By Dylan Erwin, Immediate Past Chair, Young Lawyers Division

At this stage of my long and storied legal career (read: nine years) I am dangling over the precipice separating the young lawyers from the – I suppose – not young lawyers. This awkwardly placed adjective is misleading. Under Article 2.1 of the Young Lawyer’s Division Bylaws, “[a]ll members of the Oklahoma Bar Association in good standing who were first admitted to the practice of law in any jurisdiction 10 years ago or less” qualify as young. In short, it identifies the vintage of attorney rather than the age of the individual. Not only that – but by simply existing you are automatically a member of the YLD.

Since I passed the bar, I’ve had the pleasure of being involved with the YLD. So, as the resident old “young” guy, I don’t think it would be untoward to offer some unsolicited advice to you newbies out there: get involved. Get involved early and stay involved. Since holding my first office in YLD way back in 2015, I’ve been lucky enough to be elected to every possible office within the organization. Service to this wonderful community of professionals has been a highlight of my career. Not only have I been provided with a panoply of networking opportunities, but I have been gifted a litany of lifetime friendships.

Why does this all matter, though? Why should you care? Why did the Bar Journal – after giving me an entire years’ worth of articles – give me another megaphone? Because I have one final duty as your YLD Immediate Past Chair: to pass the torch.

Elections for the 2024 OBA YLD Board of Directors are coming this October, and I think you should apply. Here’s what you need to know.

NOMINATING PROCEDURE

Article 5 of the division bylaws requires that any eligible member wishing to run for office must submit a nominating petition to the Nominating Committee. The petition must be signed by at least 10 members of the OBA YLD and must be submitted by Friday, Aug. 11, 2023, at 5 p.m. A separate petition must be filed for each opening, except a petition for a directorship shall be valid for one-year and two-year terms and at-large positions. A person must be eligible for division membership for the entire term for which elected.

ELIGIBILITY

All OBA members in good standing who were admitted to the practice of law 10 years ago or less are members of the OBA YLD. Membership is automatic – if you were first admitted to the practice of law in 2013 or later, you are a member of the OBA YLD!

ELECTION PROCEDURE

Article 5 of the division bylaws governs the election procedure. In September, a list of all eligible candidates will be published in the Oklahoma Bar Journal. Ballots will be emailed Oct. 2  to all YLD members at the email address in the official OBA roster. All members of the division may vote for officers and at-large directorships. Only those members with OBA roster addresses within a subject judicial district may vote for that district’s director. The members of the Nominating Committee shall only vote in the event of a tie. Please see OBA YLD Bylaws for additional information at www.okbar.org/yld/bylaws.

DEADLINE

Nominating petitions, accompanied by a photo and bio of 350 words or less for publication in the Oklahoma Bar Journal, must be forwarded to me at derwin@holladaychilton.com no later than 5 p.m. Friday, Aug. 11, 2023. Results of the election will be announced at the YLD meeting at the OBA Annual Meeting Nov. 1-3 at the Skirvin Hilton Hotel in Oklahoma City.

TIPS FROM THE NOMINATING COMMITTEE CHAIRPERSON

• Click here for a sample of the nominating petition. This will help give you an idea of the format and information required by OBA YLD Bylaws (one is also available from the Nominating Committee). Email derwin@holladaychilton.com to request a nominating petition.
• Obtain signatures (electronic signatures are permitted) on your nominating petition from at least 10 lawyers who were first admitted to practice law in the state of Oklahoma within the past 10 years. Signatures on the nominating petitions do not have to be from young lawyers in your own district (the restriction on districts only applies to voting).
• Take your petition to local county bar meetings or the courthouse and introduce yourself to other young lawyers while asking them to sign – it’s a good way to start networking.
• You can have more than one petition for the same position and add the total number of original signatures.
• Don’t wait until the last minute – I will not accept petitions that are scanned and emailed after the deadline.
• Membership eligibility extends to Dec. 31 of any year that you are eligible.
• Membership eligibility starts from the date of your first admission to the practice of law, even if outside of the state of Oklahoma.
• All candidates’ photographs and brief biographical data are required to be published in the OBJ. All biographical data must be submitted by email, with no exceptions. Petitions submitted without a photograph and/or brief bio are subject to being disqualified at the discretion of the Nominating Committee.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Mr. Erwin practices in Oklahoma City and serves as the YLD immediate past chairperson. He may be contacted at derwin@holladaychilton.com.