Bar Associations and Professional Organizations
Active membership in bar associatons and other professional organizations is one of the best ways to learn about your profession and develop a professional network. There are organizations for almost every professional interest, jurisdiction, and affinity group imaginable. Many of the larger bar associations have committees for lawyers who are minorities, gay and lesbians, and women. Many bar associations have substantially discounted student membership fees.
The following is just a small portion of the many bar associations and law organizations that are out there. You can find out about others by looking on the Internet; searching through an online legal database; reading articles in legal and business newspapers and magazines; looking at legal directories; and talking with lawyers, law professors, and law students. Consider joining one of these organizations for your intellectual, social, and professional growth.
American Bar Association
Service Center
312 North Clark Street
Chicago, IL 60610
Phone: (312) 988-5522
ABA's Commission on Racial and Ethnic Diversity in the Profession
American Inns of Court
1229 King Street, 2nd Floor
Alexandria, VA 22314
Phone: (703) 684-3590
Fax: (703) 684-3607
Arab-American Bar Association of Illinois, Inc.
P.O. Box 81325
Chicago, IL 60681
Phone: (312) 946-0110
Asian American Bar Association of the Greater Chicago Area
P.O. Box A3782
Chicago, IL 60690
Phone: (312) 554-2044
Fax: (312) 554-9843
E-mail: aabachicago1@aol.com
Black Entertainment & Sports Lawyers Association
BESLA
Administrative Office
Phyllicia Hatton
P.O. Box 441485
Fort Washington, MD 20749-1485
Phone: (301) 248-1818
Fax: (301) 248-0700
Black Women Lawyers' Association of Greater Chicago, Inc.
Chicago Bar Association Building
321 South Plymouth Court, Suite 600
Chicago, IL 60604
Phone: (312) 554-2088
The Chicago Bar Association
321 South Plymouth Court
Chicago, IL 60604-3997
Phone: (312) 554-2000
Fax: (312) 554-2054
E-mail: info@chicagobar.org
Chicago Committee on Minorities in Large Law Firms
J. Danielle Carr, Esq.
Executive Director
c/o Foley & Lardner LLP
321 North Clark Street, Suite 2800
Chicago, IL 60610
Phone: (312) 832-5125
E-mail: info@chicagocommittee.org
Chicago Council of Lawyers
750 North Lake Shore Drive, 4th Floor
Chicago, IL 60611
Phone: (312) 988-6565
Fax: (312) 654-8644
E-mail: CCL@ChicagoCouncil.org
Chinese Ameican Bar Association
USG Corporation (149)
125 South Franklin Street
Chicago, IL 60606
Phone: (312) 606-3916
Fax: (312) 606-4208
Cook County Bar Association (Chicago's largest African American bar association)
120 West Madison
Chicago, IL 60602
Phone: (312) 630-1157
Fax: (312) 630-0983
E-mail: info@cookcountybar.org
Hispanic Lawyers Association of Illinois
321 South Plymouth Court
Suite #600
Chicago, IL 60604
Phone: (312) 345-9200
E-mail: htristan@tristanports.com
Hispanic National Bar Association
815 Connecticut Avenue, NW
Suite 500
Washington, D.C. 20006
Phone: (202) 223-4777
Fax: (202) 223-2324
E-mail: hnba@hbna.org
Illinois State Bar Association
Illinois Bar Center
424 South Second Street
Springfield, IL 62701-1779
Main Office Phone: (217) 525-1760
In Illinois Toll-Free Phone: 1-800-252-8909
Chicago Phone: (312) 726-8775
E-mail: INFO@ISBA.org
International Bar Association
271 Regent Street
London W1B 2AQ, England
Phone: +44 (0) 20 7629 1206
Fax: +44 (0) 20 7409 0456
Korean American Bar Association
6033 North Sheridan Road, Suite 32G
Chicago, IL 60660
Lesbian and Gay Bar Association of Chicago
3712 North Broadway
P.O. Box #415
Chicago, IL 60613-4105
Phone: (773) 404-9574
National Asian Pacific American Bar Association
910 17th Street, NW, Suite 315
Washington, DC 20006
Phone: (202) 775-9555
Fax: (202) 775-9333
Los Angeles Office:
11355 West Olympic Boulevard, Suite 336
Los Angeles, CA 90064
Phone: (310) 312-7888
Fax: (310) 312-4224
National Asian Pacific American Law Student Association
National Association of Muslim Lawyers
National Association for Public Interest Law
2120 L Street, NW, Suite 450
Washington, DC 20037
Phone: (202) 466-3686
Fax: (202) 429-9766
E-mail: mail@equaljusticeworks.org
National Bar Association (The nation's largest African American bar association)
1225 11th Street, N.W.
Washington, DC 20001-4217
(202) 842-3900
National Black Law Students Association
National Black MBA Association
180 North Michigan Avenue, Suite 1400
Chicago, IL 60601
Phone: (312) 236-BMBA (2622)
Fax: (312) 236-0390
E-mail: mail@nbmbaa.org
National Black Prosecutors Association
1507 East 53rd Street, Suite 108
Chicago, IL 60615
Phone: (877) 588-1656
National Hispanic Prosecutors Association
E-mail: membership@hispanicprosecutors.org
National Lesbian and Gay Law Association
D'Arcy Kemnitz, Esq.
Executive Director
601 Thirteenth Street, N.W., Suite 1170 South
Washington, DC 20005-3823
Phone: (202) 637-6384
Fax: (202) 639-6066
National Society of Hispanic MBAS
1303 Walnut Hill Lane, Suite 300
Irving, TX 75038
Phone: (877) 467-4622
Fax: (214) 596-9325
Native American Bar Association
E-mail: info@nativeamericanbar.org
National Native American Law Students Association
Puerto Rican Bar Association
10 East 40th Street, Suite 3702
New York, NY 10016
Phone: (212) 329-8025
South Asian Bar Association of Northern California
E-mail: meetalij@hotmail.com
South Asian Bar Association of Southern California
South Asian Bar Association of Washington, D.C.
P.O. Box 65349
Washington, DC 20035
E-mail: sabadc@sabadc.org
Women's Bar Association of Illinois
Chicago Bar Association Building
321 South Plymouth Court, Suite 4S
Chicago, IL 60604-3997
Phone: (312) 341-8530
Fax: (312) 341-8533
E-mail: wbai8530@enteract.com
