inner Temple, Middle Tem- ple)(quotations omitted) First printing, September 2017 Contents I Part One 1 Introduction ......................................................7 1.1 Letter from the President7 1.2 Mission Statement8 1.3 Professional Creed8 1.4 Inns of Court - A Brief History9 1.4.1 English Inns of Court..................................................9 1.4.2 American Inns of Court.............................................. 10 1.4.3 Birth of the ArizonA Bankruptcy American Inn of Court..................... 11 1.5 Diversity Policy 12 1.6 Statement on Fundraising and Fiscal Responsibility 13 II Part Two 2 Operational ..................................................... 17 2.1 Achieving Excellence - History of Achievement 17 2.2 2017-2018 Officers and Committees 18 2.3 Membership Listing 19 2.4 Attendance and Guest Policy 20 2.5 Ambassador Program 20 2.6 Mentorship Guidelines 21 3 Programming .................................................... 23 3.1 Schedule of Events 23 3.2 Program Guidelines 23 3.2.1 Professionalism in Practice: Suggested Presentation Topics.................. 26 3.3 Pupillage Teams 27 III Part Three 4 Foundational Documents ........................................ 33 4.1 Charter 33 4.2 Bylaws 39 5 Inn Sponsors .................................................... 45 Index ........................................................... 51 I Part One 1 Introduction ..........................7 1.1 Letter from the President 1.2 Mission Statement 1.3 Professional Creed 1.4 Inns of Court - A Brief History 1.5 Diversity Policy 1.6 Statement on Fundraising and Fiscal Responsibility 1. Introduction 1.1 Letter from the President Dear Members, Welcome to the 2017-2018 year of the Arizona Bankruptcy American Inn of Court! Last year, the hard work, enthusiasm, and dedication of our members allowed our Inn to achieve and retain Platinum status with the American Inns of Court, and we should all be proud to kick off the new year with that distinction. Our Executive Committee has been working all summer to make this our best year yet! This year’s theme is Professionalism in Practice, providing practical takeaways for members of all levels while emphasizing the importance of professionalism (and all that implies) in our daily lives, both in and out of the courtroom. The Program Committee has worked hard to put together a list of suggested presentation topics and to update the presentation guidelines. In addition to the formal Inn meetings and pupillage presentations, we will continue our tradition of service to our community outside the legal profession. The Special Events Committee is planning our Fall and Spring Outreach programs with a view towards giving our members a time and place to get to know each other in an informal setting while doing good works for those less fortunate. Our Inn’s commitment to the community at large speaks volumes about our members’ willingness to give – whether of their time (to pack boxes) or their resources (to fill the boxes) and is a special point of pride for our Inn. To ensure renewed focus on the fundamental mission of our Inn, we have created a new officer position, the Counselor. This new officer, Chris Simpson, will lead our Ambassador and Mentorship Programs (outlined in more detail in this manual) and assist all of us by ensuring the Inn’s continued 8 Chapter 1. Introduction improvement and success in our mission of fostering excellence through mentorship, education and example. I encourage all of you to reach out to Chris and see how you can become involved – in any capacity. Just beware: Chris’s enthusiasm and passion for the mission of the Inn can be contagious! Please review this manual; it provides valuable practical information and excellent context for what it means to be a member of the Arizona Bankruptcy American Inn of Court – from our history to our newly amended bylaws and everything in between. Remember, your Inn experience is what YOU make of it... during my first year, I knew (maybe) five others within the Inn and was comfortable talking to exactly one of them. Six years later, I welcome all of you as Inn President. Whatever your path is within the Inn, we are happy to have you here and look forward to another successful year for our Inn. Yours truly, Andrea Wimmer, Esq. President, 2016-2017 PS: Your voice matters - always RSVP for our meetings, and never hesitate to reach out to me or anyone else on the Executive Committee to talk about improving your Inn experience! 1.2 Mission Statement The Mission of the ArizonA Bankruptcy American Inn of Court (“ABAIC”) is to foster excellence in professionalism, ethics, civility and legal skills within the Arizona bankruptcy community. The ABAIC seeks to achieve this by fostering a greater understanding and appreciation of bankruptcy law, the adversary system in which it exists and to promote interaction and collegiality among judges, lawyers, legal educators, law students and others. 1.3 Professional Creed As a member of the ArizonA Bankruptcy American Inn of Court, I hereby adopt this professional creed with a pledge to honor its principles and practices: I will treat the practice of law as a learned profession and will uphold the standards of the profession with dignity, civility and courtesy. I will value my integrity above all. My word is my bond. I will develop my practice with dignity and will be mindful in my communications with the public that what is constitutionally permissible may not be professionally appropriate. I will serve as an officer of the court, encouraging respect for the law in all that I do and avoiding abuse or misuse of the law, its procedures, its participants and its processes. I will represent the interests of my client with vigor and will seek the most expeditious and least costly solutions to problems, resolving disputes through negotiation whenever possible. 1.4 Inns of Court - A Brief History 9 I will work continuously to attain the highest level of knowledge and skill in Bankruptcy and any other area of the law in which I practice. I will contribute time and resources to public service, charitable activities and pro bono work. I will work to make the legal system more accessible, responsive and effective. I will honor the requirements, the spirit and the intent of the applicable rules or codes of professional conduct in Arizona and will encourage others to do the same. 1.4 Inns of Court - A Brief History 1.4.1 English Inns of Court The Inns of Court are voluntary societies, unchartered and unincorporated and as a result, their early history is obscure. Since their inception in the Middle Ages, however, they have been devoted to the technical study of English law. Previously, law was learned in the course of service; however, by the mid-13th century common law had become extensive and intricate. A class of men who had created and dominated the legal profession set up the Inns of Court as an answer to the problem of legal education. By the 15th century the Inns of Court were governed by their benchers, who had previously given at least two courses of lectures and who presided over mock arguments (moots) in which students argued difficult points of law before them. Eventually, proficiency in law could be acquired only by following the demanding studies of the Inns. In practice, the Inns had a monopoly over legal education. By the beginning of the 17th century, all the Inns had acquired the actual ownership of their sites and begun building splendid halls, a process that continued through the century. Inns of Court were any of a siz- able number of buildings or precincts where barristers traditionally lodged, trained and car- ried on their profession. Over time, vari- ous causes brought on the decline of this sys- tem of education. For one thing, the great activity of the printing press led students to rely more on printed material, and as a re- Figure 1.1: A quiet spot in The Temple, London. sult they neglected attendance at readings and moots. In the 19th century the common law commissioners investigated the Inns of Court, which as a result took steps to resume their educational functions. In 1974 the Inns created an administrative body, the Senate of the Inns of Court and the Bar, which oversees such matters as finance, legal reform, and educational standards. Readerships were reestablished, and lawyers were engaged in teaching with a view to examinations conducted by the Bar Council of Legal Education, representing all four Inns. 10 Chapter 1. Introduction Over the centuries the number of active Inns of Court was reduced to the present four: The Honourable Society of Lincoln’s Inn The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple The Honourable Society of Gray’s Inn A Declaration of Friendship was signed by the English and American Inns of Court, establish- ing visitation procedures under which American Inn members can acquire a letter of introduction that will officially introduce them to the Inns in England and Ireland, with reciprocal procedures available for English and Irish barristers. An an- nual six-week exchange program, known as the Pegasus Scholarships, was created to provide for young English barristers to travel to the United States, and young American Inn of Court mem- bers to travel to London, to learn about the legal system of the other jurisdiction. Figure 1.2: Hare Court, within the Inner Temple. Source Materials (quotations omitted): Encyclopædia Britannica Wikipedia 1.4.2 American Inns of Court The American Inns of Court concept was the product of a discussion in the late 1970s among the United States’ members of the Anglo-American Exchange of Lawyers and Judges, including Chief Justice of the United States Warren E.