IL-PC -BL
SAMPLE BY-LAWS
ILLINOIS PROFESSIONAL CORPORATION
Modify to suit your needs.
Instructions
Name of Corporation
Name of Corporation
Provide address of
principal office and
registered office. These
can be the same address.
Name any date you
desire for annual
meeting.
Year of first meeting
after organization
meeting. By-Laws
BY -LAWS
OF
ARTICLE I. NAME AND LOCATION
SECTION 1. The name of this Illinois Professional Corporation (“the
corporation”) shall be .
SECTION 2. The Principal office of the corporation in the State of I llinois
shall be ,
, Illinois, and its initial registered
office in the State of Illinois shall be
, Illinois. The corporation may
have such other offices, either within or without the State of Illinoi s as the Board
of Directors may designate or as the business of the corporation may require from
time to time. ARTICLE II. SHAREHOLDERS
SECTION 1. Annual Meeting. The annual meeting of the shareholders
shall be held on the in each year,
beginning with the year at the time designated by the Board of
Directors, for the purpose of electing Directors and for the transaction of s uch
other business as may come before the meeting. If the day fixed for t he annual
meeting shall be a legal holiday in the State of Illinois, such m eeting shall be held
on the next succeeding business day. If the election of Directors shal l not be held
on the day designated herein for any annual meeting of the shareholders, or at any
adjournment thereof, the Board of Directors shall cause the election to be held at a
special meeting of the shareholders as soon thereafter as convenient.
SECTION 2. Special Meeting. Special meetings of the shareholders , for
any purpose or purposes, unless otherwise prescribed by statute, may be called by
resolution of the Board of Directors or by the President at the request of t he
holders of not less than a majority of all the outstanding shares of the corporation
entitled to vote on any issue proposed to be considered at the meeting, prov ided
said shareholders sign, date and deliver to the corporate Secretary one or more
written demands for the meeting describing the purpose or purposes for which it is
to be held. Only business within the purpose or purposes described in the m eeting
notice required by Article II, Section 5 of these By-Laws may be c onducted at a
special shareholders meeting. In addition, such meeting may be held at any time
without call or notice upon unanimous consent of shareholders.
SECTION 3. Place of Meeting. The Board of Directors may designate
any place, either within or without the State of Illinois unless otherwise prescribed
by statute as the place of meeting for any annual meeting or f or any special
meeting of shareholders. A waiver of notice signed by all shareholde rs entitled to
vote at a meeting may designate any place, either within or wi thout the State of
Illinois, unless otherwise prescribed by statute, as the place for the hol ding of such
meeting. If no designation is made, or if a special meeting be otherwise called, the
place of meeting shall be the principal office of the corporation in t he State of
Illinois.
SECTION 4. Notice of Meeting. Written or printed notice stating the
place, day and hour of the meeting shall be delivered not less than ten (10) nor
more than sixty (60) days before the date of the meeting, either personall y or by
mail, by or at the direction of the President, or the Secretary, or the of ficer or
persons calling the meeting, to each shareholder of record entitled to v ote at such
meeting. If mailed, such notice shall be deemed to be delivered when depos ited in
the United States mail, addressed to the shareholder at his addres s as it appears on
the stock transfer books of the corporation, with postage thereon prepaid. Notice
of a special meeting shall include a description of the purpose or purposes for
which the meeting is called.
SECTION 5. Closing of Transfer Books or Fixing of Record Date. For
the purpose of determining shareholders entitled to notice of or to vote at a ny
meeting of shareholders or any adjournment thereof, or shareholders entitled to
receive payment of any dividend, or in order to make a determination of s hare -
holders for any other proper purpose, the Board of Directors of the corporation
may provide that the stock transfer books shall be closed for a stated pe riod but
not to exceed, in any case, seventy (70) days. If the stock transfer books shal l be
closed for the purpose of determining shareholders entitled to notice of or to v ote
at a meeting of shareholders, such books shall be closed for at least ten (10) days
immediately preceding such meeting. In lieu of closing the stoc k transfer books,
the Board of Directors may fix in advance a date as the record date for any
determination of shareholders, such date in any case to be not more than se venty
(70) days and, in case of a meeting of shareholders, not less than ten (10) days
prior to the date on which the particular action, requiring such determination of
shareholders, is to be taken. If the stock transfer books are not closed and no
record date is fixed for the determination of shareholders entitled to notic e of or to
vote at a meeting of shareholders, or shareholders entitled to receive pay ment of a
dividend, the date on which notice of the meeting is mailed or the date on which
resolution of the Board of Directors declaring such dividend is adopted, as the case
may be, shall be the record date for such determination of shareholders. When a
determination of shareholders entitled to vote at any meeting of shareholde rs has
been made as provided in this section, such determination shall apply to any
adjournment thereof.
SECTION 6. Shareholders' List. After fixing a record date, the officer or
agent having charge of the share ledger of the corporation shall prepare an
alphabetical list of all persons entitled to notice and to represent s hares at such
meeting, or any adjournment thereof, and said list shall be arranged by vot ing
group and shall show the address of and the number of shares held by each
shareholder or representative. The shareholders' list shall be availabl e for
inspection and copying during usual business hours by any shareholder beginning
two (2) business days after notice of the meeting is given for which t he list was
prepared and continuing through the meeting, at the corporation's principal off ice
or at a place identified in the meeting notice. Such list shall be available during
the meeting and any shareholder, his agent or attorney is entitled to ins pect the list
at any time during the meeting or any adjournment thereof. The original stock
transfer book shall be prime facia evidence as to who are the shareholders entitled
to examine such list or transfer book or to vote at any meeting of shareholders.
SECTION 7. Quorum. A majority of the outstanding shares of the
corporation entitled to vote, represented in person or by proxy, shall constitute a
quorum at a meeting of shareholders. If less than a majority of the shares are
represented at a meeting, a majority of the shares so represented ma y adjourn the
meet ing from time to time without further notice. At such adjourned meetin g in
which a quorum shall be present or represented, any business may be transact ed
which might have been transacted at the meeting as originally notif ied. The share-
holders present at a duly organized meeting may continue to transact business until
adjournment, notwithstanding the withdrawal of enough shareholders to leave l ess
than a quorum.
SECTION 8. Proxies. At all meetings of shareholders, a shareholder m ay
vote by proxy executed in writing by the shareholder or by his duly authorized
attorney- in-fact. Such proxy shall be filed with the Secretary of the c orporation
before or at the time of the meeting. No proxy may be exercised by any person or
entity that is not licensed to practice in Illinois.
SECTION 9. Voting of Shares. Subject to the provisions of Section 12 of
this Article II, each outstanding share entitled to vote shall be entitled to one vote
upon each matter submitted to a vote at a meeting of shareholders. The
affirmative vote of a majority of the outstanding shares represented at a
shareholders' meeting at which a quorum is present shall be the act of the
shareholders of the corporation.
SECTION 10. Voting of Share by Certain Holders. Shares standing in the
name of another corporation may be voted by such officer, agent or proxy as t he
By -Laws of such corporation may preserve, or, in the absence of such provision,
as the Board of Directors of such corporation may determine.
Identify Profession
There must be at least
one Director. See
Introductory Notes.
A shareholder whose shares are pledged shall be entitled to vote s uch
shares until the shares have been transferred into the name of the pledg ee, and
thereafter the pledgee shall be entitled to vote the shares so transferred.
Shares of its own stock belonging to the corporation or held by it in a
fiduciary capacity shall not be voted, directly or indirectly, at any meeting, and
shall not be counted in determining the total number of outstanding shares a t any
given time.
SECTION 11. Informal Action by Shareholders. Unless otherwise
provided by law, any action required to be taken at a meeting of the shareholders,
or any other action which may be taken at a meeting of the shareholde rs, m ay be
taken without a meeting if a consent in writing, setting forth the ac tion so taken,
shall be signed by all of the shareholders entitled to vote with respe ct to the
subject matter thereof.
SECTION 12. Cumulative Voting. Unless otherwise provided by law, at
each election for Directors every shareholder entitled to vote, in person o r by
proxy, shall have the right to vote at such election the number of shares owned by
him for as many persons as there are Directors to be elected and for whose
election he has a right to vote, or to cumulate his votes by giv ing one candidate as
many votes as the number of such Directors multiplied by the number of his shares
shall equal, or by distributing such votes on the same principle among any number
of candidates.
SECTION 13. Restriction on Share Ownership. No person may own
shares of the corporation unless that person is licensed to practice
in Illinois.
ARTICLE III. BOARD OF DIRECTORS
SECTION 1. General Powers. The business and affairs of the corporation
shall be managed by its Board of Directors except as otherwise herein provided.
SECTION 2. Number, Tenure and Qualifications. The number of
Directors of the corporation shall be ( ). Each Di rector shall hold
office until the next annual meeting of shareholders and until his successor shall
have been elected and qualified. Directors may be re-elected. Ea ch Director must
be a shareholder and licensed to practice in Illinois.
SECTION 3. Regular Meetings. A regular meeting of the Board of
Directors shall be held without other notice than this By-Law imme diately after,
and at the same place as the annual meeting of shareholders. The Board o f
Directors may also provide, by resolution, the time and place for the holdi ng of
additional regular meetings without other notice than such resolution.
SECTION 4. Special Meetings. Special meetings of the Board of
Directors may be called by or at the request of the President or any Director. The
person or persons authorized to call special meetings of the Board of Directors
may fix the place for holding any special meeting of the Board of Di rectors called
by them.
SECTION 5. Notice. Notice of any special meeting shall be given at least
five (5) days previously thereto by notice personally given or mailed to e ach
Director at his business address, or by telegram. If mailed, such not ice shall be
deemed to be delivered when deposited in the United States mail so addressed,
with postage thereon prepaid. If notice be given by telegram, suc h notice shall be
deemed to be delivered when the telegram is delivered to the telegra ph company.
Any Director may waive notice of any meeting. The attendance of a Director at a
meeting shall constitute a waiver of notice of such meeting, exce pt where a
Director attends a meeting for the express purpose of objecting to the tra nsaction
of any business because the meeting is not lawfully called or conve ned, and does
not thereafter vote for or assent to action taken at the meeting.
SECTION 6. Quorum. A majority of the number of Directors fixed by
Section 2 of this Article III shall constitute a quorum for the transa ction of
business at any meeting of the Board of Directors, but if less than a m ajority is
present at a meeting, a majority of the Directors present may adj ourn the meeting
from time to time without further notice.
SECTION 7. Manner of Acting. The act of the majority of the Di rectors
present at a meeting at which a quorum is present shall be the act or the Board of
Directors.
SECTION 8. Compensation. By resolution of the Board of Directors, the
Directors may be paid their expenses, if any, of attendance at eac h meeting of the
Board of Directors and may be paid a fixed sum for attendance at each me eting of
the Board of Directors or a stated salary as Director. No such paym ent shall
preclude any Director from serving the corporation in any other capacity and
receiving compensation therefor.
SECTION 9. Presumption of Assent. A Director of the corporation who is
present at a meeting of the Board of Directors at which action on any c orporate
matter is taken shall be presumed to have assented to the act ion taken unless his
dissent shall be entered in the minutes of the meeting or unless he sha ll file his
written dissent to such action with the person acting as Secreta ry of the meeting
before the adjournment thereof or shall forward such dissent by registered m ail to
the Secretary of the corporation immediately after the adjournment of the meeting.
Such right to dissent shall not apply to a Director who voted in favor of such
action.
SECTION 10. Informal Action by Board of Directors. Unless otherwise
Name officers of the
corporation. You should
have at least a President,
and a Secretary. The
same individual may
hold two or more offices.
These minutes are
designed for use where a
secretary is elected.
provided by law, any action required to be taken at a meeting of the Directors, or
any other action which may be taken at a meeting of the Directors, m ay be taken
without a meeting if a consent in writing, setting forth the action so taken, shall be
signed by each director, and included in the minutes or filed with the c orporate
records reflecting the action taken. ARTICLE IV. OFFICERS
SECTION 1. Number. The officers of the corporation shall be a
[President, one or more Vice-
Presidents and a Secretary], each of whom shall be elected by the Board o f
Directors. Such other officers and assistant officers as may be deem ed necessary
may be elected or appointed by the Board of Directors. Each officer must be a
shareholder and licensed to practice in Illinois.
SECTION 2. Election and Term of Office. The officers of the corporati on
to be elected by the Board of Directors shall be elected annually by the Board of
Directors at the first meeting of the Board of Directors held after each annual
meeting of the shareholders. If the election of officers shall not be hel d at such
meeting, such election shall be held as soon thereafter as convenie ntly may be.
Each officer shall hold office until his successor shall have been duly elected and
shall have qualified or until he shall resign or shall have been rem oved in the
manner hereinafter provided. The initial officers may be elected a t the first
meeting of the Board of Directors.
SECTION 3. Removal. Any officer or agent elected or appointed by the
Board of Directors may be removed by the Board of Directors whenever in its
judgment, the best interest of the corporation would be served thereby, but such
removal shall be without prejudice to the contract rights, if any, of the person so
removed.
SECTION 4. Vacancies. A vacancy in any office because of deat h,
resignation, removal, disqualification or otherwise, may be filed by the Board of
Directors for the unexpired portion of the term.
SECTION 5. President. The President shall be the principal executiv e
officer of the corporation and, subject to the control of the Board of Directors,
sh all in general supervise and control all of the business and affairs of t he
corporation. He shall, when present, preside at all meetings of the sharehol ders
and of the Board of Directors. He may sign certificates for shares of the
corporation, any deeds, mortgages, bonds, contracts, or other instruments which
the Board of Directors has authorized to be executed except in cases wher e the
signing and execution thereof shall be expressly delegated by the Board o f
Directors, or by these By-Laws, to some other officer or agent of the corpora tion,
or shall be required by law to be otherwise signed or executed; and in ge neral shall
perform all duties incident to the office of President and such other dut ies as may
be prescribed by the Board of Directors from time to time.
SECTION 6. Vice-President. The Board of Directors may determine
when there is a need for a Vice-President or Vice- Presidents. In the absence of
the President or in event of his death, unavailability of or refusal t o act, a Vice -
President shall perform the duties of the President, and when so acti ng, shall have
all the powers of and be subject to all the restrictions upon the Pre sident. A Vice-
President shall perform such other duties as from time to time may be assigned to
him by the President or the Board of Directors.
SECTION 7. Secretary. The Secretary shall: (a) keep the minute s of the
shareholders and of the Board of Directors meetings in one or more books
provided for the purpose; (b) be custodian of the corporate records and of the seal
of the corporation and see that the seal of the corporation is affixed to a ll
documents, the execution of which on behalf of the corporation under its seal is
duly authorized; (c) see that all notices are duly given in accordance w ith the
provisions of these By-Laws or as required by law; (d) keep a register of the post
office address of each shareholder which shall be furnished to the Secret ary by
such shareholder; (e) have general charge of the stock transfer books of the
corporation; (f) have charge and custody of and be responsible for all funds and
securities of the corporation, receive and give receipts for monies due a nd payable
to the corporation from any source whatsoever, and deposit all such monies in the
name of the corporation in such banks, trust companies or other depositories as
shall be selected in accordance with the provisions of Article V of these By-Laws;
and (g) in general perform all of the duties incident to the Office o f Secretary and
such other duties as from time to time may be assigned to him by t he President or
by the Board of Directors. If required by the Board of Directors, the Secreta ry
shall give a bond for the faithful discharge of his duties in such sum w ith such
surety or sureties as the Board of Directors shall determine.
SECTION 8. Salaries. The salaries, compensation and other benefi ts, if
any, of the officers shall be fixed from time to time by the Board of Directors, and
no officer shall be prevented from receiving such salary by reason of t he fact that
he is also a Director of the corporation.
ARTICLE V. CONTRACTS, LOANS, CHECKS AND DEPOSITS
SECTION 1. Contracts. The Board of Directors may authorize any officer
or officers, agent or agents, to enter into any contract or execute and deli ver any
instrument in the name of and on behalf of the corporation, and such authority
may be general or confined to specific instances.
SECTION 2. Loans. No loans shall be contracted on behalf of the
corporation and no evidence of indebtedness shall be issued in its name unles s
authorized by a resolution of the Board of Directors. Such authority may be
general or confined to specific instances.
SECTION 3. Checks, Drafts, etc. All checks, drafts, or other orders for
the payment of money, notes or other evidences of indebtedness issued in the
name of the corporation shall be signed by such officer or officers, agent or agents
of the corporation and in such manner as shall from time to time be dete rmined by
resolution of the Board of Directors.
SECTION 4. Deposits. All funds of the corporation not otherwise
employed shall be deposited from time to time to the credit of th e corporation in
such banks, trust companies or other depositories as the Board of Directors may
select.
ARTICLE VI. CERTIFICATES FOR SHARES AND THEIR TRANSFER
SECTION 1. Certificates for Shares. Certificates representing share s of
the corporation shall be in such form as shall be determined by the Board of
Directors. Such certificates shall be signed by the President and by the Secretary
or by such other officers authorized by law and by the Board of Directors so t o do.
All certificates for shares shall be consecutively numbered or othe rwise identified.
The name and address of the person to whom the shares represented thereby ar e
issued, with the number of shares and date of issuance, shall be entere d on the
stock transfer books of the corporation. All certificates surrendered to the
corporation for transfer shall be canceled and no new certificate shall be issued
until the former certificate for a like number of shares shall hav e been surrendered
and canceled, except that in case of a lost, destroyed or mutilated cert ifi cate, a new
one may be issued therefore upon such terms and indemnity to the corporation a s
the Board of Directors may prescribe.
SECTION 2. Transfer of Shares. Transfer of shares of the corporation
shall be made only on the stock transfer books of the corporation by the holder of
record thereof or by his legal representative, who shall furnish proper evidence of
authority to transfer, or by his attorney thereunto authorized by power of attorne y
duly executed and filed with the Secretary of the corporation, and on surrender for
cancellation of the certificate of such shares, and also, any transfer i s subject to the
limitations set forth in the Articles of Incorporation of Incorporation, refere nce to
which is hereby made. The person in whose name shares stand on the books of
the corporation shall be deemed by the corporation to be the owner thereof fo r all
purposes.
SECTION 3. Restriction on Transfer of Shares. No share of the
corporation may be transferred to any person who is not licensed to practice
in Illinois.
ARTICLE VII. FISCAL YEAR
The fiscal year of the corporation shall begin on the 1st day of January and
end on the 31st day of December in each year.
ARTICLE VIII. DIVIDENDS
The Board of Directors may from time to time declare, and the corporati on
may pay dividends on its outstanding shares in the manner and upon the term s and
conditions provided by law and its Articles of Incorporation of Incorporation. ARTICLE IX. SEAL
The Board of Directors shall provide a corporate seal which shall be
circular in form and shall have inscribed thereon the name of the corporati on and
the state of incorporation and the words "Corporate Seal." ARTICLE X. WAIVER OF NOTICE
Unless otherwise provided by law, whenever any notice is required to be
given to any shareholder or Director of the corporation under the provisions of
these By-Laws or under the provisions of the Articles of Incorporation of
Incorporation, a waiver thereof in writing, signed by the person or persons entit led
to such notice, whether before or after the time stated therein, shall be equiva lent
to the giving of such notice.
ARTICLE XI. AMENDMENTS
These By-Laws may be altered, amended or repealed and new By-Laws
may be adopted by a majority vote of the Board of Directors at any annual Boa rd
of Directors meeting or at any special Board of Directors meeting whe n the
proposed amendment has been set out in the notice of such meeting. Thes e By-
Laws may also be altered, amended or repealed by a majority vote of the share -
holders notwithstanding that these By-Laws may also be amended or repe aled by
the Board of Directors. ARTICLE XII. SHARE REDEMPTION UPON DEATH OR
DISQUALIFICATION OF A SHAREHOLDER
In the event of the death of a shareholder or the disqualification of a
shareholder to be a shareholder of the corporation, then the shares of that
Shareholder shall be redeemed, absent a private agreement to the contrary, as set
out in the Illinois Professional Service Corporation Act (805 ILLINOIS
COMPILED STATUTES 10/).
END BY-LAWS