San Mateo County Bar Association

“Following is a description of the various membership categories of the San Mateo County Bar Association: Section A. Active and Associate Members. Any active member of the State Bar of California is eligible to be an Active Member of this Association. Other attorneys at law who are not active members of the State Bar can be admitted upon application as Associate Members of this Association. Each active member of the State Bar who becomes an Active Member of this Association shall have the right to exercise one vote, be eligible for election as an officer or director of the Association, and have the right to serve on committees of the Association. Associate Members may serve on committees but may not hold the position of Committee or Section Chairperson, vote nor serve as officer or directors of the Association. Neither Active nor Associate Members may use the information available to them through their membership for any kind of solicitation. Section B. Honorary Members. Any person who has rendered distinguished service to the legal profession or to the State of California or to the United States may be elected as an honorary member of this Association by the majority vote of all directors. Active or retired Judges and Justices of the Courts of the United States, the Justices of the Supreme Court of California, the California District Court of Appeals, the Judges of the Superior Court of the State of California and the Deans of accredited law schools, shall, upon application to the Secretary, be registered as honorary members of this Association. Section C. Retired Members. Active Members in good standing of this Association who retire from the practice of law shall, upon application to the Secretary, be registered as retired members of this Association. Section D. Non-Attorney Members. Two types of non-attorney members are eligible to be members of this Association: (1) persons enrolled as law students in good standing who are attending ABA accredited law schools or California Law Schools or who are graduates of such a school who have not yet been admitted to practice in any State or Federal District but who have applied for or have taken the California Bar exam; and, (2) persons whose business relates to attorneys and the practice of law, including but not limited to paralegals, court reporters, accountants and those employed in legal services industries. Non-attorney members shall have the rights and privileges of Active Members except that they may not hold the position of Committee or Section Chairperson, vote, nor serve as officers or directors of the Association. Further, they may not have key card access to Court facilities nor may they use the member directory for any form of solicitation.”

“Only "Active" "Section A" members are voting members. All other membership types are non-voting members. See Schedule O, Supplemental Information for Form 990, Part VI, Section A, Line 6 for a detailed description of all membership categories”

“After completion and filing of Form 990 by the Controller, the Controller meets with the Treasurer of the organization for a review of the tax return by the Treasurer. A copy of the filed Form 990 tax return is given to the outside auditors, along with the San Mateo County Bar Association financial statements. The audit of the accounts of the Association is usually completed 11 to 13 months after the year-end. The completed audit is then presented to the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors for their review. The Executive Committee is comprised of the current President, Vice President, Treasurer and Secretary.”

“The Executive Committee of the Board of Directors of the San Mateo County Bar Association, consisting of the President, Vice President, Treasurer and Secretary of the Board, use a "pay for performance" evaluation and review process. They may, from time to time, compare the Executive Director's salary to that of Chief Public Defenders in other California counties and the District Attorney of the County of San Mateo. The Executive Committee then makes their recommendation to the entire 14 member Board of Directors of the San Mateo County Bar Association for final determination, the results of which would be recorded in the executive Session Minutes of the San Mateo County Bar Association. A written job performance evaluation, if prepared, would be included with the Executive Session Minutes. Anyone with a conflict of interest would be excused from the final deliberations. All other employees are hired at the discretion of the Executive Director.”

“The governing documents (by-laws) of the organization are available on the San Mateo County Bar Association website at www.smcba.org. The conflict of interest policy and the financial statements are not made available to the public.”

“Form 990-T has not yet been filed but it will be filed by its extended due date.”

“Decrease in Fair Market Value of Investments totals $156,688, excluding Management Fees on Investments of $17,943, resulting in a net decrease in the Fair Market Value of Investments of $174,631.”