Avoiding Disorder: Robert’s Rules for Lawyers

This is a seminar that transcends many areas of law.

Robert’s Rules is more than just a handy guide for running meetings. It is a powerful tool to impose discipline and structure for your business and your clients’ operations. Robert’s Rules is not only used in corporations and professional organizations like NJSBA, but it is also followed by local governments and school boards.

This program includes a primer and brush-up on Robert’s Rules for every lawyer, especially those who counsel New Jersey corporate boards and public entities. As required by statute, municipal public entities reorganize and meet in the first week of January, many of them right at noon on January 1. These meetings, as well as corporate meetings, require attorneys to have a working knowledge of the Rules.

Further, with many boards and other groups now routinely meeting virtually Robert’s Rules is a powerful resource that allows meeting organizers and leaders to run smooth and efficient online meetings with an eye toward maximum participation while getting the group’s work done.

The program will help you advise your client and give businesses and organizations guidance and clarification on how to govern and operate responsibly and effectively. We will discuss recent updates that address ratifying decisions, electronic meetings, vacancies, and late elections. We will also address how helping clients properly run meetings and prepare minutes using Robert’s Rules fits into an attorney’s professional responsibilities.

Topics include:

• The history of Robert’s Rules;
• Where you can find the latest authorized copy of Robert’s Rules;
• Key provisions you need to know;
• Important recent updates for remote meetings;
• Little-known but important rules and procedures; and
• How to institute and follow Roberts Rules at meetings…and more.