ABA Section of Taxation ABA Section of Taxation Incoming Committee Chairs, Vice-Chairs, Officers & Council Orientation May 9, 2015

ABA Section of TaxationABA Section of Taxation

Incoming Committee Chairs, Vice-Chairs, Officers & Council Orientation

May 9, 2015

2015-2016 COUNCIL2015-2016 COUNCILSECTION OFFICERS

• CHAIR – George C. Howell, III• CHAIR-ELECT – William H. Caudill• VICE-CHAIRS

o ADMINISTRATION – Charles P. Rettigo COMMITTEE OPERATIONS – Thomas J. Callahano CLE – Joan C. Arnoldo GOVERNMENT RELATIONS – Peter H. Blessingo PRO BONO & OUTREACH – C. Wells Hall, IIIo PUBLICATIONS – Julie A. Divolao SECRETARY – Catherine B. Engello 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 2015-2016 SECTION OFFICERS

CHAIR – George Howell CHAIR-ELECT – William Caudill

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 policieso 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


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


Catherine Engell, SecretaryKaty 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 Members2015-2016 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 DelegatesSusan 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

•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

Section StaffSection Staff

• 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

Administrative MattersAdministrative Matters

• Immediate Actiono Update Committee webpage with new Chair’s Message and leadership

information by July 1, 2015o Send a listserv email introducing yourself as Chair to your Committee

• Responsibilities During Committee Leadership Termo Monitor topics under your jurisdiction (Code Responsibility List)

Create Interesting, Diverse, and Relevant Programming Government Submissions

o One annual VCCO one-on-one meetingo 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 ResponsibilitiesCommittee Responsibilities

• 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 termo To-do list style action itemso 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

Committee Operations TipsCommittee Operations 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

Meeting Programs TipsMeeting Programs Tips

• Three Kindso 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 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.”


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 Manual3. 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)


• Suggest Contributions to CLE Programso Section Meetings, Webinars, Stand-Alone Meetingso 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 Directoro Chris Tank, Section Staff Director of CLE

• For Assistance, Contact Chris Tank, Staff Director of CLEo (202) 662-8678o [email protected]

CLE Program TipsCLE Program 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)

Corporate Sponsorship TipsCorporate Sponsorship Tips

• Tom Callahan, VCCO(216) [email protected]

• Jesse Tsai, Staff Counsel(202) [email protected]

Questions?Questions?

Documents

ABA Section of Taxation ABA Section of Taxation Incoming Committee Chairs, Vice-Chairs, Officers & Council Orientation May 9, 2015