Why not use a knowledgable member as a parliamentarian?

• Member parliamentarians very rarely have the training of a professional parliamentarian, and they even more rarely have been accredited by a professional association of parliamentarians.
• Members serving as parliamentarians must give up their rights to debate and vote; even so, they can never truly be as impartial as someone coming in from the outside.

Why not use an attorney?

• Very few attorneys have any training whatsoever in serving as a parliamentarian, and so sometimes they are not aware of important procedural issues that the law does not specifically address.
• Attorneys are trained to focus on legal issues, not on the issues that will lead to an efficient, fair, and productive meeting.
• Ideally, an organization should hire both a parliamentarian and an attorney for optimal benefits.

What kind of organization needs a parliamentarian?

• On the other hand, you would do well to hire a parliamentarian if your organization:
  • Boasts a large membership in which members frequently disagree;
  • Needs to make decisions about how to spend large amounts of money; and/or,
  • Consumes far too much time in meetings disputing over procedural questions or endlessly debating even the smallest of issues.
• A professional parliamentarian can help:
  • Avoid rifts and even potential lawsuits within your organization by ensuring that all decisions are reached fairly, protecting the rights of all members involved;
  • Cut time--possibly hours or even days!--off of the regular amount of time spent in business meetings.

The bottom line: When your meetings matter the most, hire a professional parliamentarian!