PMI's expanding role

Sometimes judicial opinions seldom contain all the guidance and rationale one wishes to find, and courts more often than not leave it to the affected entity to decide for itself how best to fulfill judicial mandates. This article explores the legal relationship between both an association and its members and an association and third parties dealing with its members. It defines Project Management Institute (PMI) as a private membership association. It then explains the two essential characteristics of private associations and discusses private law principles and public law principles. The article analyzes whether the status of PMI falls within the rubric of state action for purposes of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution. It then considers PMI's status for non-constitutional purposes and describes PMI members as a group who have combined to achieve a common objective or purpose.