California Young Lawyers Association (CYLA)

| Appointment Information | CYLA Home |

The California Young Lawyers Association (CYLA) board is appointed by the State Bar's Board of Trustees to:

  • advise the Board of Trustees of the interests of California young lawyers;
  • develop strategies for increasing young lawyer involvement and participation in the State Bar;
  • facilitate the development of programs and services that would assist young lawyers in their professional and leadership advancement and programs that benefit the public.

A California young lawyer is definded as a member in good standing of The State Bar of California who is in his or her first five years of practice in California and who is age 36 or under.

Funded by mandatory State Bar dues, the CYLA board is composed of 20 young lawyer members appointed by the Board of Trustees. Six of the appointed seats are designated for representatives of each of the six State Bar districts, one member per district. The remaining 14 seats are filled by appointments at large. Current members consist of State Bar of California active members, drawn from diverse constituencies, including but not limited to geographic location, racial and ethnic diversity, practice setting, practice type, district representation, and gender and sexual orientation.

CYLA board members:

  • serve as the ambassadors of the State Bar to the young lawyer organizations within the state.
  • screen candidates for the annual Jack Berman Award of Achievement.

Time Commitment: Serving as a member of the CYLA board is a time consuming obligation. Meetings require research and reading, and outreach efforts can occupy as many as 10 hours per month. The average full committee meeting may take six to seven hours on a Friday or Saturday. Subcommittee meetings occur on a more ad hoc basis, but can entail one or more conference calls per month. A member can expect to devote no less than one to two weeks of typical work-days per year.

  • Expected 2013-14 vacancies:  5 at-large seats; District 5 seat
  • Meetings per year: 6 (three in-person meetings--northern California, southern California and Annual Meeting--and three conference calls)
  • Chair:  Ireneo A. Reus, Long Beach
  • Staff Contact: Laila Bartlett 415-538-2232

Deadline for 2013 applications: Feb. 1, 2013

2013 terms begin: Conclusion of 2013 State Bar Annual Meeting (Oct. 13, 2013)