Removal of elected board by congregation

[Guest countryboy]

My question for all is,  can a current congregation hold a special congregational meeting to vote for the removal of the board? When under the by-laws it is clear that special meetings need to be submitted and voted on by the board and this hasn't happened here. Also, can a member of the congregation, who happens to be an attorney, represent the congregation without conflict in interest?

[Gary Novosielski]

Special meetings may be called according to the provisions in the bylaws.  If it provides a way for the membership to call for a special meeting, then follow those rules.  It's not clear from the question what was done and what happened and whether bylaws were violated.

RONR has no rule about whether a member/attorney can represent the congregation.  But it would seem to me that rather than being a conflict of interest, it sounds like a congruence of interest.

Edited to add:

It occurs to me that he should not vote on the motion to retain him, as he presumably stands to earn fees from the situation.

Edited May 13, 2023 at 06:52 PM by Gary Novosielski
added as noted

[Josh Martin]

On 5/12/2023 at 2:59 PM, Guest countryboy said:

My question for all is,  can a current congregation hold a special congregational meeting to vote for the removal of the board? When under the by-laws it is clear that special meetings need to be submitted and voted on by the board and this hasn't happened here.

Special meetings can only be called under the procedures in your bylaws. You'll also want to check your bylaws in regard to the procedures for removal of board members, or if they are silent, see Ch. XX of RONR.

On 5/12/2023 at 2:59 PM, Guest countryboy said:

Also, can a member of the congregation, who happens to be an attorney, represent the congregation without conflict in interest?

RONR does not use the term "conflict of interest." It uses the term "personal or pecuniary interest not in common with other members," and that is only in connection with votes on motions, not a general interest pertaining to service generally. I believe the member would have such an interest on motions relating to particular matters, such as motions to retain the attorney, set his pay, fire the attorney, and so forth, and should abstain from voting on such matters. Nothing in RONR, however, would prevent the member from serving as an attorney in this matter.

To the extent this question refers to a "conflict of interest" from the perspective of legal ethics rather than as a parliamentary matter, such a question is beyond the scope of RONR and this forum.