Branch Bylaws

COMPOSITION AND ELECTIONS

16.    Branch Council will consist of the following:
    (1)    20 elected members in good standing of the Branch;
    (2)    Designated voting members;
    (3)    Designated non-voting members; and,
    (4)    Honourary members.

17.    Designated voting members of Branch Council will be (if not otherwise members of Branch Council):
    (1)    The Branch President;
    (2)    The Branch Vice-President;
    (3)    The Branch Secretary-Treasurer;
    (4)    The Branch Director of Membership;
    (5)    The Branch Director of Advocacy and Public Relations;
    (6)    The Immediate Past President of the Branch;
    (7)    A representative of the Manitoba Law Students Association as elected by that association; 
    (8)    An articling student representative of the students in The Law Society of Manitoba Practice Readiness                Education Program (“PREP”) administered by the Canadian Centre for Professional Legal Education                  (“CPLED”), as elected by those students; 
    (9)    The Equity Member-at-Large and,
    (10)    Such other members of the Branch as Branch Council may by resolution appoint. 

18.    Designated non-voting members of Branch Council will be (if not otherwise voting members of Branch Council):
    (1)    The Chief Executive Officer of the Law Society of Manitoba;
    (2)    The Dean of the Faculty of Law, University of Manitoba;
    (3)    Other Past Presidents of the Branch and present and past Presidents of the Association, if ordinarily resident in the Province;
    (4)    The Chair of each Branch Section; and,
    (5)    The Manitoba member on the board of directors of the Association.

19.    Honourary Members of Branch Council will be (if not otherwise members of Branch Council): 
    (1)    Life Council Members, being Association members who have been elected to the Branch Council for                   three terms or six annual periods, consecutive or not; and,
    (2)    Other individuals as Branch Council may by resolution appoint.

20.    In accordance with Paragraphs 22 to 26 of this by-law, the voting members of the Branch will elect from among themselves 20 members of Branch Council by ballot.  Ballots may be sent by regular mail or by electronic or other communications means.  The election of Branch Council members will, unless otherwise determined by Branch Council, be held every second year in the month of April.  All ballots will be counted on the last Friday in April (the “Election Date”). 

21.    For the purposes of the election of Branch Council, the electoral districts will be:
    (1)    Northern Electoral District;
    (2)    Western/Dauphin Electoral District;
    (3)    Central/Eastern Electoral District; and, 
    (4)     City of Winnipeg Electoral District.

22.    The elected members of Branch Council will be elected as follows:
    (1)    2 members who maintain a principal office in the Dauphin/Western Electoral District, to be elected by                   voting members of the Branch who maintain a principal office in that District;
    (2)    1 member who maintains a principal office in the Northern Electoral District, to be elected by voting                       members of the Branch who maintain a principal office in that District;
    (3)    2 members who maintain a principal office in the Central/Eastern Electoral District, to be elected by                    voting members of the Branch who maintain a principal office in that District;
    (4)    15 members who maintain a principal office in the City of Winnipeg Electoral District, to be elected by all               the voting members of the Branch.

23.    The Central/Eastern Electoral District excludes the City of Winnipeg, as defined by Paragraph 24.

24.    The City of Winnipeg Electoral District is the part of the City of Winnipeg that is bounded by the highway commonly known as the Perimeter Highway.

25.    Branch Council Terms
    (1)    The term of an elected voting member of Branch Council is two (2) years. 
    (2)     Subject to Paragraph 25(3), no voting member of Branch Council may serve more than four (4) consecutive terms unless he/she/they occupies a position (as set out in Paragraphs 32 and 36 to 41) on the Branch Executive. 
    (3)      Notwithstanding Paragraph 25(2), an elected voting member of Branch Council who has reached the term limit set out in Paragraph 25(2) may seek re-election to Branch Council after at least two (2) years of not being an elected member of Branch Council.  For the purposes of Paragraph 25(2), an individual so elected is considered to be newly elected and is entitled to serve for the time periods set out in that Paragraph.   
    (4)     Paragraphs 25(2) and (3) apply only to the City of Winnipeg Electoral District.

26.    Any vacancy which occurs among the elected members of Branch Council may be filled by Branch Council appointing the next runner up in the election (if there is one) to the vacant position.  If there was no runner up, Branch Council may appoint a qualified member to fill the vacancy.  If there were two or more runners-up in the election who each received the same number of votes in the most recent election, then a vote at Branch Council will establish an order of appointment among the tied runners-up.