WLAO Current Constitution

ARTICLE I - Name

"Association" means "The Women's Law Association of Ontario".

"Executive Committee" means the Toronto Executive Committee as set out in Article V.

"Steering Committee" means the governing body for a local chapter.

ARTICLE II - Object

The object of the Association shall be to encourage and promote the interests of women in the legal profession.

ARTICLE III - Membership

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Any Barrister and Solicitor qualified to practice in Ontario shall be eligible for membership in the Association, whether practicing or not.

Any Barrister and Solicitor qualified to practice in any other jurisdiction shall be eligible for membership in the Association.

Any graduate of a Canadian law school shall be eligible for membership in the Association.

Any other person who may, from time to time, be recognized as eligible for membership by the Executive Committee of the Association.

Any student-at-law or any student enrolled in a recognized law school in Canada shall be eligible for student membership in the Association. Student members may not hold office nor may they vote at the annual meetings of the Association.

ARTICLE IV - Officers

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The Executive Committee is composed of a President, a Vice-President, a Treasurer, a Secretary, an Archivist, a Programme Co-ordinator, a Membership Co-ordinator, a Networking Co-ordinator and a Trust Funds Co-ordinator, Members-at-Large and one representative from each of the Chapters which shall be the chair of the local chapter or her designate. The officers other than the representatives from the local chapters shall be elected at the annual meeting of the Association in accordance with the By-laws.

ARTICLE V - Executive Committee

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The Executive Committee shall consist of the officers and shall transact such business as may require attention between meetings and such business as the Association shall from time to time delegate to it.

The Executive Committee shall have power by direct appointment to fill vacancies in the Executive Committee occurring during the year.

The Executive Committee may amend the fees payable to the Association from time to time in accordance with the By-laws.

The Executive Committee shall have the power to appoint Committees and delegate such duties as it deems necessary to deal with those matters coming before the Association, and the President or her nominee shall be an ex-officio member of any such committee appointed by the Executive.

No member shall sit on the Executive Committee for more than seven consecutive years effective November 2001.

All members of the Executive Committee shall be paid up members of the Association.

ARTICLE VI - Chapters

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Local chapters may be organized by members outside of Toronto after obtaining approval from the Executive Committee.

The name of the local chapter shall include the location of the chapter and indicate that it is a chapter of the Association, for example, Ottawa Chapter - Women's Law Association of Ontario.

The governing body for the local chapter shall be a Steering Committee which committee must have the following officers: chair, vice chair, secretary / treasurer and at the discretion of the Steering Committee members at large.

The local chapter shall convene meetings of the Steering Committee at their discretion.

The local chapter shall comply with all aspects of the constitution and bylaws of the Association and in particular shall keep a written record of all meetings and provide copies of those minutes to the Executive Committee.

The local chapter shall maintain a bank account in the name of the Association.

One member of the Steering Committee of the local chapter shall participate in the monthly meetings of the Executive Committee on a bi-annual basis and one member shall attend the Annual Meeting of the Association.

The Executive Committee shall advance funds to the local chapters on a yearly basis in an amount to be determined by the Executive Committee.

The local chapters shall once a year provide an accounting sufficient to meet the needs of the accountant appointed by the Executive Committee to the Executive Committee of all income and expenses for the year at the date specified for the year-end specified in these Articles.

All members of the Steering Committee must be members in good standing of the Association.

The local chapter shall conduct nominations and elections of its Steering Committee annually in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution and Bylaws.

No member shall sit on the Steering Committee of a local chapter for more than seven consecutive years effective November 2001.

ARTICLE VII - Expulsion and Re-instatement

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Any member who ceases to be in good standing at the Bar by reason of disbarment shall cease to be a member of the Association.

Any member may be asked to resign from the Association upon an affirmative vote of three-fourths of the members present at any regular meeting of the Association, provided that such members shall have been given 14 days notice of intended vote.

Notwithstanding the provisions of ARTICLE III, such persons shall cease to be eligible for membership until re-instated. Such re-instatement shall be upon the affirmative vote of three-fourths of the members present at any regular meeting of the Association.

ARTICLE VIII - Amendments

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The Constitution may be amended by an affirmative vote of three-fourths of the members present at any Annual Meeting, provided that notice in writing of the proposed amendment has been given to each member at least 60 days prior to the Annual Meeting.

The Constitution shall come into effect upon passage, save and except for ARTICLE IV, which shall come into force on a date to be determined by the Executive Committee.

GUIDELINES FOR REIMBURSEMENT OF
EXECUTIVE MEMBERS

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PRINCIPLE

The overriding principle should be that executive members who are volunteering their time not be put out of pocket for directly related expenses but, in return, there should be no personal benefit.

GUIDELINES

Any staff-related expenditure is to be approved by President or Treasurer before it is incurred.
Absent unusual circumstances, no staff-related expenditure will be approved for time expended during employee's normal working hours.
All direct, out-of-pocket disbursements, such as couriers and long distance charges will be reimbursed. Incoming/outgoing faxes and incidental photocopies will not be reimbursed, unless member is out of pocket for these items.
Subject to #5 below, executive members are asked to collect incidental disbursements until they reach at least $15.00 or the individual executive member is leaving the executive, whichever comes first.
Regardless of the amount of the disbursement, executive members are requested to submit all disbursements which are related to dinner meetings (together with any other accumulated incidental disbursements) as soon as possible after the dinner meeting.
All requests for reimbursement are to be directed to the Treasurer.
All reasonable expenses relating to the attendance of Executive Committee meetings shall be paid by the Association through the Executive Committee.