• Advocacy
• NLADA Insurance Program
• Training and Conferences
• Annual Conference
• Technical Support and Capacity Building
• Publications
• Member Sections
• Member Affinity Programs

Advocacy

NLADA sounds the collective voice of its members to promote congressional, executive branch, media and public support for high quality legal aid and indigent defense for the poor. Playing a national leadership role, it works to increase public support and to ensure adequate funds and other resources for legal aid and indigent defense providers. It responds to requests from legislators and their staffs for testimony and technical information, mobilizes allies and supporters to advance equal justice goals, and provides information to national and local media organizations.

For more information go to Civil Government Relations and/or Defender Government Relations

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NLADA Insurance Program

Through the NLADA Insurance Program, member offices enjoy access to comprehensive professional liability coverage at highly competitive rates. The program offers a basic lawyers malpractice policy as well as special endorsements covering management errors and omissions, employment practices liability, criminal defense, punitive damages, pro bono programs and the outside practice of law. The program is unique in the marketplace as the only member-controlled insurance program serving the indigent defense and civil legal aid community.

For more information on the NLADA Insurance Program, click on the link on the left.

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Training and Conferences

Throughout the year, NLADA offers or co-sponsors training programs to help participants represent poor clients more effectively. Drawing on national experts, the training sessions teach participants the latest developments in substantive law, management skills, trial techniques, service delivery innovations, and many other subjects of vital interest to indigent defenders and civil legal services providers. NLADA's annual Life in the Balance training in death penalty defense and Substantive Law Conference on civil poverty law are widely recognized as premier training events. Continuing Legal Education (CLE) certification is available for training events, and members receive substantial discounts.

For more information on Training and Conferences, click here.

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Annual Conference

NLADA's annual conference also provides a wealth of training opportunities for civil and defender members. Principal areas at past conferences include substantive law (both criminal defense and civil), defender management, managing change, developing strategic partnerships, legal skills, sentencing options, client issues, information technology and ethical issues. The annual conference enables members to share their expertise, experiences and insights with colleagues from throughout the country.

The 2011 Centennial Conference offers scholarships to Client Members. To download the application, click here: Client Scholarship Application

For more information on the Annual Conference, click here.

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Technical Support and Capacity Building

Through the Association's civil and defender divisions and special initiatives such as the Project for the Future of Equal Justice, technical assistance, support and capacity building are available to a broad range of member programs.

For more information, go to Defender Technical Assistance, or Civil Technical Support and Capacity Building.

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Publications

NLADA offers a wide range of publications to member offices, including selected evaluation reports, Amicus Curiae briefs, training materials, management and administration resources, and analyses of Legal Services Corporation regulations. Many publications are available free to members, while others are available at special membership rates.

For a complete list of NLADA publications go to Publications.

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NLADA Member Sections

NLADA offers members the opportunity to join semi-autonomous groups which seek to improve the quality of service to their clients in specialized legal fields. At present, 14 sections operate at varying levels of activity. Several sponsor publications, file amicus briefs and sponsor seminars and training events. Section membership is open to individual members of NLADA.

For more information, go to Sections/Affinity Groups.

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Member Affinity Programs

          New in 2009!

• Mutual of America is the preferred provider of pension and retirement savings plans for NLADA members and their employees.

  
  
  

  Mutual of America has been working with nonprofit organizations since 1945 and has a solid reputation for superior customer service. NLADA has offered our employees retirement planning through Mutual of America for over 40 years. Today we continue to be impressed by their products and services and are pleased to offer Mutual of America as a retirement plan service provider for our member programs. Through this relationship, NLADA program members who meet certain criteria and who utilize Mutual of America's Hotline Plus Internet-based system to administer their retirement plans are eligible for a waiver of certain plan-related administrative charges attributable to Defined Contribution type plans. These waivers would apply to both existing and to new Mutual of America clients. Potential savings from this program could allow more of the funds you have budgeted for your retirement plan to be used to enhance other benefits for your program and employees.
  
  For more information, please download Why Choose Mutual of America, go to www.mutualofamerica.com or call (800) 468-3785 for more details on what they offer.

• On-line Recruiting/HR Management Software from Lawmatch

  NLADA has partnered with Lawmatch, a Web-based recruitment and human resources management system, to provide a discounted offering to NLADA members. NLADA members receive a 50 percent discount on Lawmatch services -- ten percent lower than other non-profit organizations and Lawmatch’s lowest published rate for any customer.

  No up-front purchase is required: Lawmatch charges a low monthly (or lower annual) fee based on account usage. Packages start at $100/month ($1,020/year). For complete pricing information please visit http://lawmatch.com/nlada, or call (800) 529-6282 x1. Be sure to indicate that you are a member of NLADA to qualify for special member rates!

• On-line Fundraising Software with eTapestry
  

  NLADA has partnered with eTapestry, a Web-based donor management database system, to provide a discounted offering to members. NLADA members receive a 10% discount on the eTapestry service.

  eTapestry is the leading provider of Web-based software for managing donor, prospect, and member records. As a complete fundraising application, eTapestry handles all giving and pledge records, manages mailing list functions, provides detailed query capabilities, and produces numerous reports for managing fundraising activities.

  Pricing for eTapestry is based on number of account records and number of concurrent users. There is no up-front purchase with eTapestry. Instead users pay a low monthly fee (prices range from $30/month to $250/month). For complete pricing visit the eTapestry Web site or call 888-739-3827 for more information. Be sure to indicate that you are a member of NLADA to receive a 10% discount off listed prices.

• Language Line Services (LLS) Over-the-Phone Interpretation
  The Interpreting Justice Partnership, a joint initiative of the National Legal Aid & Defender Association and Language Line Services, is a shared commitment to respond to the need for immediate and effective representation and advocacy for clients who speak a language other than English. This initiative supports, strengthens, and expands the capacity of NLADA and its member organizations to provide access to justice for its multi-lingual communities.

  Language Line Services offers over-the-phone interpretation and document translation services from English into more than 176 languages. The service is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, from any phone in the world. On average, it takes just 25 seconds or less to be connected with a professional, legally certified, confidential interpreter. With the Interpreting Justice Partnership, you will be able to provide immediate and direct client services to an increasingly diverse client population, ensuring that every client is granted access to open, fair and equal treatment in the justice system.

  Language Line Services has developed special reduced pricing for its Subscriber Interpretation (SI) services for NLADA members:

  Enrollment Fee: Waived (normally $250)
  

  Monthly Minimum: $0.00 For NLADA Members(standard minimum is $100.00)
  

  Aggregated monthly volume discounts (all participating members receive a prorated share of the volume discount)

  Usage is billed in one-minute increments, based on the language requested and the time of day. These per-minute rates decrease even further as the aggregate usage of all NLADA member participants increases. There is no charge for toll-free access to Language Line Services.

  For more information on how this partnership can assist your organization, please contact Jon Plotkin at 888-898-1382 or e-mail at jplotkin@languageline.com. Visit the LLS Web site at www.languageline.com for a sample of the services offered.

• Online Legal Research through LEXIS Publishing Company
  

  LEXIS Publishing Company has agreed to offer significant discounts to programs that provide civil legal aid to the poor. LEXIS will provide four levels of services, from "state law only" to full LEXIS with citation services at reduced rates. Participants will be charged only a flat fee per attorney. Paralegals at participating offices will receive a password to use the service free of charge. Additionally, the discount will increase as the volume of participation in each state increases.

  In addition to the substantial flat-rate discount, LEXIS will provide, pro bono, limited research time within other materials not included in the libraries designated for a participant's particular level of service. Participants will also receive discounts on any LEXIS Publishing Company product, including print and CD-ROM subscriptions from Matthew-Bender, Shepard's and Michie. Participants also will have access to free, unlimited training for the life of the agreement.

  The service is accessed through the Internet. It requires no software other than an Internet browser, which allows users to conduct their research from any Internet-connected computer. To get more information or to become a participant, call LEXIS Publishing Company at 800-356-6548.

• Practising Law Institute (PLI) Interactive Courtroom CD-ROMs
  

  PLI is offering NLADA members incredible savings on their Interactive Courtroom CD-ROM training series. This series of over a dozen CDs includes such topics as Direct Examination, Cross-Examination, Client Interviewing, Taking Effective Depositions, Mastering Motions, and Be Prepared For Your Deposition.

  In the CD entitled You Be the Judge, you play the role of the trial judge in a breach-of-contract dispute. You'll feel the pressures and pace of a courtroom appearance as you actively participate in a trial. When attorneys object during the direct and cross-examination of the plaintiff, it's your duty to sustain or overrule each objection. You'll learn whether your rulings are correct or incorrect and why, as a citation to the applicable federal or state rule of evidence appears. At the end, your efficiency is scored.

  Regular price:	$295 per CD-ROM plus site license fee ($395-995)
  NLADA Member price:	$50 per CD-ROM (site license fee waived) - a savings of over $245 per CD-ROM.

  To receive this special members-only price, request a special order form by contacting Chandra Nicholson at c.nicholson@nlada.org or calling 202-452-0620 ext 215. For more information about the services offered by PLI, please visit their web site at www.pli.edu.

• Justice Federal Credit Union (JFCU) Membership
  NLADA members and their immediate family members are eligible to join the Justice Federal Credit Union, which offers highly competitive rates for loans and returns on savings. Once you become a JFCU member, you can be a member for life, provided you have active open accounts. You can keep your membership status through retirement, relocation and changes in employment.

  The National Credit Union Administration (NCUA), an agency of the U.S. government, insures JFCU accounts to $100,000. Individual retirement accounts are insured separately to an additional $100,000. To join JFCU, you simply complete a membership application to open any deposit account with the required minimum balance (shown below). A savings account must be established in order to apply for a loan.

  Type of Account	Minimum Balance to Open
  Regular Share Savings	$5.00
  Checking	$25.00
  Money Market	$2,500.00
  IRA Share	$5.00
  Certificate (Regular or IRA)	$1,000.00

  While most of the branch offices and ATMs are located in the Washington, DC, Virginia, Maryland, West Virginia and New York areas, location is not an obstacle to joining JFCU. For more information, visit the JFCU web site at www.jfcu.org or contact JFCU at 5175 Parkstone Drive, Suite 200, Chantilly, VA 20151, phone (703) 480-5300 or 1 (800) 550-JFCU.

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