Membership/Application Protocol

 

The CCA Membership Committee is now available to receive and consider nominations for the 2010 Class of Fellows. The deadline for the submission of all nomination materials to the Membership Committee for the 2010 Class of Fellows is January 1, 2010. The Membership Committee will process nominations as it receives them and welcomes your submissions at this time.

 

Admission to the CCA is by invitation only. Admission involves a multiple-step process, which commences with the receipt by the Membership Committee of a nomination and second from two current Fellows of the College for a prospective new member. After, or concurrent with, the nomination, the nominee must also submit a letter of interest and a current resume evidencing all necessary qualifications for admission to the Membership Committee, including a current email address.

 

Once the Membership Committee has received all of the required nomination materials, it considers each nomination. If the Membership Committee finds that a nominee appears to meet all of the CCA admissions requirements, it will submit its membership recommendation for that nominee to the Board of Directors, as a part of its once per year membership recommendation report. Nominees who do not meet the CCA membership requirements are not presented to the Board. 

 

The Membership Committee will submit its 2010 Membership Committee Report, including its recommendations for the admission of new Fellows, to the Board of Directors in early 2010. As noted in our Bylaws, the Board of Directors has the final approval on all invitations for admissions to the College. We expect the Board to consider the Membership Committee’s 2010 membership recommendations in April 2010.

 

The Membership Committee welcomes all qualified nominations. Additionally, we wish to re-emphasis the need for nominations of qualified arbitrators who also address our long-held goals of increasing the number of Fellows who are ethnic minorities, women and of diverse national origins. The Membership Committee also continues to focus on expanding the geographical diversity of the College with respect to all new Fellows. Please consider all of the College’s diversity goals, when you identify qualified candidates for nomination to membership.

 

In order to aid you in making your nominations, we submit a summary of the current criteria for admission to the CCA and the current nomination procedure.

 

 

1. Submit a letter of nomination, with a description of reasons for nomination and general summary of the proposed new Fellow's qualification [a current resume may be submitted with the letter and referenced in the letter for qualifications]; and

2. Submit a seconding letter or email to the Committee from the Fellow providing the second;

3. A current resume of nominee, which, in conjunction with the letter of nomination, demonstrates that the following membership requirements:  

 

(a) The applicant must have had substantial experience, and demonstrated the highest standards of integrity, professionalism and competence, as an arbitrator in the field of commercial arbitration;

 

(b) The applicant must command respect in the relevant community of advocates, other arbitrators and users of commercial arbitration;

 

(c) The applicant must be:

i)  a lawyer who is a member of the Bar, in good standing, in the United States or another jurisdiction [as appropriate];

or

ii)  alternatively, be a non-lawyer who possesses substantial and credible     experience as a commercial arbitrator and who is currently listed on the roster or panel of a recognized arbitration services provider, e.g., American Arbitration Association, CPR, JAMS, etc.; 

 

AND

 

(d) At the time of nomination, each nominee must have a minimum of seven (7) years experience in the field of dispute resolution, with ten years of such experience being highly desirable, including a minimum of at least seven (7) years of (combined) substantial relevant experience as: 

i) A commercial arbitrator; 

ii) A professor at an accredited school of law or university who has taught or written extensively on commercial arbitration;

and/or

iii)     A judge.

 

It is the responsibility of the nominating Fellow to get all of the necessary information to us in a timely manner. Once the Committee has received all of the necessary materials to establish the nominee's qualifications and compliance with the College’s nomination requirements, the Chair of the Membership Committee will [via email] advise the nominee, the nominating Fellow and the seconding Fellow that the nominee’s file is complete and ready for consideration by the Committee. Thereafter, the membership processing schedule contained here on the CCA website will be followed.

 

The 2009-2010 CCA Membership Committee members are: Gerald F. Phillips [gphillips@plljlaw.com], Christi L. Underwood [clu@clu-law.com], Lawrence R. Mills [lmills@mms-seattle.com], John H. Morrison [jmorrison@kirkland.com] and L. Tyrone Holt, Chair [ty.holt@holtllc.com].

 

All of the required membership nomination materials and any questions or comments regarding membership in the College should be directed to the Membership Committee, as follows:

 

L. Tyrone Holt, Chair, Membership Committee

The College of Commercial Arbitrators

c/o The Holt Group LLC

Attorneys & Counselors at Law

1675 Broadway, Suite 2100

Denver, Colorado 80202

Telephone: (303) 225-8500

Facsimile: (303) 225-4585

Office Toll Free: (877) 561-8319

Email: ty.holt@holtllc.com

 

If you have questions, please advise Ty Holt or any member of the Committee.

 

CCA Membership Committee