NATIONAL ASIAN PACIFIC AMERICAN LAW STUDENT ASSOCIATION
ARTICLE I. NAME AND PURPOSE
1.1 The name of this association shall be the National Asian Pacific American Law Students Association (NAPALSA).
1.2. The purpose of this association shall be:
- to promote and support the legal education of Asian Pacific American law students;
- to
provide a forum to discuss issues that affect Asian Pacific American
law students, the legal profession, and the community at large;
- to develop a supportive network among Asian Pacific American law students, the legal profession, and the community at large.
ARTICLE II. MEMBERSHIP
2.1. There shall be three types of membership.
- Full
Member Chapter: A Full Member Chapter is defined as an Asian Pacific
American Law Student Association at an accredited law school and in
good standing with NAPALSA. Chapters shall enjoy the rights and
privileges of being able to vote, and participate in any social,
academic, and professional functions.
- Full Member: A Full
Member is defined as a person who is a full or part time student at an
accredited law school and who is either a member in good standing in
their school’s APALSA, or,if there is no such chapter at their school,
an individual student member of NAPALSA . Student members shall enjoy
the rights and privileges of being able to hold office, and participate
in any social, academic, and professional functions.
- Honorary
Member: An Honorary Member is defined as any professors of law, any
practicing lawyer, or justice not meeting the qualifications in the
previous section who by application is admitted to the membership.
Honorary Members shall have no right to vote or hold office but may
participate in any functions of the National Asian Pacific American Law
Students Association.
ARTICLE III. DUES
3.1.
Chapter dues will be $50 and will be collected by NAPABA by October
15th. Individual dues will be ____ and will also due by ____.
3.2. It shall be the responsibility of all officers to solicit needed
contributions from any member, organization, or person who may be
willing to make such contributions.
3.3. The fiscal year of the association shall commence on ______.
ARTICLE IV. POWERS OF GOVERNMENT
4.1. The ultimate power of this Association shall be vested in its
membership. A majority vote of those present at meetings shall
control, or if a vote is taken by mail, a majority of those who answer
within fourteen (14) days.
4.2. The officers shall execute the
affairs of the Association, oversee the work of all committees, and
have general authority of the property of the Association.
4.3. The President has no voting right in any meetings of the
membership except when the membership vote results in a tie. Only in
the case of a tie shall the President have the right to vote. The
President’s vote will be the tie-breaking vote. The President shall
have a right to vote in matters concerning emergency amendment
procedures, whereby a unanimous vote of the officers is required.
4.4. Proxy voting is allowed and proxy votes may be submitted to the secretary anytime prior to a meeting’s call to order.
ARTICLE V. OFFICERS
5.1. The officers of this Association shall be composed of the following:
- President
- Vice President
- Treasurer
- Secretary
- Conference Chair
- Regional Representatives
5.2.
The officers shall be elected during the General Assembly Meeting
during the National Conference and shall be installed to office at the
Conference Banquet/Reception. Officers shall serve a term of 12 months
beginning the February following installation. The officers-elect will
have no vested authority until the date of installment. However, the
officers-elect have the responsibilities of apprenticing the office in
which they will eventually occupy.
5.3. The President
shall preside over all meetings, set the agenda and objectives of the
association, and see that the organization attains its goals. It shall
be the duty of the President to direct all endeavors that have the
Association’s interests and to keep the membership abreast of any
information of pertinent concern. In addition, the President is the
liaison to the National Asian Pacific Amercian Bar Association and
holds the voting right of APALSA. The President has the authority to
delegate the duty and vote of representative to the NAPABA meetings to
the Vice President or if the Vice President is unavailable to another
qualified member as an alternate. The President shall have the power
to sign matters of financial concern.
5.4. The Vice President
shall assist the President in executive duties, serve as an alternate
representative to NAPABA when requested by the President, serve as a
liaison to outside groups when requested by the President, and shall
have the duty of formal correspondence in matters dealing with the
Association’s policies, concerns, or endeavors. The Vice President
shall also serve as Parlimentarian during the General Assembly. In
addition, the Vice President shall act as the American Bar Association
(ABA) Representative.
5.5. The Treasurer
shall be entrusted with the receipt, care, and disbursement of funds.
The Treasurer as the power to sign matters of financial concern and
shall keep a record of all financial transactions of the Association.
In addition, it is the responsibility of the Treasurer to plan and
submit a fiscal budget to the officers and membership prior to the
start of the officers first meeting after installation.
5.6. The Secretary
shall keep the minutes of the meetings of the Board and Association,
report to the members the previous meeting’s minutes, and call to vote
for approval of such minutes by a majority vote of the officers and
members who are present. It is also the duty of the Secretary to:
record and tally votes when called, handle the collection of secret
ballots when called, and keep a roll of the membership. The Secretary
shall handle internal correspondence, assist the Vice President in
matters of correspondence, and have the duty of notifying members of
meetings.
5.7. The Conference Chair shall be
responsible for planning the details of the National Conference for the
year after installation. The Conference Chair will confer with the
other officers in planning the Conference.
5.8. There shall be __ Regional Representatives.
Regional Representatives are responsible for keeping the member
associations apprised of what occurs at National Board Meetings.
Regional Representatives will also be responsible for voting on matters
that arise outside of the National Conference. They shall be
responsible for representing their regions best interests.
5.9. On January 15, the title of the incumbent President changes to
“Past President.” The Past President will be a member of the Executive
Board and will retain voting power. The Past President will be
responsible for attending all conference calls in which he or she has
notice of, and attend meetings which may require his or her
presence. The Past President’s primary duty is to assist new
President in all matters of transition. The Past President’s term ends
May 1, of the same year.
5.10. All officers shall perform the duties usually performed by such officers and those hereinafter set forth.
ARTICLE VI. REGULATION, REMOVAL AND APPOINTMENT OF OFFICERS
6.1. If at any time an elected officers wishes to resign from his or
her duties, he or she may do so by presenting a written statement to
the Secretary setting forth the reason for such action. Resignation
shall be effective only if in writing and shall become effective when
tendered. It will be recorded in the minutes of the next meeting.
6.2. The removal of any officer or member shall be done in the following manner:
A
written complaint setting forth reasons for removal and signed by at
least fifty percent (50%) of the membership which shall be presented to
an officer of the association;
Removal will be discussed at the next meeting of the association and;
After
discussion, a vote shall be taken to determine the issue of removal and
removal shall occur through a majority vote of the membership present.
6.3. The appointment of any officer or member shall be done in the following manner:
- Nominations
must be submitted by an active NAPALSA officer (executive board or
regional representative) and each candidate must be a member from a
chapter in good standing.
- Candidates must submit a “statement of interest” and a “statement of qualifications” (i.e. resume).
- Two weeks after the nomination, a telephone conference will be held for voting.
- Proxy voting is allowed.
- To be appointed, the candidate must have 2/3 vote from existing officers.
ARTICLE VII. MEETINGS
7.1. Meetings shall be held monthly on any day of the year as called by
the officers. Meetings shall be held during Conference Calls or Online
as necessitated by time and financial restraints.
7.2.
Motions to be presented for consideration on the floor can be made by
any member or officer present at meetings. Discussions on motions will
be made only after a motion is seconded by another member or officer.
The presiding officer at the meeting shall entertain all reasonable
discussion on the motion, including the tabling of the motion until a
future meeting, before the presiding officer calls for a vote on the
motion. Motions, including the motion to table a motion, are passed by
a majority vote of those who are present. It shall be at the sole
discretion of the presiding officer at the meeting to decide on taking
a voice vote, a hand vote, or a secret ballot on any motion.
7.3. Motions to approve the minutes from the previous meeting can be
made at any time by any member or officer present at meetings without a
need for a second. Motions to approve minutes shall follow the
procedures as stated in Article 7.2 of this Constitution.
7.4.
The President shall be the presiding officer at all meetings unless
such duty is delegated by him/her to the Vice President with notice
given to the secretary before the start of the meeting.
ARTICLE VIII. NON-DISCRIMINATION POLICY
8.1. It is the policy of the National Asian Pacific American Law
Students Association not to discriminate on the basis of sex, handicap,
race, color, age, religion, veteran status, or national or ethnic
origin.
ARTICLE IX. AMENDMENTS
9.1. The Association may provide for the amendment of the constitution in the following way.
- Refer to Article VII.
- Amendment
proposals may be made at any meeting of the Association by majority
vote of all members present, provided that prior notice has been given
to the Secretary. Such proposed amendment will become effective in the
next meeting’s approval of the minutes by majority vote or;
- Amendments
may be made at any time when emergency so requires, by a unanimous vote
of the officers (which shall include a vote by the President) and shall
be considered temporary for a thirty (30) day period or until the next
meeting is possible in order to ratify or delete such amendment through
the reading of the minutes.