Our list of Legal Professional Associations & Organizations for lawyers is a key resource for those interested in pursuing professional development or connecting with like-minded Legal professionals.
Membership in Legal Professional Associations & Organizations also looks great on your Resume and LinkedIn profile to bolster your credentials and qualifications.
However, recommend visiting each Association’s website and doing the pertinent research for information on membership costs and requirements.
Also, these membership-based Legal Professional Associations & Organizations serve the interests of professionals in a given industry or occupation.
Without wasting much time, let’s get into the 25 best organizations for lawyers.
1. Legal Marketing Association
Founded in 1985, LMA is the universal voice of the legal marketing profession, a forum that brings together CMOs and entry-level specialists from firms of all sizes, consultants and vendors, lawyers, marketers from other professions and marketing students to share their collective knowledge.
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More than 90 percent of the largest 200 U.S. law firms employ an LMA member. Members at every stage in their career development benefit from LMA participation because the association’s broad array of programs and services can be tailored to their specific needs.
2. AVVO
Avvo is a leading website for consumer information regarding attorneys. Some lawyers distrust or even hate Avvo so much that they’ve filed lawsuits against the site. Other lawyers love it and see it as a great source of new business.
In either case, Avvo has become one of the top services for information about attorneys, and this would not have happened without the participation of thousands of professionals across the country.
The Avvo consumer information website goes beyond standard lawyer marketing in terms of the information it provides to users.
Some other sites enable lawyers to post their names, addresses, phone numbers, and links to their websites, often for a fee, but Avvo provides a much greater depth of information.
Avvo allows attorneys to post what are essentially online resumes. They can showcase their academic and employment histories, publication credits, awards, and significant cases. They can post links to their websites or to articles they’ve published, either on Avvo or on other sites.
They can answer legal questions posted by readers and potential clients who can search attorneys based on their field of practice, by city or state, or by a certain topic they’re concerned about.
The website claims to have more than 8 million visitors each month, and it indicates that approximately 650,000 of them ultimately end up contacting one or more of the participating attorneys
Avvo provides an opportunity for attorneys to interact with potential clients who have specific legal questions, or who are in need of specific legal services.
That interaction creates at least the possibility of the question turning into a fee-generating client. It hasn’t worked for all lawyers, but many are pleased with the results they have achieved.
3. FindLaw
FindLaw is a business of Thomson Reuters that provides online legal information and online marketing services for law firms. FindLaw was created by Stacy Stern, Martin Roscheisen, and Tim Stanley in 1995, and was acquired by Thomson West in 2001.
FindLaw.com is a free legal information website that helps consumers, small-business owners, students and legal professionals find answers to everyday legal questions and legal counsel when necessary. The site includes case law, state and federal statutes, a lawyer directory, and legal news and analysis.
It also includes a free legal dictionary and magazine called Writ, whose contributors (mostly legal academics) argue, explain and debate legal matters of topical interest.
FindLaw offers website development and Internet advertising services for legal professionals and extended members of the legal community through lawyermarketing.com.
In 2010, following the 2009 acquisition of the solicitor recommendation service Contact Law, FindLaw launched FindLaw UK (www.findlaw.co.uk), a website for businesses and individuals in the UK looking for information on legal topics or a solicitor.
4. American Bar Association
With nearly 400,000 members, the American Bar Association is one of the largest voluntary professional membership organization in the world.
As the national voice of the legal profession, the ABA works to improve the administration of justice, promotes programs that assist lawyers and judges in their work, accredits law schools, provides continuing legal education, and works to build public understanding around the world of the importance of the rule of law in a democratic society.
5. American Immigration Lawyers Association
Founded in 1946, The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) is the national association of immigration lawyers established to promote justice, advocate for fair and reasonable immigration law and policy, advance the quality of immigration and nationality law and practice, and enhance the professional development of its members.
With a membership of over 13,500 attorneys and law professors, AILA Member attorneys represent tens of thousands of U.S. families who have applied for permanent residence for their spouses, children, and other close relatives to lawfully enter and reside in the United States;
thousands of U.S. businesses and industries who sponsor highly skilled foreign workers seeking to enter the United States in a temporary or –having proven the unavailability of U.S. workers — permanent basis; as well as foreign students, entertainers, athletes, and asylum seekers, often on a pro bono basis.
AILA is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that provides its Members with continuing legal education, information, professional services, and expertise through its 35 chapters and over 50 national committees.
AILA is an Affiliated Organization of the American Bar Association and is represented in the ABA House of Delegates.
6. American Association of Justice
On August 16, 1946, a group of nine plaintiffs’ attorneys involved in workers’ compensation litigation met in a hotel room at the Heathman Hotel in Portland, Oregon. Their goal was to put together a plan for a national organization to combat new threats facing trial lawyers across the country.
It was at this meeting where it was enthusiastically agreed upon to create a new association by the name, the National Association of Claimants’ Compensation Attorneys (NACCA).
Their devotion to securing strong representation for victims of industrial accidents soon attracted admiralty, railroad, and personal injury lawyers. It wasn’t long before the group included attorneys engaged in almost all facets of trial advocacy.
Reflecting its growth and expanded commitments, NACCA changed its name 3 times before 1971, when it emerged as the Association of Trial Lawyers of America (ATLA). In 1977, ATLA’s headquarters moved from Boston to Washington, DC.
In 2006, ATLA members voted to adopt a new name: the American Association for Justice (AAJ). Today, AAJ is a broad-based, international coalition of attorneys, law professors, paralegals, and law students.
AAJ promotes justice and fairness for injured persons, safeguards victims’ rights—particularly the right to trial by jury—and strengthens the civil justice system through education and disclosure of information critical to public health and safety.
With members worldwide, and a network of U.S. and Canadian affiliates involved in diverse areas of trial advocacy, AAJ provides lawyers with the information and professional assistance needed to serve clients successfully and protect the democratic values inherent in the civil justice system.
7. The Florida Bar
The Florida Bar is the integrated bar association for the state of Florida. It is the third largest such bar in the United States. Its duties include the regulation and discipline of attorneys. The Florida Bar is also responsible for the governing of Florida Registered Paralegals.
As elsewhere in the United States, persons seeking admission to the bar must pass a moral character screening, in this case administered by the Florida Board of Bar Examiners.
Admission to the Bar includes passing a background investigation, the Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination, and the bar exam, which tests both the common law through the Multistate Bar Examination and Florida law through written state essays and state-specific multiple-choice questions.
The Florida Bar’s headquarters building and annex are located in Tallahassee, three blocks from the Florida State Capitol.
8. National Lawyers Guild
The National Lawyers Guild is the nation’s oldest and largest progressive bar association and was the first one in the US to be racially integrated.
There mission is to use law for the people, uniting lawyers, law students, legal workers, and jailhouse lawyers to function as an effective force in the service of the people by valuing human rights and the rights of ecosystems over property interests.
This is achieved through the work of our members, and the Guild’s numerous organizational committees, caucuses and projects, reflecting a wide spectrum of intersectional issues. Guild members effectively network and hone their legal skills in order to help create change at the local, regional, national, and international levels.
The NLG is dedicated to the need for basic change in the structure of our political and economic system.
Our aim is to bring together all those who recognize the importance of safeguarding and extending the rights of workers, women, LGBTQ people, farmers, people with disabilities and people of color, upon whom the welfare of the entire nation depends; who seek actively to eliminate racism; who work to maintain and protect our civil rights and liberties in the face of persistent attacks upon them; and who look upon the law as an instrument for the protection of the people, rather than for their repression. Learn more about our history at our 75th anniversary retrospective, and at the links in the drop-down menu above.
The NLG is a proud member of the following groups and coalitions:
- Alliance for Justice
- Ban Facial Recognition
- International Association of Democratic Lawyers
- May First/People Link
- Protect the Protest
- US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation
9. International Bar Association
The International Bar Association (IBA), established in 1947, is the world’s leading organisation of international legal practitioners, bar associations and law societies.
The IBA influences the development of international law reform and shapes the future of the legal profession throughout the world. It has a membership of over 80,000 individual lawyers and more than 190 bar associations and law societies spanning 170 countries.
It has considerable expertise in providing assistance to the global legal community. Divisions and committees Grouped into two divisions – the Legal Practice Division and the Public and Professional Interest Division – the IBA covers all practice areas and professional interests, providing members with access to leading experts and up-to-date information.
Through the various committees of the divisions, the IBA enables an interchange of information and views among its members as to laws, practices and professional responsibilities relating to the practice of business law around the globe.
Publications and conferences Additionally, the IBA’s high-quality publications and world-class conferences provide unrivalled professional development and network-building opportunities for international legal practitioners and professional associates.
IBA Human Rights Institute The IBA Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI) works across the Association to promote, protect and enforce human rights under a just rule of law, and to preserve the independence of the judiciary and the legal profession worldwide.
10. Texas Board of Legal Specialization
The Texas Board of Legal Specialization is the largest single-state certification program for lawyers in the United States. The Bar Rules in Texas prohibit any attorney from advertising as a “specialist” unless she or he has earned certification from the Texas Board of Legal Specialists.
TBLS also accredits several national organizations approved by the American Bar Association to certify attorneys as specialists.
Furthermore, there are 24 different areas of practice. Board-certified lawyers in Texas must attend ongoing continuing legal education (CLE) and show continuing involvement within the field of practice.
The State Bar of Texas formed TBLS in 1974 with the passage of the Texas Plan for Recognition and Regulation of Specialization of Law. The 12-member board is appointed by the president of the Bar to three-year terms.
Some of the board members must be specialists, and others must be of general practice. The body is under the oversight of the Texas Supreme Court.
The TBLS also certifies paralegals. Today, more than 300 paralegals have distinguished themselves with board certification.
11. National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) is the preeminent organization advancing the mission of the criminal defense bar to ensure justice and due process for persons accused of crime or wrongdoing.
A professional bar association founded in 1958, NACDL’s many thousands of direct members in 28 countries – and 90 state, provincial and local affiliate organizations totaling up to 40,000 attorneys – include private criminal defense lawyers, public defenders, military defense counsel, law professors and judges committed to preserving fairness and promoting a rational and humane criminal justice system.
12. Lawyers Collective
The Lawyers Collective is a group of Lawyers with a mission to empower and change the status of marginalised groups through the effective use of law, and an engagement in human rights advocacy, legal aid and litigation.
The Lawyers Collective, actively uses the law as a tool to address critical issues such as domestic violence, sexual harassment at the workplace, matrimonial and family related matters, crimes against women particularly sexual assault and reproductive rights, rights of the LGBTQ community, access to medicine and health care.
Our mission is the empowerment of marginalised groups through law. This is based on the belief that law is an instrument of social change and can be used in different ways to further the constitutional and human rights of women.
Since its inception in 1981, the LC has been actively engaged with the entire legal regime of addressing the rights of marginalised groups.
13. National Organization of the Reform of Marijuana Laws
Since its founding in 1970, NORML has provided a voice in the public policy debate for those Americans who oppose marijuana prohibition and favor an end to the practice of arresting marijuana consumers.
A nonprofit public-interest advocacy group, NORML represents the interests of the tens of millions of Americans who use marijuana responsibly.
Because NORML lobbies state and federal legislators, donations to NORML are not tax deductible.
During the 1970s, NORML led the successful efforts to decriminalize minor marijuana offenses in 11 states and significantly lower marijuana penalties in all others.
Today NORML continues to lead the fight to reform state and federal marijuana laws, whether by voter initiative or through the elected legislatures.
NORML serves as an informational resource to the national media on marijuana-related stories, providing a perspective to offset the anti-marijuana propaganda from the government; lobbies state and federal legislators in support of reform legislation; publishes a regular newsletter; hosts, along with the NORML Foundation, an informative web site and an annual conference; and serves as the umbrella group for a national network of citizen-activists committed to ending marijuana prohibition and legalizing marijuana.
14. Canadian Bar Association
The CBA is a professional organization that provides educational and networking opportunities for lawyers.
Representing more than 36,000 lawyers, judges, notaries, law teachers, and law students from across Canada, the CBA is committed to enhancing the professional and commercial interests of a diverse membership and to protecting the independence of the judiciary and the Bar.
15. Commonwealth of Nations
The Commonwealth of Nations, generally known simply as the Commonwealth, is a political association of 54 member states, nearly all former territories of the British Empire.
The chief institutions of the organisation are the Commonwealth Secretariat, which focuses on intergovernmental aspects, and the Commonwealth Foundation, which focuses on non-governmental relations between member states.
16. State Bar of California
The State Bar of California is California’s official attorney licensing agency. It is responsible for managing the admission of lawyers to the practice of law, investigating complaints of professional misconduct, prescribing appropriate discipline, accepting attorney-member fees and financially distributing sums paid through attorney trust accounts to fund non-profit legal entities.
It is directly responsible to the Supreme Court of California, however, its Trustees are now appointed by the Supreme Court, the California Legislature and Governor of California.
All attorney admissions and disbarments are issued as recommendations of the State Bar, which are then routinely ratified by the Supreme Court.
17. American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers
The American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers was founded in 1962, by highly regarded domestic relations attorneys “To provide leadership that promotes the highest degree of professionalism and excellence in the practice of family law.” There are currently more than 1650 Fellows in 50 states.
The Academy Fellows are highly skilled negotiators and litigators who represent individuals in all facets of family law.
These areas include divorce, annulment, prenuptial agreements, postnuptial agreements, marital settlement agreements, child custody and visitation, business valuations, property valuations and division, alimony, child support and other family law issues.
To be represented by a Fellow of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers is to be represented by a leading practitioner in the field of family law.
The 1650 AAML Fellows across the United States are generally recognized by judges and attorneys as preeminent family law practitioners with a high level of knowledge, skill and integrity. Academy Fellows enjoy a reputation for professionalism, competence and integrity.
18. National College for DUI Defense
The National College for DUI Defense (NCDD) is a professional, non-profit corporation dedicated to the improvement of the criminal defense bar, and to the dissemination of information to the public about drunk driving law and related issues. DUI stands for driving under the influence those found to be DUI need legal representation to fight their case and protect their rights. Click this to find an attorney who specializes in DUI cases.
With almost 1000 attorney members nationwide, the organization consists of a dean, a governing board of regents, a founding membership, a sustaining membership and a general membership, and is headquartered in Montgomery, Alabama. Additionally, there is a State Delegate selected for each state
19. American College of Trust and Estate Counsel
The American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC) is a nationwide professional organization of lawyers who work in the fields of law pertaining to the transfer of wealth and assets during life and after death, as well as the tax implications that are associated with such transfers.
The organization serves both as a place where estate and probate attorneys who have made significant contributions to the field can discuss and share their ideas, and as a body that can make informed comment to Congress and other legislative bodies, as well as file amicus curiae briefs in important cases within that field.
Founded in 1949, the organization is an invitation-only group. More than 2,600 Fellows have been designated by the ACTEC. Fellows practice or teach primarily in the United States, although fellows can also be found in Canada and other countries outside the U.S. The national headquarters of the organization is in Washington, D.C.
Candidates for election to the College must meet rigorous eligibility criteria including, but not limited to, demonstrated skill and significant contributions to the field of trust and estate law and no less than ten years experience in the active private practice of probate and trust law or estate planning. The members of the organization are “Fellows.”
The American College of Trust and Estate Counsel seeks to improve trust, estate and tax laws, as well as the procedures and ethics of attorneys who work in those fields. The College frequently shares publications by members and conducts continuing legal education (CLE) seminars.
Areas of law the organization covers include planning the transfer of assets during and after life, trust administration, estates, guardianships, conservatorships, benefits , charitable gifts and any tax concerns that stem from these issues.
20. American College of Real Estate Lawyers
The American College of Real Estate Lawyers (ACREL) seeks to promote high standards and ethics for real estate lawyers, as well as improve and reform real estate practice.
Areas of real estate law include real estate transactions, disputes in real estate contracts, issues of ownership and tenancy, insurance issues, bankruptcy issues, and land use.
The organization seeks to continually inform its members of developments and issues within the real estate practice. ACREL also publishes educational materials available to the public and to the rest of the Bar on matters pertaining to real estate law. The organization also sometimes participates in policy discussions.
Membership in the organization is by invitation only. Lawyers with a strong practice in real estate law who have a positive reputation and are committed to the improvement of real estate law may be extended an invitation. The organization rigorously screens potential members.
21. Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe
The Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe (CCBE) is an association gathering together bar associations of 32 countries in Europe (those of the European Union, of the European Economic Area and of Switzerland) and an additional eleven associate and observer members.
The CCBE represents around a million European lawyers before EU institutions mainly, but also before other international organisations. The CCBE is an international non-profit organisation (AISBL) under Belgian law and has its seat in Brussels.
22. Association of Corporate Counsel
The Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC), founded as the American Corporate Counsel Association (ACCA) in 1983, is a professional association serving the business interests of attorneys who practice in the legal departments of corporations, associations and other private-sector organizations around the world.
ACC states that it has more than 40,000 members employed by over 10,000 organizations in 85 countries.
ACC members collaborate through regional chapters and practice area committees. ACC has more than 55 chapters around the world.
In 2015, the Australian Corporate Lawyers Association joined ACC to form ACC Australia. Other recent expansions, ACC Alberta, ACC Middle East and ACC Singapore, were established in June 2014, May 2014 and July 2013, respectively.
ACC serves as the “voice of the in-house bar” on issues of importance to in-house counsel, such as multi jurisdictional practice, attorney-client/solicitor-client privilege and right to provide pro bono services.
The association publishes the magazine ACC Docket and arranges the ACC Annual Meeting.
23. Commonwealth Lawyers Association
CLA is a pan-Commonwealth organisation which seeks to uphold the rule of law in the Commonwealth by encouraging exchange of ideas between legal professionals, academics and students, through projects and by driving improvements in legal education.
It holds a number of short events throughout the year and has a biennial conference the Commonwealth Law conference which regularly attracts over 1,000 delegates including some of the finest legal professionals in the world today to discuss issues of interest to the profession over a four day period.
The 22nd Commonwealth Law Conference will be held in Nassau, The Bahamas 5-9 September 2021.
24. Pennsylvania Bar Association
The Pennsylvania Bar Association (PBA) is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students in Pennsylvania, United States. The association offers membership benefits, including publications, practice support, networking, and continuing education.
25. Legal Services Corporation
LSC is the single largest funder of civil legal aid for low-income Americans in the nation. Established in 1974, LSC operates as an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation that promotes equal access to justice and provides grants for high-quality civil legal assistance to low-income Americans.
LSC distributes more than 90 percent of its total funding to 132 independent nonprofit legal aid programs with more than 800 offices.
LSC promotes equal access to justice by awarding grants to legal services providers through a competitive grants process; conducting compliance reviews and program visits to oversee program quality and compliance with statutory and regulatory requirements as well as restrictions that accompany LSC funding, and by providing training and technical assistance to programs.
LSC encourages programs to leverage limited resources by partnering and collaborating with other funders of civil legal aid, including state and local governments, Interest on Lawyers’ Trust Accounts (IOLTA), access to justice commissions, the private bar, philanthropic foundations, and the business community.
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The Corporation is headed by a bipartisan board of directors whose 11 members are appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate.
In Conclusion
If you’re a student looking to network and boost your resume remotely, joining a professional legal association or two is a great way to do it. Belonging to an association can show your commitment to the legal profession and your area(s) of interest.
Plus, it gives you the opportunity to take on a leadership role that can carry into your career. Joining an association is also a great way to network remotely, since most memberships come with access to online member directories and discussion forums.
Above are some national associations worth checking out, as most of them have student membership options. The list includes associations general to the legal profession as well as those based on practice area or diversity.
But don’t stop at this list. If you haven’t yet, you should consider joining your local and/or state bar association—many offer free memberships for law students.
Be sure to check out other associations that are local to your city or state or have chapters at your law school, too, as these can provide valuable networking opportunities closer to home.
