ACREL Nomination Instructions of Fellows
Nomination deadline is November 1, 2024 for Class of 2025 nominations.
Who can nominate?
Any Regular Fellow (including Academic, Government and Nonprofit Fellows) may propose up to two candidates in any single member selection cycle. Senior and Honorary Fellows may not propose candidates.
Who can second a nomination?
Any Fellow (Regular, Academic, Government, Nonprofit, Senior or Honorary) may second any number of nominations.
Who can be nominated?
Each prospective nominee must meet certain requirements for ACREL membership: the candidate must be actively practicing (or teaching) and must have substantial experience in real estate law or a subspecialty thereof for a period of not less than 10 years. Additional qualifications for membership and detailed explanations are found in the Guidelines and the Commentary. These include requirements that the nominee be a “distinguished real property practitioner” and that the nominee have “contributed to a more informed bar or public” in ways that the College generally refers to as “giveback.” For details on these particular requirements, consult paragraph 4 of the Guidelines and look for “Tips for Nominators” in the Commentary.
How do I nominate a candidate?
1. Confirm requirements for membership. Obtain a copy of a prospective candidate’s resume to ensure that the person meets the requirements for membership. It can be helpful to consult with the Membership Development Committee at the initial stages of considering a prospective candidate both to double check that the candidate meets the requirements and to determine if the candidate has been nominated before.
2. Secure two seconders. Line up at least two Fellows to act as seconders. It is strongly preferred that Seconders should have personal knowledge of the nominee’s professional qualifications and professionalism. At least one nominator (proposer or seconder) must be from the same state in which the nominee practices (unless the nominee is a full-time professor or is from a state that has 10 or fewer Fellows). Seconders must use the ACREL Form of Seconding Letter to ensure that the required certifications are made. Additional information concerning the seconder’s personal knowledge of the nominee’s qualifications, etc. should be included in a seconding letter. If you have questions about appropriate seconders, you may wish to consult with the MDC.
3. Proposal form. Complete the Proposal Form using the ACREL form.
4. Proposer Letter. A proposer letter needs to address in detail from personal experience, why the nominee is a “distinguished practitioner “and has met the “give back “requirements. While the proposer letter need not follow any particular format, it should include information about how long and well the proposer has known the nominee and in what context. It is appropriate for the proposer to advocate on behalf of a nominee and to state why the candidate would be a worthy addition to ACREL. The proposal letter should also indicate why the nominee satisfies ACREL‘s Statement of Professionalism, especially with regard to his or her professional integrity and civility and should cite specific instances of the nominee’s collegiality and willingness to participate in programs such as those run by the College, as we expect new Fellows not to just sit on the sidelines. Fellows will have the opportunity to review the letter from the proposer (who presumably is the Fellow who knows the nominee best) before casting their ballots. If the proposer has information about the nominee which should be kept confidential, it should be disclosed to the Chair of the MSC who will disclose it to the committee members but will otherwise cause such information to be kept confidential.
5. Resume. Organize the candidate’s resume using the required ACREL Resume format. In order to support the MSC’s analysis of the quality and complexity of the candidate’s “giveback,” please provide one or more examples of written materials produced in the categories of “Speaking Engagements,” “Legal Publications,” “Bar Activities” or “Teaching Activities,” either as a separate pdf or via internet links.
6. Prepare nominating package. Assemble the materials as your nominating package; a Clerical Checklist can help you or your office submit materials in the required format.
7. Submit nominating package. Send a complete set of documents constituting the nominating package to jaburgess@acrel.org, attaching each document as a separate pdf file. If one or more seconding letters are not available for inclusion with the other portions of the nominating package, they may be submitted separately, but must be submitted prior to the nomination deadline. In such case, please note in your cover email that seconding letter(s) will be submitted separately and include the name(s) of the ACREL Fellow(s) who will be submitting seconding letter(s).
After you submit a nominating package, you may get an email or call from the ACREL office if anything in a nominating package needs further attention (missing documents, incorrect format, omitted certifications, etc.).
What’s next?
Don’t forget to vote! Submitting a nomination or second is not the same as voting. Please submit a ballot for your nominee and remind seconders (except Senior and Honorary Fellows) to do the same.
After the close of voting you should expect to receive a call from a member of the MSC as the committee evaluates the nominating packages and ballots. After that, the MSC will meet and consider all nominations and make a report and recommendation to the Board of Governors. The Board will take action on the MSC recommendations at its Mid-Year Meeting. A member of the MSC will advise you of the action taken on your nomination promptly following the meeting of the Board of Governors.
Nomination Forms
Proposal Form, ACREL Resume, Form of Seconding Letter, Clerical Checklist
Questions?
Any questions regarding the process for the 2024-2025 member selection cycle can be addressed to the respective chairs of the MSC or MDC:
Member Selection: John Nolan, jnolan@winstead.com, (214) 745-5251
Membership Development: Steve Mezer, smezer@beckerlawyers.com, (813) 527-3906
Clerical questions can be directed to Julie Burgess at jaburgess@acrel.org, (301) 816-9811