The NAPABA Nominating and Elections Committee is accepting nominations for election to the officer positions of NAPABA for the 2013-2014 term. NAPABA is a nonprofit, voluntary, professional organization founded in 1989, representing the interests of over 40,000 Asian Pacific American lawyers, law students and judges throughout North America and abroad. For more information about NAPABA please go to our website, www.napaba.org.
The qualifications for NAPABA office are listed in the NAPABA Nominating and Election Rules, an excerpt of which is attached at Exhibit A. In order to be nominated as a candidate for a NAPABA officer position, candidates are required to submit a completed nomination petition form and a personal statement on or before July 1, 2013. (You may click here to download the form from the NAPABA website.) The nomination petition will require the following:
- You will be required to specify a “home” NAPABA affiliate, of which you are a member. It is important that NAPABA leaders be familiar with and sensitive to the needs and concerns of NAPABA’s affiliates. If you are not a member of a NAPABA affiliate, you will need to include a statement explaining why you are not a member of an affiliate and how you might address any lack of familiarity with NAPABA affiliates and the needs, interests and concerns of affiliates.
- You will need to submit a completed nomination petition that includes the signature (or other attestation) of at least 25 NAPABA members in good standing, other than the nominee. At least 10 of such NAPABA members must be either (a) not members of affiliates in the potential nominee’s state or (b) not members of affiliates in your NAPABA region. Also, at least 10 of the NAPABA members who sign your petition must be members of your home affiliate.
- If you are not a member of a NAPABA affiliate, you will be required to submit a petition signed by at least 30 NAPABA members in good standing.
- Signatories to your petition will be determined to be in good standing if those signatories’ dues are fully paid by July 1, 2013 and they meet all other requirements for membership as determined by their home affiliate. Good standing for NAPABA members who are not members of an affiliate will be determined to be those lawyers whose membership dues are fully paid by July 1, 2013, who are licensed and eligible to practice law somewhere in the United States or Canada or their territories, and any other requirements as may be set forth by the NAPABA bylaws.
- Nominating petitions and personal statements must be received by email at [email protected] on or before 11:59 p.m. PDT on July 1, 2013.
- Completed petition forms will not be made public.
- Signing a petition form will not constitute an endorsement of the prospective candidate.
- NAPABA members may sign more than one prospective candidate’s petition form, including signing petitions for two or more members who might be opponents in an election.
Personal Statements
Each candidate shall submit a personal statement that will be published in the election issue of the NAPABA Newsletter; the election issue will be mailed to the entire NAPABA membership. Statements from candidates for the position of President Elect shall not exceed 1,000 words; statements from all other candidates shall not exceed 750 words. The candidates may submit the statement in narrative form but are requested to respond to the following questions within the statement:
- With respect to the position you are seeking, what goals do you have for NAPABA , and how do they align with or diverge from NAPABA’s most recent strategic plan?
- What are the challenges and opportunities you see facing NAPABA in the coming year?
- How do you anticipate accomplishing your goals?
- What particular training or experience do you bring that would make you a strong NAPABA officer?
Candidates may submit a photo (high resolution digital image that is at least 300 dpi) and short bio along with their petition and statement if they would like a photo and bio to be included in the elections issue of the NAPABA newsletter.
Late submissions will not be accepted.
Candidates may obtain a copy of the current NAPABA Strategic Plan by contacting NAPABA Executive Director Tina Matsuoka at 202-775-9555 or [email protected].
As a NAPABA officer, you will be expected to attend all NAPABA Board of Governors meetings during the year. The tentative Board meeting schedule for next year is as follows:
Coincides with:
November 7, 2013 (Kansas City, MO)
NAPABA Annual Convention
February 8, 2014
ABA Midyear Meeting
May 2014 (Washington, DC)
APA Heritage Month / NAPABA Lobby Day &
Congressional Reception
August 9, 2014 (Boston, MA)
ABA Annual Meeting
Additional duties are identified in the Statement of the Board of Directors Duties & Expectations, which can be found here, and which must be signed by all Board members. The officer positions subject to election this year are listed below.
President-Elect. The President-Elect will serve for a one year term and thereafter succeed to the Presidency of NAPABA for a one year term. The President will serve on the Board of Governors for NAPABA for one year as Immediate Past President after his or her term as President. The President-Elect will assist the President in the discharge of those duties as the President may direct and will perform such other duties as from time to time may be assigned to him/her by the President or the Board. In the absence of the President or in the event of his/her inability or refusal to act, the President-Elect will perform the duties of the President and when so acting, be subject to all the restrictions upon the President.
The President-Elect also: chairs the Nominations and Elections Committee; assists in fundraising; serves as the Executive Committee liaison to designated NAPABA Committees and Regional Governors; sits on the Board of the NAPABA Law Foundation (NLF); and oversees planning for the Annual Convention.
Vice-President for Finance and Development. The Vice-President for Finance and Development will be responsible, under the direction of the Board, for considering the financial resources of NAPABA, making recommendations to the Board, and seeking corporate and other institutional funds. The Vice-President for Finance and Development will also perform such duties as from time to time may be assigned to him/her by the President or the Board.
The Vice-President for Finance and Development also: chairs the Finance and Fundraising Committee; coordinates all fundraising activities; prepares and implements NAPABA’s financial strategic plan; sits on the Board of the NLF; and serves as Executive Committee liaison to designated NAPABA Committees and Regional Governors.
Vice-President for Programs and Operations. The Vice-President for Programs and Operations will be responsible, under the direction of the Board, for coordinating the programs and operations of NAPABA, including overseeing the listing of programs and activities contained on the NAPABA website.
The Vice-President for Programs and Operations also: works and coordinates with NAPABA affiliates and Committees on programs; assists in fundraising; and serves as Executive Committee liaison to designated NAPABA Committees and Regional Governors.
Vice-President for Membership. The Vice-President for Membership will be responsible, under the direction of the Board, for communications with the members and prospective members of NAPABA, including overseeing the membership information contained on NAPABA’s website and maintaining NAPABA’s mailing list.
The Vice-President for Membership also: chairs the Membership Committee; works with NAPABA affiliates on membership issues; works with the Treasurer on dues issues; assists in fundraising; and serves as Executive Committee liaison to designated NAPABA Committees and Regional Governors.
Vice-President for Communications. The Vice-President for Communications will be responsible, under the direction of the Board, for coordinating and producing NAPABA’s newsletter and coordinating NAPABA’s external relations with the media.
The Vice-President for Communications also: chairs the Newsletter Editorial Board; coordinates and oversees the newsletter and website; assists in fundraising; and serves as Executive Committee liaison to designated NAPABA Committees and Regional Governors.
Treasurer. The Treasurer will be the principal accounting and financial officer of NAPABA. He/she will: (a) have charge of and be responsible for the maintenance of adequate books of account for NAPABA; (b) have charge and custody of all funds and securities of NAPABA, and be responsible therefor, and for the receipt and disbursement thereof; and © perform all the duties incident to the office of Treasurer and such other duties as from time to time may be assigned to him/her by the President or by the Board.
The Treasurer also: serves as a member of the Finance and Fundraising Committee; coordinates and oversees the NAPABA budget; prepares financial reports for quarterly board meetings; prepares and finalizes the annual budget for the February board meeting (for approval by the Board at the February meeting); handles NAPABA dues with NAPABA affiliates; assists in fundraising; and serves as Executive Committee liaison to designated NAPABA Committees and Regional Governors.
Secretary. The Secretary will record the minutes of the meetings of the members and of the Board, see that all notices are duly given in accordance with the provisions of these Bylaws or as required by law, be custodian of NAPABA records and of the seal of NAPABA, and perform all duties incident to the office of Secretary.
The Secretary also: maintains, during his/her term, Bylaws and NAPABA records for permanent storage in the National office; prepares and maintains master lists of Board members, Committee Chairs and Affiliate contacts; coordinates and distributes the agenda for Board meetings; assists in fundraising; and serves as Executive Committee liaison to designated NAPABA Committees and Regional Governors.
For a more complete description of the duties, please refer to the NAPABA Bylaws.
EXHIBIT A: Excerpt from Nominating & Elections Rules
- Qualifications for Candidates for NAPABA Office. NAPABA seeks outstanding individuals of high integrity with proven leadership skills. The following criteria must be met by a candidate in order to run for a NAPABA office, and the Committee is responsible for determining whether a particular candidate meets these qualifications:
- Leadership. Candidates must have demonstrated proven leadership skills in their work for NAPABA, local NAPABA affiliates or in their other professional activities. Such leadership may be demonstrated in connection with serving as an officer for a NAPABA affiliate, and, in the case of a candidate for President-Elect, serving as the president of a NAPABA affiliate.
- Commitment. Candidates must have demonstrated a proven commitment to the work of NAPABA. Such commitment may be demonstrated by prior service on the NAPABA Board or on a NAPABA committee or by otherwise serving the national body or a NAPABA affiliate.
- Personal Integrity and Trust. Candidates must have demonstrated in all of their professional and personal activities the highest standards of personal integrity and trust.
- Public Relations Skills. A key objective of NAPABA is to advocate for and promote interests of Asian Pacific American lawyers nationwide. Accordingly, all candidates for officer positions must have demonstrated outstanding public speaking, advocacy and public relations skills.
- Prior Board or Committee Service. A candidate for President-Elect must first serve on the NAPABA Board as an officer or as a Regional Governor for at least two full years as of the time his/her term as President-Elect would begin. A candidate for a vice presidential position must first serve at least one year on the NAPABA Board or as the chair of a NAPABA committee. But in exceptional circumstances, the Committee may deem a candidate eligible to run for President-Elect or a vice presidential position even where the candidate does not satisfy this prior service requirement when the candidate’s other strengths and experiences (whether or not enumerated herein) overcome any perceived deficiency that may exist due to the candidate’s lack of prior NAPABA Board or committee experience.