Associations, Nonprofits and Political Organizations Report - Fall 2020
Engaging Members and Building Community in China and the Asia Pacific Region
By: Dorothy Deng and Steven Basart
This "Zoomcast" interview is an extension of the podcast series, “Associations Creating Community,” with a focus on how associations based in the U.S. and Europe create community in China and the Asia Pacific Region. Steven Basart, Vice President at Kellen’s Beijing office, provided insights about the China market and strategic considerations for associations interested in exploring opportunities in China and the Asia Pacific Region. The conversation also covers practical suggestions about translation, global governance structure and the China Foreign NGO law.
To watch the interview, simple click on the image above or the link below.
WATCH VIDEO HERE
The New Robert's Rules
Guest Author: Colette C. Trohan, PRP, CPP-T, President & Lead Associate, A Great Meeting, Inc.As has happened in the fall of every new decade since 1970 (well, except 1980 and 2010, when it was actually 1981 and 2011) the Robert's Rules Association has published the newest version of the famous tome. For those organizations that use the language recommended in Robert's Rules to designate the "current" edition as their parliamentary authority, this means that they are now subject to a new set of rules as of the moment of publication - regardless of whether they have read or understand them, or are even aware they exist.
Click "read more" and then navigate to page 2 "Snippets" listed, "The New Robert's Rules - AGM Snippet 199."
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Good Counsel: Agents, Principals, and FARA Risks
By: Jim A. Kahl as featured in Associations NowThe Foreign Agents Registration Act has attracted significant attention in recent years as the Department of Justice (DOJ) has secured high-profile convictions of people associated with the Trump administration, including Paul Manafort and Richard Gates. FARA is a disclosure law aimed at uncovering the activities of “foreign agents” working for “foreign principals” to influence U.S. officials or the American public. FARA was enacted in 1938 to shed light on Nazi propagandists and was later used to counter communist activities.?
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Let's Talk Politics - Suppression of Speech in the Workplace (MD, DE, D.C., VA, PA)
By: Peter D. GuatteryAn employee responds to a racially derogatory social media post with a thumbs up. A customer complains that a clerk’s BLM mask is offensive. A tech CEO blasts a political endorsement to the millions of employees of client companies. Each of these scenarios presents an additional challenge to an employer already navigating the difficulties imposed by a once in a generation health crisis, and an increasingly polarized political climate. Such events could affect employee morale, invite online trolling, or even result in a disruption in operations or legal challenges, prompting the question as to what legal restraints there may be for employers to properly address each issue.
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Meet The Team
A new regular feature of our newsletter will be to highlight one of our section members. We start November off with Jim Kahl.
Jim Kahl is one of the Co-Chairs of our section. Jim was formerly the Deputy General Counsel of the Federal Election Commission, and his practice focuses on political law compliance issues.
Jim helps corporations, trade associations, advocacy groups, political action committees (PACs), and tax-exempt organizations comply with the complex and often confusing array of federal, state and local campaign finance, lobbying, and government ethics laws and regulations that govern political activity.
Jim and his wife, Caroline (a corporate attorney), live in Alexandria, Virginia, where they are active in many community and charitable groups. Jim and Caroline have two grown children who live in Northern Virginia. In his spare time, Jim enjoys playing tennis, bike riding, cheering on the Nationals, and trying to keep up with repairs at the family’s very old beach house in Cape May, New Jersey.