Ohio State Bar Association

“Any person duly admitted to the practice of law, and not prohibited from being admitted to the practice of law in ohio, may become a regular member of the association. Members must first apply for membership to the association through a written application process. Regular members have limited rights to vote on certain issues regarding the governance of the organization.”

“The president-elect is elected by the regular members of the association in attendance at the regular meeting of the association next preceding the commencement of the term of office.”

“The council of delegates considers and acts upon all resolutions before it relative to the promotion of the purposes of the association submitted to the council by any of its members, by an association member, or by any local bar association of the state.”

“The form 990 is prepared by an outside accounting firm. Osba general counsel, director of business affairs, and executive director review the form 990 and submit it to the audit committee for consideration. The form 990 is then submitted to the full board of governors prior to filing.”

“The ohio state bar association has two separate conflict of interest policies. Under the board of governors' conflict of interest policy, board members will annually receive a copy of the conflict of interest policy and are required to submit conflict of interest disclosures annually. The disclosures are then reviewed by the coordinating committee. Any conflicts of interest are reviewed by the entire board of governors. Under the employees' conflict of interest policy, all employees covered by the policy will, on an annual basis, disclose or update to the president on a form provided by the osba their interest that could give rise to conflicts of interest, such as a list of family members, substantial business investment holdings, and other transactions or affiliations with businesses and other organizations or those of family members.”

“The policy for determining compensation of the organization's executive director/ceo is as follows. The primary evaluators of the executive director's performance are the president, president-elect and immediate past president. They gather information from members of the board of governors. In june, some combination of the president, president-elect and immediate past president conduct a performance review with the executive director. In september, the president recommends to the board of governors' budget and headquarters committee the salary and other compensation items for the executive director for the following calendar year. The budget and headquarters committee considers this recommendation and recommends a compensation package to the full board. Once the board decides on the executive director's compensation for the year, the president sets forth the details in a letter to the executive director at his/her home address. In determining the compensation of the executive director, the president and board must at least once every three years engage an outside organization to conduct an executive compensation review for the executive director. Such review should compare the salary and total compensation of the osba executive director with competitive market data of non-profit membership organizations with operating budgets of a size similar to osba's. The process for determining the compensation of employees other than the executive director is as follows: each year, all supervising employees must hold an annual performance review with each employee who reports to them. Following the performance review, the supervisors make salary adjustment recommendations to their supervisors for each of his or her direct reports. The recommendation is based on 1) the performance of the employee; 2) the increase or decrease in the consumer price index as reported via the us government website; 3) current economic conditions in columbus, and, in the case of executive staff, the usa; 4) to the extent they are available and applicable, comparable salaries and other forms of compensation; 5) other factors as may be appropriate. The executive director and assistant executive directors review all of the salaries (except those of the assistant executive directors) and determine whether modifications are warranted. At the september or november meeting of the osba board of governors, the executive director submits a budget request for the total dollars needed for compensation for the following calendar year.”

“The organization does not make its governing documents, conflict of interest policy, financial statements, and tax returns available to the public.”

“The association is formed to advance the philosophy of jurisprudence; to promote improvement of the law, our legal system and the administration of justice; to uphold and to emphasize within the legal profession the importance of integrity, honor, respect and civility towards the courts, fellow attorneys, and all who are touched by the legal process and to encourage and enforce among attorneys and judicial officers adherence to the highest standards of professional conduct; to take positions on matters of public interest as deemed advisable; to encourage and support all forms of education related to the law; to cultivate positive, courteous and cordial relations among members of the bar; and to perpetuate the history of the profession in ohio and of the association.”

“The ohio state bar association (the "association") is an unincorporated voluntary non-profit organization. The association was formed to advance the philosophy of jurisprudence; to promote improvement of the law, our legal system and administration of justice; to uphold and to emphasize within the legal profession the importance of integrity, honor, respect and civility toward the courts, fellow attorneys, and all who are touched by the legal process and to encourage and enforce among attorneys and judicial officers adherence to the highest standards of professional conduct; to take positions on matters of public interest as deemed advisable; to encourage and support all forms of education related to law; to cultivate positive, courteous and cordial relations among members of the bar; and to perpetuate the history of the profession in ohio and of the association.”

“Continuing legal education: the ohio state bar association (osba) provides live seminars, self-study cle, and publications to osba members, ohio lawyers and related professionals. Osba, through its continuing legal education program also produces over 150 titles (individual programs) annually and administers over 300 presentations around the state. Video programs are also offered to over 35 local bar associations for replays utilizing their members as commentators. Nearly 100 live presentations are also videotaped for further repurposing through self-study cle and podcast downloads. Through the use of its state-of-the-art broadcast studio, the osba provides an interactive format streaming 60-minute webcasts daily. The continuing legal education program provides educational opportunities for members at the annual osba annual convention, as well as through a variety of other events; including the midwest labor and employment law conference, the advanced probate law seminar, the corporate counsel institute, and the antitrust law institute.”

“Publications: the ohio state bar association publishes a variety of different reports, magazines, newsletters, and other informational resources including social media. Osba publishes the ohio state bar association report as a biweekly, print, and daily email resource. This report provides a significant amount of information, including ohio attorney general opinions and requests for opinions, cases released from the ohio supreme court and selected cases from the ohio appellate courts. Osba also publishes the ohio lawyer. This bimonthly magazine features articles on legal issues and trends to help lawyers stay current and share in-depth information on the latest legal developments with their colleagues around the state. Additional publications by the osba include a variety of different paper and electronic newsletters. Some of the newsletters published by the osba include the paralegal/legal assistant news, section newsletters and special publications.”

“Membership services: the ohio state bar association provides a variety of programs designed to improve and enhance the legal profession and the legal services available to the public. The membership services department is responsible for recruiting and retaining osba members, as well as overseeing and managing the osba annual convention, district meetings, and law school orientations and visits. The membership services department is also responsible for the call center where calls from consumers of legal services, lawyers, and members of the osba are directed for information, referral, and/or service.”

“Equity in net deficit of affiliates -208,474.”

“The organization has a committee that oversees the audit of the financial statements and selects an independent accountant. The process by which the organization overees the audit an selection of an independent accountant has not changed since the previous year.”