Joining NAACA
To be a member, you must be employed by a state or federal appellate court (or you may join or renew as an emeritus member, defined as an attorney who is retired from appellate court employment or although not retired, no longer works for such a court and is not engaged in the practice of law). To become a regular or emeritus member (or to renew an existing membership), complete the membership form and make payment in one of the following two ways:
The National Association of Appellate Court Attorneys (NAACA) provides an
annual conference with training and education specifically tailored to attorneys
at state and federal appellate courts.
This year our conference will be held in Salt Lake City, UT, from July 8-11, 2025. Our
2024 Conference was held in
Chicago, IL., July 9-12, 2024. The
2023
conference was in Pittsburgh, PA and the
2022
Conference was hosted by UC Berkeley School of Law and the Berkeley Judicial
Institute, with whom we affiliated in 2021. NAACA members receive a significant
tuition discount (which is more than the annual membership fee!). Join now and
you'll be a member for one full year, and there are other reasons to join NAACA
now, even if you are unsure whether you'll be able to participate in the next
conference. Consult
this
article for detailed information about the benefits of joining NAACA, in the
words of some of our longtime members. Or continue reading below for a summary
of those benefits.
All NAACA members are subscribed to an electronic listserv that provides ready access to a network of appellate court attorneys working daily to enhance their courts and their professional lives. The listerv allows members to poll their colleagues and gather information about how other courts are addressing personnel, procedural, or substantive challenges. Recent postings on the NAACA listserv have ranged from dealing with "frequent filers" of frivolous appeals to breaking issues in Section 1983 cases, family law, death penalty, and habeas corpus; from disaster planning and continuity of court operations to permissible communications between pro se litigants and staff attorneys; and from ensuring adequate representation in cases involving Anders briefs to creating and correcting appellate case captions.
Members also receive the quarterly NAACA News. In addition to news about the organization, conference planning, and your colleagues at other courts, the newsletter includes book reviews, substantive articles about legal topics, and lots of information that you won't find elsewhere. Recent issues have included articles by Erwin Chemerinsky, as well as writing tips and scientific evidence topics.
