Young Lawyers Division
Let’s Hear the Young Lawyer Votes
By Caroline Shaffer Siex, Immediate Past Chair, Young Lawyers Division
The YLD is excited to start off its 2024 year. That includes getting a fast start on elections for 2025 YLD leadership. As such, we encourage any dedicated young lawyer individual to participate in YLD elections. As Vince Lombardi once stated, “Leaders aren't born, they are made. And they are made just like anything else, through hard work.”
Below is a list of vacancies for 2025. Nominating petitions will be accepted through April 1. Those offices that are contested will be set for voting and ballots will be sent by email. Those offices that are not contested will be deemed elected by acclimation.
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 Monday, April 1, 2024, 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 2014 or later, you are a member of the OBA YLD!
ELECTION PROCEDURE
Article 5 of the division bylaws governs the election procedure. In May, a list of all eligible candidates will be published in the Oklahoma Bar Journal. Ballots will be emailed June 3 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 cshaffer@gablawyers.com no later than 5 p.m. Monday, April 1, 2024. Results of the election will be announced at the YLD meeting at the OBA Annual Meeting July 9-12 at the Embassy Suites in Norman.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Ms. Shaffer Siex practices in Tulsa and serves as the YLD immediate past chairperson. She is a partner at Gibbs Armstrong PC and may be contacted at cshaffer@gablawyers.com.
2025 YLD Board Vacancies
OFFICERS
Officer positions serve a one-year term.
Chairperson-Elect: Any member of the division having previously served for at least one year on the OBA YLD Board of Directors. The chairperson-elect automatically becomes the chairperson of the division for 2026.
Treasurer: Any member of the OBA YLD Board of Directors may be elected by the membership of the division to serve in this office.
Secretary: Any member of the OBA YLD Board of Directors may be elected by the membership of the division to serve in this office.
ALL EXECUTIVE OFFICES
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Board of Directors members serve a two-year term.
District 3: Oklahoma County (two seats)
District 6: Tulsa County (one seat)
District 9: Caddo, Canadian, Comanche, Cotton, Greer, Harmon, Jackson, Kiowa and Tillman counties (one seat)
At-Large: All counties (two seats)
At-Large Rural: All counties except Oklahoma and Tulsa (two seats)
Tips From the Nominating Committee Chair
- 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 cshaffer@gablawyers.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 – petitions that are scanned and emailed after the deadline will not be accepted.
- 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.