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The following describes a new ACEBC member benefit—ACEBC member teleconferences (“Member Teleconferences”). The constant exchange of ideas and information among members on the ACEBC websites demonstrates that we collectively have a vast wealth of information to share among ourselves. Some topics, however, are so complex or involved that a Member Teleconference is a more efficient way to exchange information. The description provided below will explain how to set up a Member Teleconference.
In reading the following description, please note that, while much effort has been spent in designing the concept, there may well be modifications that would make the program work better. After the program has been in operation for a while, the Board will review its operation to see whether changes are appropriate.
The origin of the Member Teleconference program grows out of work by the ACEBC Long Range Planning Committee (chaired by Board members Karen Barnes and John Utz). The Long Range Planning Committee is continuing to look into a number of other ideas for expanding ACEBC activities.
Step One: A Member Proposes a Member Teleconference
In picking your topic, consider whether your topic is something that lends itself to a teleconference discussion as opposed to a discrete question that can be covered over the listserve. The Member Teleconference program is to provide a forum for robust discussion. Click here for more information.
The first step is for a member to decide that a particular topic would benefit from a Member Teleconference. What’s a good topic? That’s up to the member. The ideal topic for a teleconference is something that lends itself to discussion and analysis by lawyers with different perspectives and different information on the topic. The Member Teleconference is intended to be a forum for interactive discussion among members.
Purely by way of illustration, some of the potential topics that came up in recent discussions have been (1) the new COBRA subsidy rules, (2) strategies that multiemployer plans have been using to deal with underfunding, (3) Congressional efforts to mandate say-on-pay shareholder resolutions , and (2) how to interpret the 409A rules regarding payments at a specified time or pursuant to a fixed schedule.
If a member wishes to participate in a Member Teleconference, all he or she needs to do is send an email to Karen Case, the ACEBC’s administrator. Karen’s email address is casek@staff.abanet.org. The email should describe the proposed teleconference topic to Karen. This initiates the Member Teleconference process. |
Close Step 1 More Information.
Step Two: Structuring the Member Teleconference
Once you have your topic, it will be reviewed by the ACEBC Education Committee, which has the overall responsibility for scheduling Member Teleconferences. Click here for more information.
Once a proposal is submitted, the ACEBC Education Committee will review the teleconference proposal. The ACEBC Education Committee currently consists of two Board members, Jeff Lewis and Jim Raborn.
Regarding a proposed topic, the Education Committee will consider: (1) topic suitability (it is expected that few topics will fail to be suitable, but some gate-keeping function is appropriate), (2) the length of the teleconference (normally expected to be one hour), (3) how quickly the teleconference should occur (some topics will clearly only be useful if immediately discussed, others might not have the same urgency), and (4) who should moderate the Member Teleconference.
The requirement of a moderator reflects the conclusion that a moderator will significantly improve the quality of the teleconferences. The moderator will have two important tasks: (1) he or she should prepare an outline of the teleconference topics and (2), during the teleconference the moderator will act as necessary to ensure that all members get a chance to be heard and that discussion does not bog down. In addition, if the moderator were willing to prepare a short summary of the teleconference that could be circulated to the membership via listserve, it would be appreciated—this last task is optional, however, and a member should still volunteer to moderate even if he or she does not intend to prepare a summary.
The teleconference outline can be as short or long as the moderator wants. The idea of the outline is to have some order of discussion topics, so that the conversation is not entirely free floating. A typical outline might, for example, note three or four questions that the moderator believes should be discussed. The Education Committee will review and approve the outline.
Because the moderator’s functions are expected to be limited, the person proposing the topic will often also be willing to moderate. If so, the person proposing the topic should say so in the email to Karen Case. As part of the process of finding a moderator, the Education Committee may send an email to the membership soliciting volunteers. Absent a moderator, there will not be a Member Teleconference.
Of course, the timing of the teleconference needs to be coordinated with the schedule of the person chosen to moderate the teleconference.
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Close Step 2 More Information.
Step Three: Scheduling the Member Teleconference
Once your topic is selected, the next step is to schedule the Member Teleconference. This is an important planning step in this process. Attendance will be limited to 30 members. Click here for more information.
The next step will consist of sending an email to the membership to schedule the teleconference. The email will describe the topic (and will include the moderator’s outline), indicate the moderator, and state the time of the conference. In the case of an immediate teleconference, members interested in participating will be asked to respond to Karen Case by the end of the second day after the email if they want to participate.
Under the current procedures, attendance at a Member Teleconference is limited to 30 members so that members can effectively participate and exchange viewpoints. In terms of allocating the teleconference slots, they will go to the first 29 members who respond to Karen’s email (the moderator is the 30th attendee). Assuming that at least six people register, the teleconference will go forward. If five or fewer respond, Karen will send an email to them so they can make their own arrangements for further discussing the topic. If more than 30 people register, the first 30 registrants will be selected. Karen Case will email the teleconference dial-in number to the members who are selected.
As the ACEBC gains experience with Member Teleconferences, the attendance limitation will be reviewed to see whether it should be expanded or limited. In addition, while the busy schedules of ACEBC members make it inevitable that sometimes a member will be unable to attend a conference that he or she has signed up for, in light of the limited capacity, the ACEBC encourages members to sign up only when they fully expect to participate and to cancel as soon as a conflict arises..
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Close Step 3 More Information.
Step Four: Format of the Teleconference
A Member Teleconference is supposed to be a forum for the exchange of ideas and free flow of information between and among participants. The moderator’s role will be to keep the conversation moving in a positive direction so the topic can be thoroughly discussed. Click here for more information.
The moderator will be expected to moderate the conference, not lecture. His or her job is to keep the conversation flowing, try to cover the topics in the outline, and give all participants a chance to speak.
To improve the teleconferences, they will be run as web teleconferences. In addition to participating only by phone, participants can sign onto a website provided by Infinite Conferencing (a provider of website teleconferencing). This will give the participants a chance to see who else is participating and help the moderator run the proceedings.
This website feature will let the moderator post materials before the conference that everyone can see on the web. It will also allow the participants who are online to email questions and comments to the moderator. That way, if a participant wants to ask a question or make a comment, but is not getting heard, he or she can request the moderator to recognize him or her.
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Close Step 4 More Information.
Step Five: Member Teleconference Summary
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To maximize the value of the Member Teleconference, a summary of the discussion would be helpful. Therefore, it would be desirable for someone, either the moderator or another volunteer, to prepare a conference summary that could be sent to all ACEBC Members. That way, even those who could not join the teleconference may benefit from the collective wisdom of the attendees. In keeping with the informal nature of the Member Teleconference concept, however, this is an optional part of the teleconference. The Education Committee will coordinate the preparation and distribution of the summary.
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Close Step 5 More Information.
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TELECONFERENCES
No scheduled teleconferences
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