CONSTITUTION

Constitution of the Student Bar Association at the University of Washington School of Law*

*Under review. Please excuse any errors.

ARTICLE I

NAME

This organization shall be known as the STUDENT BAR ASSOCIATION AT THE UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON SCHOOL OF LAW.

ARTICLE II

PURPOSE

The purpose of this organization shall be:

to promote useful student activities among the students of the University of Washington School of Law;
to foster a professional outlook on the part of such students
to promote and to bring about contact and cooperation between the members of the Association and the members of the Bar and community at large;
to foster a close relationship between the members of the Association and the members of the Law School faculty, staff, and Administration;
to carry on and promote such activities as shall be to the best interests of its members and of the school.

ARTICLE III

MEMBERSHIP AND DUES

Section 1.

Every student enrolled in the University of Washington School of Law who wishes to be a member shall be a member of this organization.

Section 2.

Each member of the organization may pay into the treasury as a membership fee such sum as shall be fixed by the Executive Board.

ARTICLE IV

OFFICERS

Section 1.

The officers of this organization shall be as follows: President, Executive Vice President, Vice President for Seasonal Programs, Vice President for Reoccurring Programs, Vice President of Communications, Vice President of Student Organizations, Vice President of Diversity and Inclusion, Secretary, Treasurer, two 3L Representatives, two 2L Representatives, two 1L Representatives, two three Graduate Student (LLM, PhD, or MJ) LLM Representatives, two Graduate and Professional Student Senate Senators, American Bar Association Representative, Washington State Bar Association Liaison, and King County Bar Association Liaison, and a Mental Health and Wellness Advocate.

Section 2. General duties of the SBA officers

A. President:

Shall serve as the chief administrative officer of the SBA, preside over meetings of the Association and Executive Board, direct the implementation of policies adopted and authorized by the Association and Executive Board, represent the Association to the UWLS Administration and the public, and report on his or her activities at each Executive Board meeting.

B. Executive Vice President:

Shall assist the President in the performance of the President's duties, preside over meetings of the Association and Executive Board in the President’s absence, coordinate the applications process for student appointments to SBA and UWLS committees, facilitate communication between such student appointees and the Board, and perform other duties as assigned by the President or Executive Board.

C. Vice Presidents

Vice President of Communications,
Vice President of Student Organizations,
Vice President of Diversity and Inclusion,
Vice Presidents for Programs:
- Vice President for Seasonal Programs,
- Vice President for Reoccurring Programs,

Shall coordinate programs and events sponsored by the Association, manage SBA elections, organize programs to assist the law school’s student organizations in their efforts, and perform other duties as assigned by the President or Executive Board.

D. Secretary:

Shall serve as the Secretary of the Executive Board and the Association, maintain all Association files and records in a safe and orderly manner, forward timely notice of Executive Board and Association meetings to the Association’s officers and the student body, maintain and update the Association website on a regular basis, and perform other duties as assigned by the President or the Executive Board.

E. Treasurer:

Shall maintain records of all receipts and disbursements of Association funds in accordance with all applicable laws and regulations, chair the Board’s Budget Committee, keep all organizational financial records in balance, make a full disclosure of the financial status of the Association in written form to the Executive Board at least once each quarter and at any time the Executive Board deems necessary, and perform other duties as assigned by the President or the Executive Board.

F. 3L Representatives:

Shall represent the concerns of their class to the Board, coordinate graduation ceremonies with the LLM Representatives, organize class events, disseminate relevant information to the class, and perform other duties as assigned by the President or the Executive Board.

G. 2L Representatives:

Shall represent the concerns of their class to the Board, organize class events, disseminate relevant information to the class, and perform other duties as assigned by the President or the Executive Board.

H. 1L Representatives:

I. LLM Representatives:

Shall represent the concerns of LLM students to the Board, coordinate graduation ceremonies with the 3L Representatives, organize LLM student events, disseminate relevant information to LLM students, and perform other duties as assigned by the President or the Executive Board.

J. Graduate and Professional Student Senate (GPSS) Senators:

Shall represent the Association to the GPSS, fulfill duties of GPSS Senator as determined by the GPSS Constitution and By-laws, notify the Executive Board of relevant business before the GPSS, notify the UWLS student body of opportunities to participate in GPSS activities and programs, and perform other duties as assigned by the President or the Executive Board.

K. American Bar Association (ABA) Representative:

Shall represent the Association to the ABA, promote opportunities to participate in the ABA to the student body, notify the Executive Board of relevant business before the ABA Law Student Division, and perform other duties as assigned by the President or the Executive Board.

L. Washington State Bar Association (WSBA) Liaison:

Shall represent the Association to the WSBA, serve as the UW Law Student Trustee on the WSBA Young Lawyers Division (WYLD) Board of Trustees, promote opportunities to participate in WSBA and WYLD programs and activities to the student body, notify the Executive Board of business before the WSBA and WYLD Boards relevant to law students and young lawyers, and perform other duties as assigned by the President or the Executive Board.

M. King County Bar Association (KCBA) Liaison:

Shall represent the Association to the KCBA, serve as the UW Law Student Trustee on the KCBA Young Lawyers Division (KCYLD) Board of Trustees, promote opportunities to participate in KCBA and KCYLD programs and activities to the student body, notify the Executive Board of business before the KCBA and KCYLD Boards relevant to law students and young lawyers, and perform other duties as assigned by the President or the Executive Board.

O. Wellness Advocate:

Shall advocate for all students to ensure that they are provided with holistic and complete resources addressing mental health and addiction including but not limited to: medical and therapeutic resources, counseling resources, mindfulness resources, healthy eating resources, and exercise resources. Shall chair the Standing Committee on Wellness as outlined in the SBA Bylaws 5.02, publicize wellness resources to the student body, publish an annual wellness report by the first day of winter quarter that details existing resources and plans for the following year, and give an officer’s report during each SBA meeting.

Section 3.

No individual shall hold more than one SBA office simultaneously.

ARTICLE V

EXECUTIVE BOARD MEMBERS AND BOARD DUTIES

Section 1.

The voting members of the Executive Board of the SBA shall consist of the officers of this organization. All of these members shall be full-voting members of the Board, except the President who shall only vote in the case of a tie among the full-voting members.

Section 2.

The Board shall be authorized to create non-voting positions on the Board, for representation of other organizations, by a unanimous vote of the Board. The Board shall also be authorized to remove such non-voting positions, at the Board’s discretion, by a unanimous vote of the Board.

Section 3.

The Board shall hold regular meetings, shall conduct the Association’s affairs, and shall exercise the full powers of the Association between general membership meetings. A quorum of the Executive Board necessary to conduct business shall be a majority of the voting members of the Board.

Section 4.

The Board shall appoint student representatives to the standing faculty-student committees.

Section 5.

The Executive Board’s interpretation of this Constitution and any SBA By-Laws shall be final.

ARTICLE VI

ELECTIONS

Section 1.

During the first week of the Spring Quarter, nomination sheets shall be posted in a prominent place on which Association members may nominate themselves or other eligible Association members for Association offices other than 1L and LLM Representatives.

Section 2.

The Vice President for Programs shall serve as Election Chair. In the event the Vice President for Programs is unable to serve as Election Chair, the Vice President for Programs shall appoint an alternate Election Chair subject to the approval of the Executive Board.

Section 3.

An election shall be held at a reasonably short period of time following nominations. The date and hours of the election, the form of the ballots, the manner of conducting the election, and the counting of the ballots shall be determined by the Executive Board.

Section 4.

All members of the Student Bar Association shall be eligible to vote for the officers of the Association, except as prohibited by this article’s Section 5.

Section 5.

Only the members of each respective class shall be allowed to nominate and to vote for their class representatives, and only those students enrolled in an LLM program shall be allowed to nominate and vote for LLM Representatives. A person having less than forty-five law credits is a member of the 1L class. A person having at least forty-five but less than ninety law credits is a member of the 2L class. A person having ninety law credits or more is a member of the 3L class. In an election, a person’s class shall be determined as of the end of the quarter in which the election is held.

Section 6.

Nomination sheets shall be posted in a prominent place during the third week of October on which first-year Association members may nominate themselves or other first-year Association members for 1L Representatives, and LLM Association members may nominate themselves or other LLM Association members for LLM Representative. The provisions of this article respecting the manner of conducting and determining the result of the spring election shall be applicable to the election of 1L and LLM Representatives.

Section 7.

For an office with only one position, the candidate receiving the highest number of votes shall be deemed elected. For an office with two positions, the two candidates receiving the highest vote totals shall be deemed elected to the two positions.

Section 8.

Officers elected in the Spring Quarter shall take office at the conclusion of the third regularly scheduled Board meeting following spring quarter elections. Officers elected in Fall Quarter shall take office immediately. Officers shall serve until the newly-elected officers take office in the spring, except incumbent 3L and LLM Representatives, who shall continue to serve until the completion of that spring’s UWLS graduation activities.

ARTICLE VII

REPLACEMENT OF RESIGNED OR REMOVED EXECUTIVE BOARD MEMBERS

Section 1.

If the President resigns, fails to continue his or her enrollment as a student during his or her term, or is, for any reason, prevented or disabled from acting, the Executive Vice President shall succeed to the office of President.

Section 2.

If any elected SBA officer other than the President resigns, fails to continue his or her enrollment as a student during his or her term, or is, for any reason, prevented or disabled from acting, his or her successor shall be appointed by the remaining members of the Executive Board. The President shall be responsible for nominating a successor for the Executive Board’s consideration. A successor shall take office immediately following confirmation by at least two-thirds (2/3) of the remaining members of the Executive Board.

Section 3.

A member of the Executive Board shall be considered to have failed to continue his or her enrollment for the purposes of this article if the member withdraws from the law school, is dismissed from the University, or otherwise fails to register to earn academic credit at the University of Washington for two consecutive quarters.

ARTICLE VIII

MEMBERSHIP MEETINGS

Meetings of the membership of this organization may be called from time to time by the President as the affairs of the organization shall require. A quorum of the membership necessary to conduct business shall be twenty percent of the enrollment of the Law School’s JD program.

ARTICLE IX

CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS

This constitution may be amended by a two-thirds vote of the ballots cast at any general membership meeting of the Association or at any regular election or any special election held for that purpose, provided that prior to such election or meeting the proposed amendments be posted for three school days, not including Saturdays. Amendments may be presented either by the Executive Board or by petition containing the signatures of at least ten percent of the Association’s members. Any amendment to the Constitution may itself be amended and passed or rejected at a general meeting without an additional three-day notice.

ARTICLE X

REMOVAL OF EXECUTIVE BOARD MEMBERS

Section 1.

Impeachment proceedings may be initiated against any officer or class representative by a petition containing the signatures of at least twenty-five percent of those eligible to vote for such officer or representative. The voting on such impeachment shall be as for an amendment to the Constitution.

Section 2.

Any member of the Executive Board who has three consecutive, unexcused absences from regularly scheduled Board meetings shall be presumed to have resigned. Such absences shall be brought to the attention of the President by the Secretary. The member presumed to have resigned shall be notified by the Secretary of the Executive Boards’ presumption. Notification of the presumption of resignation shall give the Executive Board the right to immediately initiate proceedings to replace the member.

ARTICLE XI

BY-LAWS

The membership in a general meeting or the Executive Board may enact such By-Laws as may be consistent with the spirit and letter of this Constitution. All such By-Laws may be amended by the membership in a general meeting, or by the Executive Board. However, the Executive Board has no authority to alter or revoke a By-Law enacted by the membership. All resolutions of a membership general meeting that are passed and recorded in the minutes shall be deemed of same effect as By-Laws. A majority vote is sufficient to enact, alter, or revoke any By-Laws.

ARTICLE XXII

RULES OF ORDER

Robert’s Rules of Order, Revised, shall govern the proceedings of this Association insofar as they are compatible with the purposes and provisions of this Constitution.

ARTICLE XIII

NON-DISCRIMINATION

In all of its activities, the Association shall not discriminate on the basis of race, sex, religion, ethnic background, sexual orientation, or disability.

Adopted by the students of the University of Washington School of Law on February 25, 2004. Revised May 20, 2020.