Membership Benefits

Members enjoy a wide array of benefits that will enhance their efficiency and effectiveness, including:

• The NALP Bulletin+, NALP's monthly newsletter, which offers feature articles on lawyer professional development, recruitment, career services, and diversity and inclusion in the profession.
• Topical monthly +PD and +DEI newsletters highlighting content in these two core NALP fields.
  
• NALPnow!, a twice monthly e-newsletter, which provides important NALP news and timely updates.
• NALP's Weekly News Digest, the week's most relevant news stories, curated by NALP's Executive Director
• Online PDF archive of all past NALP Directory of Legal Employers (NDLE) forms (1979 – present) at https://www.nalp.org/ndle_archives. If you are looking for older copies of your NALP forms (or copies of other firms’ forms) to gather or review historical data, this information is now easily accessible!
• Access to all members-only areas of NALP's website, including a searchable membership directory and the NALP Bulletin archives.
• Eligibility to join NALP's Sections: Membership in Sections is open to all NALP members and is an excellent way to build a professional network in a specific interest area. Members are also eligible to serve on appointed Advisory Groups and other work groups.
• Special reports that offer important benchmark information on salaries, benefits, and responsibilities of professionals in the legal career planning field.
• Reduced rates at the NALP Annual Education Conference and other NALP conferences and special discounts on many of the resources in the NALP Bookstore.

Membership Applications & Additional Resources

View NALP's Membership Benefits

Download New Membership Application
(This fillable PDF can be completed and returned to info@nalp.org).

Download NALP International Law School Membership Application

To learn more about membership, contact NALP at info@nalp.org or call 202-835-1001.

2024 Membership Dues & Types

NALP’s Board of Director’s approved an adjustment to the membership categories in response to the ongoing law firm consolidation trend, a trend that has resulted in fewer law firm member institutions, many of which are far larger than they used to be. We have assigned law firm member institutions to the appropriate membership categories based on the lawyer headcount information found in the NALP Directory of Legal Employers. If you have been placed in the wrong category, please contact us at (202) 835-1001 or info@nalp.org.

The chart below shows the 2024 NALP membership dues and structure for the 2024 membership year. The NALP membership year runs from January 1 — December 31.

Voting Members

NALP's voting members are institutions that meet the following eligibility criteria:

* Employers: Any bar association, nonprofit public interest organization, or government agency, or any other employer whose active engagement in the recruitment of lawyers and law students is primarily for purposes of employment within its individual organization.

* Law Schools: Any law school accredited by the American Bar Association, or any law school in a non-U.S. country whose admission to membership is approved by the Board of Directors based upon factors including the school's accreditation or recognition in its home country, its career services staffing, and its commitment to nondiscrimination in the offering of career services.

Non-Voting Members

For purposes of determining eligibility for the Affiliate membership category, the Board defines the four types of non-voting, individual Affiliate membership as follows:

Consultants – This category includes individual consultants as defined below who are not otherwise eligible for voting membership, either as individuals or through their employer. This category does not include legal search consultants. A “consultant” for the purposes of this category is any individual, or any member of an organization or institution with which such individual is employed or affiliated professionally, who provides professional or expert advice or services to law schools or legal employers.

Legal Search Consultants – This category includes individual legal search consultants who adhere to the NALSC (National Association of Legal Search Consultants) Code of Ethics that sets out standards for professional and ethical attorney placement services in the legal community.

NALP Alumni Affiliates – This category is for prior NALP members who have left active employment in the field and who do not otherwise qualify for voting membership or for Affiliate membership in any of the above categories. This category of membership provides electronic access to select NALP publications.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why are some invoices more than others?
The NALP membership dues structure is based on a primary membership and then any additional individuals after establishing the organization’s primary contact. The primary membership cost ($995, $1100, $1700, $1950, $2150, $350, etc.) pays for the organization to be a member — that office’s membership (note: this only applies to employers), plus one person as a primary contact. Any additional individuals in that office who would like to join would then pay $300 for their individual memberships (within a member office). Each physical office location after the first/primary office pays $725 for their office’s membership. This pays for that office to be a member plus one primary contact (note: this only applies to employers). Each additional individual within that office pays $300 for their individual membership.

Law Firms or Other Employers = Primary Organization Membership + (1) Primary Contact Membership
Additional Branch Office = Branch Membership + (1) Primary Contact Membership
Individual Associates = Any additional individuals from a primary or branch member office joining NALP

What does the primary membership pay for?
The primary or additional office membership for each institution comes with (1) primary contact included in the organization’s dues fee. The person listed on the invoice is the person who can access member benefits on behalf of the organization. Each additional individual within that office who wishes to be a NALP member pays $300 for their individual membership.

If that person is no longer with the organization, please send an email to info@nalp.org, with the name, email address, and phone number of the person who will be replacing them. Please note that the primary (organization’s) membership must be paid in order for the additional individual memberships to be active. This explanation does not apply to the Affiliate categories as they are individual memberships and cannot be transferred within the organization.

How do I obtain one invoice for all offices and individuals of my organization?
NALP can send you a PDF that contains all of the outstanding invoices at an organization in one file. These can be requested by emailing info@nalp.org. Unfortunately, NALP does not have the ability to create one invoice for all offices and individuals of an organization.

What are the dates my membership is effective?
The membership year follows the calendar year, January 1 – December 31.

Should checks be issued in U.S. funds?
Yes, all membership fees are displayed in U.S. currency, so checks should be issued in U.S. funds.

What's the best way to pay my membership dues?
NALP has several convenient ways to secure your NALP member benefits. If you're a new member, fill out the NALP New Member Application. To renew:

(1) Pay your membership dues invoice electronically:

• At www.nalp.org click "My Membership" at the top of the page;
• Sign into the NALP member portal
• From the Overview tab, navigate to "Pay Open Balances" and click "Make a Payment";
• Select the check box next to the invoice(s) you wish to pay;
• Pay by credit card.