Constitution

Legal Pathways Constitution 2026-27

Article I. Name

The name of this organization will be Legal Pathways

Article II. Acceptance and Compliance to Registration Requirements and Limitations

The Legal Pathways and its membership accept and will fully comply with the requirements and limitations of registration.

Article III. Limits of Registration

Registered student organizations are student associations and are not official components of the University. Registration does not permit a student organization to use or act in the name of the University, to represent the University, engage in any contractual obligation in the name of the University nor represent the organization as being an official part of the University. Registered student organizations are permitted to have approved external affiliations. Registration expressly permits registered student organizations to only operate on campus. Off-campus activities of registered student organizations are the sole responsibility of the organization, officers and members, unless expressly approved in advance by the University. Membership in a registered student organization and participation in its activities are voluntary and all risks of personal injury, property damage or other losses incidental to membership or participation in activities are assumed solely by the student organization and/or individual member(s) or participant(s).

Article IV. Annual Re-registration

The Legal Pathways will submit its re-registration application once a year during the defined re-registration process.

Article V. Purpose

The purpose of this organization is to provide students with opportunities to learn about and explore careers in the legal field via connections with each other, professors, or internship/volunteer opportunities.

Article VI. Activities

Activities will include: We will have guest speakers, such as professors or professionals in the legal field, come and speak to members. We will also visit law schools, have class sit ins and tours, and hold fundraisers for organizations.

Article VII. Membership Requirements

All members must accept and comply with all of the requirements and limitations of registration as a condition of membership. Membership is open to currently enrolled Pitt students as defined herein:

  1. Membership in the Legal Pathways Club is voluntary and all risk of personal injury, property damage or other losses that occur incidental to membership or participation in activities are assumed solely by the student organization and/or individual member(s) or non-member participant(s). Accordingly, the University of Pittsburgh, its officers and agents shall not be responsible nor liable for any claims or causes of action for damage or loss of property or personal injury of any kind or nature which may arise out of or are incidental to the conduct of any organization’s activities or that of any individual’s participation in any group-related activity. it is further understood and agreed that it is the responsibility of the officers of the organization to assure that all of the organization’s members and non-member participants in all activities sponsored by the Legal Pathways Club are fully informed and advised of this ASSUMPTION OF RISK, and in the event any individual member or participant should express or indicate non-acceptance, the organization’s officers shall forbid participation and/or membership of such individual. In regard to the organization member or non-member participant Assumption of Risk, the Legal Pathways Club acknowledges that the University recommends that the organization members and non-member participants make every effort to arrange for the acquisition of liability insurance sufficient to protect all participants against those risks being assumed. For sport-related organizations, the University recommends that each individual have insurance sufficient to allow for any risks by participation, accident or by deficiencies in physical health.
  2. No illegal discriminatory criteria may be used as criteria for membership including those listed in the University of Pittsburgh’s non-discrimination policy. These factors include race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, sex, age, marital status, familial status, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, genetic information, disability, or status as a veteran. All groups, except those exempt by law, must permit male and female membership. Sport clubs involving physical contact or in which participation is based on competitive skill may limit participation in competition to one sex; provided that, for any for any such sport club engaged in a non-contact sport, unless there is a sport club available for members of the opposite sex, the club must permit try-outs for each sex. Membership can be limited by factors unrelated to status or beliefs and which are also not illegal. Membership can be limited by school, college, department, major and grades, etc. No hazing or illegal discrimination will be used as a condition of membership in the organization.
  3. Other membership requirements include being either a major, minor, enrolled in one LCJS class, or interested in law.
  4. Members must pay $20 for new members and $10 for returning members each academic year.

Article VIII. Membership Procedures

Recruitment for membership will take place throughout the year as members are free to join at any point. Recruitment will happen through the student involvement during both fall and spring semesters. To express interest in joining, potential members must show up to meetings and join the club GroupMe and the email list. To maintain membership, members must attend 50% or more of the meetings, pay dues, and be in good academic standings. If a member doesn’t pay dues or meet attendance requirements, they would be inactive and can be reinstated once dues are paid and meeting requirements are met for the next semester.

Article IX. Voting Privileges

Voting privileges are limited to currently enrolled Pitt student members in good standing with the organization.

Article XI. Officers

The organization shall have the following officers:

President, Vice President (secretary), Business Manager (VP of Finances), VP of communications, and VP of professional development

Article XII. Terms of Office

The terms of office will be from April 20th to April 20th of the following year.

Article XIII. Officers Responsibilities and Duties

President: keep track of other officers positions and run meetings

Secretary: (Vice President) keep track of meeting minutes, attendance, and send out meeting reminders

VP of Finances: (Business Manager) arranging fundraisers, budget and handling dues, and purchasing from SORC

VP of Communications: arrange events, brainstorm fundraisers, run social media

VP of Professional Development: arrange study rooms, provide members with internship opportunities

Article XIV. Election of Officers

  1. Members interested in running for office should fill out the application.
  2. To run for office, members must fill out the application, go through an interview, and write a short description about why they should hold the position.
  3. The election will take place at the last meeting of each spring semester in the student union. Votes will be cast through a Google form, counted by the president, and announced at the end of the meeting.
  4. To vote, members must be in good standing with the organization.
  5. To be elected, a candidate must obtain a simple majority of the vote.
  6. Officers cannot hold more than one position.
  7. Absentee and/or proxy votes cannot be cast.
  8. A member can contest the election results by proving the election results are invalid.

Article XV. Voting Powers of Officers

Officers retain voting rights.

Article XVI. Removal of Officers

If an officer doesn’t maintain the requirements of their position, the executive board will vote to determine if said officer will be removed. A majority vote is required to remove an officer. To replace this officer there will be a re-election for a different member to hold this position.

Article XVII. Vacancies

If a position becomes vacant, the vacancy will be filled by the current executive board voting for a new executive board member to hold the position. The term of office for the new officer will be the remainder of the current term.

Article XIX. Meetings

Meetings will be scheduled biweekly on Mondays and all members may attend. Special meetings may be called by the president with a week's notice. To conduct and approve official business of the organization, a quorum of 50% must be present. The president will lead meetings. Their responsibilities include maintaining that the other officers are completing their position requirements, and running meetings. Meeting roles and expectations are as follows to educate members on the career possibilities post-grad in the legal field, help members create connections through speakers, and fundraise for organizations with interest to the members.

Article XX. Finances

The Legal Pathways Club shall fully comply with the University fundraising policies and procedures for registered student organizations.

The organization will not maintain an outside bank account if it receives funding from Student Government Board.

Article XXI. Publications Code

In compliance with the Publications Code for Student Organizations, all publications of the organization will comply with current copywriter laws, be distributed according to policies and procedures, refrain from expressions that are considered obscene or libelous according to current statute, advocate or insight the material interference or physical disruption of the educational process of the peace, order and decorum of the campus, or that advocate or insight imminent, lawless action or the violent overthrow of the government and identify the organization as publisher and specify that the group is a registered student organization at the University of Pittsburgh.

Article XXII. Advisor

The advisor is selected by showing an interest in holding the position. The advisor can be removed by a majority vote from the executive board. The advisor’s role, responsibilities, duties, and authority are as follows: keeping track of the organization and that the organization is maintaining meetings as necessary.

Article XXIII. External Affiliations

This organization has no external affiliations at this time.

Article XXIV. Bylaws

The organization will be expected to attend half or more of the meetings throughout the semester and maintain a good academic standing with the university.

Article XXV. Amendments

All constitution additions, revisions and deletions must be reported to the SORC. The procedure for amending the constitution is for members to have a majority vote on the changes at the end of a meeting. Constitution changes require a simple majority vote.