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    Board Legal Fundamentals for Associations

    A governance course for association and credentialing boards that connects fiduciary duties, authority, committees, executive oversight, and defensible decisions.

    Plan this course

    Audience

    Association and credentialing organization directors, officers, committee chairs, CEOs, and senior staff.

    Duration

    3 hours or two 90-minute modules

    Delivery

    Online or in person

    A shared foundation for your board.

    This course gives directors, officers, committee leaders, CEOs, and senior staff a common legal framework for governing an association or credentialing organization. It addresses the places where volunteer governance, professional staff, chapters, committees, and regulated programs create overlapping authority.

    Program outline

    • Fiduciary duties and the board’s governing role
    • Board, officer, committee, member, and staff authority
    • Bylaws, charters, delegations, and apparent authority
    • Conflicts, recusals, executive sessions, minutes, and resolutions
    • CEO agreements, compensation, evaluation, transition, and board approval
    • Credentialing, antitrust, confidentiality, and program-risk touchpoints

    Program format

    The private course includes a governance-document intake, a planning call with the chief staff executive or board leader, three hours of instruction or two 90-minute modules, practical board scenarios, and a follow-up reference sheet. Content can be aligned to the organization’s bylaws, committee structure, and current governance priorities.

    Best for: board refreshers, governance restructuring, CEO transition, or organizations preparing to clarify committee and staff authority.

    Choose this course for a broader governance curriculum for directors, officers, and staff. For an orientation centered on your board’s own governing documents and roles, see Board Orientation.

    Leave prepared to…

    • Explain the board’s fiduciary and governing role.
    • Distinguish board, officer, committee, and staff authority.
    • Recognize decisions that require disclosure, recusal, or formal approval.
    • Use executive sessions, minutes, and resolutions appropriately.
    • Apply a clear process to executive agreements and transition decisions.

    Your instructor

    Dan Liutikas, founder of Org Law

    Dan Liutikas

    Dan Liutikas serves as outside counsel and an advisor to businesses, associations, nonprofits, and their leaders.

    Plan your team’s program.

    Tell us about the audience, delivery format, and decisions the program should address.

    Plan this course