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    YLD Assembly

    The YLD Midyear Meeting Assembly will be held in-person only at the 2025 ABA Midyear Meeting in Phoenix, Az.

    Elections Notice

    Declarations for positions during the 2025-2026 bar year will open at the adjournment of the February 2025 Midyear Meeting.

    The ABA Young Lawyers Division will elect officers and other representatives at the 2025 Annual Meeting in Toronto (August 6-12, 2025). The officers and or representatives being elected this year are:

    • YLD Secretary (Division Chair-line)
    • YLD Clerk (Division Speaker-line)
    • One YLD Representative to the ABA House of Delegates (3-year term)

    Any candidacies must be declared by no later than 90 days after the 2025 Midyear Meeting. The applicable Bylaws and guidelines relating to eligibility and nomination are available on the Division’s website and from the YLD Secretary.

    For more information, please contact:

    About the Assembly

    The Division’s Assembly is the highest policy-making body of the ABA YLD. At Assembly, you can have your voice heard and help shape the legal profession by drafting & presenting proposed policies (“Resolutions”), debating the issues, and ultimately voting to adopt or reject the proposals. Submit your policy ideas today via the Resolution Idea Form! Due by November 8, 2024.

    There are approximately 500 voting delegate slots available at Assembly, including:

    • Voting members of the Division Council, such as:

      • elected Officers & Constitutional Representatives,

      • appointed Directors,

      • each District Representative, and

      • National Affiliate representatives;

    • State Affiliate Delegates (allotted slots vary by affiliate);

    • Additional National Affiliate delegates;

    • Leadership Academy members (formerly known as the YLD Scholars); and

    • Each state’s Designated Young Lawyer to the ABA House of Delegates.

    All properly-certified delegates have “privileges of the floor” in order to debate proposed resolutions. Debate itself follows the modified Robert’s Rules of Parliamentary Procedure outlined in the Assembly Standing Rules. See below for more information on Resolutions - Proposed Division Policies.

    Delegate Sign-Up & Certification

    To vote in the YLD Assembly you must be certified as a delegate and registered for the meeting during which the Assembly is held. Young lawyer state and national bar organizations and military branches (YLD affiliates) choose Assembly delegates to represent their organization at the Midyear and Annual Meeting Assemblies.

    The August 2021 amendments to the YLD Bylaws (see Sections 4.2(d) & 4.2(g)) increased most Affiliate Delegate Allocations and created one-year Affiliate Delegate Terms, which commence on September 1 and conclude on August 31 of the following year. Affiliate delegates are expected to serve at both the Midyear and Annual Assemblies for the year they are certified as a delegate. As such, delegates certified at the Midyear meeting in February DO NOT need to complete The New Affiliate Delegate Sign-Up Form but DO need to complete the Certified Midyear Delegate Confirming Attendance at Annual Meeting.

    To be certified as a delegate complete the following steps:

    • Register for the Midyear Meeting or Annual Meeting;
    • Complete The New Affiliate Delegate Sign-Up Form if you are a new delegate who is NOT serving as a PROXY delegate for the Annual Meeting (for individual sign-up or sign-up by an affiliate leader or representative) (YLD Council Members and Scholars, and Young Lawyer Representatives to the HOD should NOT complete this form).

      Or       complete the Certified Midyear Delegate Confirming Attendance at Annual Meeting, if you served as a delegate at the 2025 Midyear Meeting and will continue to serve as a delegate at the 2025 Annual Meeting (cannot be completed until the delegate certification process for the Annual Meeting begins)

      Or       complete the PROXY Designation Form, ONLY IF your affiliate has an already certified delegate from the Midyear Meeting that can no longer attend the Annual Meeting (cannot be completed until the delegate certification process for the Annual Meeting begins) 
    • Sign the delegate certification book and receive your delegate ribbon PRIOR TO the start of Assembly.

    For more detailed information, view the Assembly Delegate Sign-Up Tips & Tricks.

    To learn more about the role of an Assembly Delegate, watch the ABA YLD Delegate Registration Process video below. 

    If you are interested in serving as a delegate, contact the YLD affiliate organization you would like to represent to express your interest. For the State Affiliate Delegate Allocation numbers, view this PDF.

    If you have any questions regarding delegate certification, please contact the YLD Credentials Board at [email protected].

    Video: ABA YLD Delegate Registration Process

    Resolutions—Proposed Division Policies

    Resolutions start as ideas for ways to improve the legal profession, the practice of law, and the broader legal landscape. Resolutions are sometimes called “Reports with Recommendations.” Twice a year at the YLD Assembly, the Division presents, reviews, debates, and votes on Resolutions written by young lawyers and other ABA groups, with a particular focus on proposed policies that uniquely affect young lawyers and the Division. If the Division Assembly votes in favor of a Resolution, the policy is “adopted” as official Division policy. If appropriate, an adopted Division policy may be sent to the ABA House of Delegates as a proposed resolution to become larger ABA policy.

    Resources

    Key Contacts

    Upcoming Assemblies

    • 2025 ABA Midyear Meeting

    Past Assemblies