Dan Lynch
Professional Registered Parliamentarian

Dan Lynch is a Professional Registered Parliamentarian and meeting procedure consultant based in Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. He can help organizations and their members and officers improve efficiency, fairness, and procedural correctness at deliberative meetings of all kinds, including membership and shareholders' meetings, board meetings, conventions of delegates, and even committee meetings. He can also assist with proper organizational practices between meetings.

Many organizations struggle with difficult questions of procedure and substance. How should a hotly contested election be handled? What steps must be followed to reverse a decision already made? Who is responsible for setting the agenda? Which parliamentary rules can be safely broken and which cannot? These questions and more are quickly and correctly answered by a skilled and non-partisan Professional Registered Parliamentarian.

Some of Dan's services can be offered effectively by correspondence, but others may require travel to attend the client's meeting anywhere in North America.

Several of the services Dan offers are described below, but other related services could also be provided to the client. In all cases, prospective clients are encouraged to get in touch to discuss their needs, without any obligation.

Services Offered

Written Opinions

Dan can provide detailed written opinions on questions of meeting procedure and/or organizational practice under Robert's Rules of Order, taking into account the bylaws and all other relevant rules of a client's organization. This service is provided either by postal mail or by e-mail, at the client's preference. The client provides Dan with a copy of the bylaws and all other relevant rules, along with the question or questions to be answered.

For this service, Dan's client could be an organization, or could be any individual or faction within the organization.

Meeting Parliamentarian

Dan can serve as meeting parliamentarian at any kind of deliberative meeting, such as a membership or shareholders' meeting, a board meeting, a convention of delegates, or a committee meeting. The meeting parliamentarian subtly assists and advises the presiding officer (i.e. president or chairman) in the performance of his or her duties, improving the procedural correctness and overall smoothness of the meeting. The client provides Dan with a copy of the bylaws and all other relevant rules far enough in advance of the meeting so that he can familiarize himself with the unique characteristics of the client's organization.

For this service, Dan's client could be an organization, could be a presiding officer in his or her individual capacity, or could be an individual or faction that aims to remove and/or replace the regular presiding officer at a meeting.

Presiding Officer

Dan can serve as professional non-member presiding officer at any kind of deliberative meeting, such as a membership or shareholders' meeting, a board meeting, a convention of delegates, or a committee meeting. The presiding officer, or chairman, is responsible for the general conduct and facilitation of a meeting, and ensuring that deliberation occurs in a fair and effective manner through the use of appropriate procedures and rules. The client provides Dan with a copy of the bylaws and all other relevant rules far enough in advance of the meeting so that he can familiarize himself with the unique characteristics of the client's organization.

For this service, Dan's client could be an organization, could be a presiding officer in his or her individual capacity, or could be an individual or faction that aims to remove and/or replace the regular presiding officer at a meeting.

Meeting Scripts

Dan can provide custom-tailored word-for-word scripts for the presiding officer, or another member, of any kind of deliberative meeting, such as a membership or shareholders' meeting, a board meeting, a convention of delegates, or a committee meeting. These scripts empower their users to focus on the meat and substance of the meeting, without needing to worry about some of the underlying details. The client provides Dan with a copy of the bylaws and all other relevant rules far enough in advance of the meeting so that he can familiarize himself with the unique characteristics of the client's organization.

For this service, Dan's client could be an organization, could be a presiding officer in his or her individual capacity, or could be an individual or faction that wishes to be well-prepared to advance its agenda at the meeting.

Secretary

Dan can serve as professional non-member secretary at any kind of deliberative meeting, such as a membership or shareholders' meeting, a board meeting, a convention of delegates, or a committee meeting. The role of the secretary is to take careful notes during the meeting, to produce draft meeting minutes from those notes, and to generally provide clerical support to the assembly and presiding officer. The client provides Dan with a copy of the bylaws and all other relevant rules far enough in advance of the meeting so that he can familiarize himself with the unique characteristics of the client's organization.

For this service, Dan's client could be an organization, could be a secretary in his or her individual capacity, or could be an individual or faction that either aims to remove and/or replace the regular secretary at a meeting, or aims to produce its own set of draft minutes for its own use.

Bylaw, Rule, and Motion Drafting

Dan can draft bylaws, standing rules, special rules of order, and other motions and resolutions. These documents and motions can affect the parliamentary environment and the substantive governance of an organization, and therefore need to be properly worded. The client provides Dan with a copy of the existing bylaws (if any) and all other relevant rules currently in force, along with a detailed description of the document or motion to be drafted.

For this service, Dan's client could be an organization, could be any individual or faction within the organization, or could be an individual or group looking to start a new organization.

Parliamentary Training

Dan can provide generic or custom-tailored training in parliamentary procedure suitable for any level of proficiency from beginner to expert. This training can help the officers and members of any organization more effectively fulfill their duties relating to business meetings. If custom-tailored training is desired, the client provides Dan with a copy of the existing bylaws and rules (if any) and a detailed outline of the desired content of the training.

For this service, Dan's client could be an organization, could be any individual or faction within the organization, or could be anyone else interested in learning about parliamentary procedure.

Memberships and Experience

Code of Ethics

As a member of the National Association of Parliamentarians, Dan is bound by the NAP and AIP Joint Code of Ethics for Parliamentarians [PDF].

Dan is not a lawyer and does not provide legal advice.

Contact Information

Dan Lynch, PRP
1-239 Mayfield Ave.
Waterloo, ON  N2J 3S6
Canada
+1 519-883-7164
dglynch@dglynch.com
http://www.dglynch.com

Contact Information

Dan Lynch, PRP
1-239 Mayfield Ave.
Waterloo, ON  N2J 3S6
Canada
+1 519-883-7164
dglynch@dglynch.com
http://www.dglynch.com