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ABA Section of Taxation
Incoming Committee Chairs, Vice-Chairs,
Officers & Council Orientation
May 9, 2015
2015-2016 COUNCIL
SECTION OFFICERS
• CHAIR – George C. Howell, III
• CHAIR-ELECT – William H. Caudill
• VICE-CHAIRS
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ADMINISTRATION – Charles P. Rettig
COMMITTEE OPERATIONS – Thomas J. Callahan
CLE – Joan C. Arnold
GOVERNMENT RELATIONS – Peter H. Blessing
PRO BONO & OUTREACH – C. Wells Hall, III
PUBLICATIONS – Julie A. Divola
SECRETARY – Catherine B. Engell
ASSISTANT SECRETARY – Katherine E. David
OTHER COUNCIL MEMBERS
• LAST RETIRING CHAIR – Armando Gomez
• ABA DELEGATES – Richard Lipton & Susan Serota
• 15 COUNCIL DIRECTORS
2015-2016 SECTION OFFICERS
CHAIR – George Howell
CHAIR-ELECT – William Caudill
2015-2016 SECTION OFFICERS
Charles Rettig, Vice Chair (Administration)
• Oversees Section Operations
o Section Meetings, Sponsorships, Membership
• Oversees Section Budget
• Oversees Section Staff
Tom Callahan, Vice Chair (Committee Operations)
• Committee One-on-One Meetings and Committee Training
• Ensures Efficient Committee Operations
o Compliance with due dates and Section policies
o Reviews and updates the Committee Code Responsibility
List and the Guide to Committee Operations
Joan Arnold, Vice Chair (CLE)
• Oversees CLE initiatives
o Section Meetings, Webinars, Co-sponsorships,
International Programs
• Oversees CLE Committee
2015-2016 SECTION OFFICERS
Peter Blessing, Vice Chair (Government Relations)
• Reviews all Government Submissions
• Facilitates Government Meetings
Wells Hall, Vice Chair (Pro Bono & Outreach)
• Oversees Section Pro Bono Efforts
o Adopt-a-Base, Tax Court Calendar Calls, Public Service
Fellowship
• Oversees Outreach to Members, Taxpayers, Media and Gov’t
• Oversees Section’s Responses to News and Items of Interest
Julie Divola, Vice Chair (Publications)
• Editor-in-Chief of Periodicals
o The Tax Lawyer, NewsQuarterly
• Supervises Section’s Publications
2015-2016 SECTION OFFICERS
Catherine Engell, Secretary
Katy David, Assistant Secretary
• Keeps Record of Section Proceedings
• Ensures Meetings are Effectively Organized
• Upholds Section Rules and Procedures
• Supports Section Officers
2015-2016 Other Council Members
Armando Gomez, Last Retiring Chair
• Advises Council’s Activities
• May Assist Chair in Various Roles to Advance Section’s
Activities
• Serves as Council Director for Various Administrative
Committees of the Section
Richard Lipton, Delegate to ABA House of Delegates
Susan Serota, Delegate to ABA House of Delegates
• Serves as the Section’s Liaisons to the ABA House of
Delegates (HOD)
• Represents Council in Submitting Recommendations to the
HOD to be Adopted as Official ABA Policy
• Communicates to the HOD the Section’s Concerns and
Suggestions
Section Staff
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Staff Director: Janet In
Associate Director: Ty Hansen
CLE: Chris Tank, Tim Brady
Committee Operations/Government Relations: Jesse Tsai
Meetings: Karen Dorbin, Haydee Moore, Sadia Siddiq
Membership & Sponsorship: Yolanda Lee, Jennifer Porter
Pro Bono: Derek Wagner
Publishing: Anne Dunn, Isel Pizarro
Technology: Ollie Tinsley
Administrative Support: Greg Peacock, Tom Blandi
Administrative Matters
• Speaker Requests Must First be Sent to the Section for Approval
• Please Appoint Liaisons to Diversity, Young Lawyers Forum, CLE,
Publications, Sponsorship, and Membership & Marketing
Committees
• Changes to Publications – NewsQuarterly
o New Supervising Editor: Linda Beale
o Digital-only copies beginning fall 2015
o Will seek Liaison input regarding increased coverage of
Committee activities
• Tax Assistance Public Service (TAPS) Endowment Fund
Committee Responsibilities
• Immediate Action
o Update Committee webpage with new Chair’s Message and leadership
information by July 1, 2015
o Send a listserv email introducing yourself as Chair to your Committee
• Responsibilities During Committee Leadership Term
o Monitor topics under your jurisdiction (Code Responsibility List)
 Create Interesting, Diverse, and Relevant Programming
 Government Submissions
o One annual VCCO one-on-one meeting
o Committee Questionnaire (due September)
o Reach out and welcome new members
• All Resources Can Be Found Online on the Leadership Resources Page:
http://www.americanbar.org/groups/taxation/resources/leadership.html
Committee Operations Tips
• Submit Spotlights Sooner Than Later
• Copy relevant parties on communications
o Council Director, Committee Officers, Relevant Section Staff
• Use Committee Newsletter
o Monthly during your leadership term
o To-do list style action items
o Relevant information
• Make Regular Updates to Committee Webpage
o Post Committee Project Updates (e.g., Government Submissions,
Highlight Activities of Committee Members)
o Post Legislative or Regulatory Developments
o Post Committee and Subcommittee Programs and Materials
o Contact Staff for Assistance
Meeting Programs Tips
• Plan Ahead
• Coordinate Programs and Projects With Other Committees to
Preclude Duplication or Conflict
• Monitor Emerging Legislative and Regulatory Developments Within
Your Committee Jurisdiction
• Attract Participants with Diverse and Interesting Panels
• Be Familiar with Reimbursement/Speaker policy
Government Submissions
• Three Kinds
o Technical Comments (Most Common)
• ABA delegates to the Tax Section commenting authority to
Treasury, the Service, Labor, and PBGC
• Narrow, time sensitive response to a “solicitation”
• Priority Guidance Plan
o Blanket Authority Comments (Legislative )
• Not covered under Tax Section’s commenting authority
o ABA Policy (Very Rare)
• To be adopted by ABA House of Delegates or Board of Governors
as formal ABA policy
Government Submissions
• Comments are Submitted on Behalf of the Section and Should
be Objective, Fair, and Respectful.
o “Although the members of the Section of Taxation who participated in
preparing these Comments have clients who would be affected by the
federal income tax principles addressed by these Comments, or have
advised clients on the application of such rules, no such member (or
the firm or organization to which such member belongs) has been
engaged by a client to make a government submission with respect to,
or otherwise to influence the development or outcome of, the specific
subject matter of these Comments.”
Government Submissions
1.
Alert Committee Chair, Staff Counsel, and Other Relevant Committees of
your Intended Comment Project (See Code Responsibility List)
2. Draft Comments According to COGS Manual
3. Review Process:
• Committee Chair
• Council Director
• Committee on Government Submissions (COGS) Review - all former
Committee Chairs may serve as COGS Reviewer
• Section Vice Chair (Government Relations)
• Section Chair
• ABA Reviewing Entities (only for blanket authority)
CLE Program Tips
• Suggest Contributions to CLE Programs
o Section Meetings, Webinars, Stand-Alone Meetings
o CLE Program Co-sponsorship Suggestions
• Before any Action is Taken, All Suggestions Must First be Communicated
to:
o Joan Arnold, Section Vice Chair (CLE)
o Your Council Director
o Chris Tank, Section Staff Director of CLE
• For Assistance, Contact Chris Tank, Staff Director of CLE
o (202) 662-8678
o [email protected]
Corporate Sponsorship Tips
To ensure compliance with ABA policies, follow these steps before soliciting
corporate sponsorship:
1.
Secure sponsorship package found online
2. Contact Yolanda Lee, Staff Director of Corporate Sponsorship
- (202) 662-8680
- [email protected]
3. Copy Yolanda on all correspondence with prospective
sponsor(s)
Questions?
• Tom Callahan, VCCO
(216) 566-5612
[email protected]
• Jesse Tsai, Staff Counsel
(202) 662-8675
[email protected]