The California Lawyers Association is the statewide, voluntary bar association for all California lawyers. Created by the Legislature in S.B. 36, the California Lawyers Association is a 501(c)(6) professional association that launched in January of 2018. Initially comprised of the California Young Lawyers Association and the 16 substantive law sections that were previously part of the State Bar of California, CLA offers its members unparalleled continuing legal education, the chance to develop an incredible statewide network of relationships, advocacy on matters critically important to the profession, and opportunities for statewide professional visibility and leadership. The Association’s mission is to promote excellence, diversity and inclusion in the legal profession and fairness in access to justice and the rule of law.

The California Lawyers Association provides its members with a variety of benefits—both tangible and intangible. Among the most valuable tangible benefits are free access to Fastcase; a comprehensive, nationwide law library, including case law, statutes, regulations, court rules, constitutions, and law review articles. It’s one of the largest online law libraries in the world! Fastcase alone is a $995 per year value and it’s included in the price of membership.

While our members are busy representing their clients, our advocacy team is busy representing the profession. We harness the voices of our members to create policy changes that improve the profession. Whether it’s advocating for changes in jury instructions to filing amicus briefs to meeting with relevant stakeholders on bread-and-butter issues such as the cost of licensing or the definition of the practice of law, CLA is fighting for attorneys in California.

Becoming active with a section of the association also provides members with the opportunity to write and speak via statewide and, on occasion, national and international outlets. And while tangible benefits easily justify the cost of an annual membership, many members would argue that the intangible benefits—the networks built and relationships developed—outweigh the tangible benefits by far. Check out all our membership plans here.

Membership runs on a calendar year. It is valid from January 1st to December 31st.

Unfortunately, we do not allow individual to switch sections.

The best way to communicate additional questions to us is to submit them via email to info@calawyers.org or to call 916-516-1760.