CLA - California Lawyers Association

Established in 2018, the California Lawyers Association (CLA) is a nonprofit, voluntary organization that acts as the home for the Sections of the State Bar of California and the California Young Lawyers Association.

As an organization independent from the State Bar of California, the California Lawyers Association (CLA) is focused on the professional advancement of attorneys practicing in the state of California. The CLA is a powerful network of 100,000 members.

Benefits of membership include networking opportunities, access to CLA Continuing Legal Education Seminars, invitations to the CLA Annual Meeting, and free access to Fastcase legal research services. 

The California Lawyers Association (CLA) promotes excellence, diversity and inclusion in the legal profession and fairness in the administration of justice and the rule of law.

The mission of the California Lawyers Association is to promote excellence, diversity and inclusion in the legal profession and fairness in the administration of justice and the rule of law.

CLA's membership represents the vast diversity of California's legal community and the various areas of law practiced throughout the state of California. CLA delivers its members high-quality programs, events, and resources.

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Sections of the California Lawyers Association (CLA)

The California Lawyers Association (CLA) has 16 different Sections governed by an executive committee of appointed members. Members pay an annual fee to join each Section. 

The various sections in the California Lawyer Association (CLA) include:

• Workers' Compensation Law - focused on mediation and arbitration, AMA guidelines, medical evidence, and cases of all kinds: cumulative injuries, psychiatric injuries, pain control, and drug addiction, and more.
• Trusts and Estates - focused on probate, estate planning, administration, accounting, distribution of estates, guardianships and conservatorships, and drafting of wills and trusts.
• Taxation - focused on tax issues including bankruptcy/insolvency, corporate tax, employee benefits, estate and gift tax, income tax, international tax, pass-through entities, and real estate, state and local tax, tax-exempt organizations and tax procedure and litigation.
• Solo and Small Firm - provides a wide range of educational programs, and excellent publication and networking opportunities.
• Real Property Law - focused on real property, including development (common interest, public, private, commercial and industrial), finance, litigation, sales and brokerage, landlord-tenant, inverse condemnation and eminent domain, construction, natural resources, and zoning and land use.
• Public Law - focused on legal work for governmental agencies, departments or boards, administrative issues, land use/environment, government contracts, legislation and political, public interest and information, government tort liability and community development.
• Litigation - focused on dispute resolution, pre-trial discovery, the expeditious trial of lawsuits, effective judicial administration, uniform rules of court and the protection and preservation of the independence of a judiciary of high quality.
• Law Practice Management and Technology - focused on the tools lawyers need to run their practice effectively, including ethical concerns, computer and technological advancements, effective management techniques, and other sources for the effective and ethical delivery of legal services and the successful operation of a law office.
• Labor and Employment Law - focused on all aspects of labor and employment law, including sexual harassment, disability discrimination, wrongful termination, discrimination, leaves of absence, DFEH/EEOC, hiring foreign nationals, wage issues, mental disabilities and illness, union issues, legislation and case law and more.
• International Law - focused on international and trans-border legal matters including corporate and business transactions, litigation and arbitration, tax, regulatory and trade matters, bankruptcy, intellectual property, family law and immigration, amongst others.
• Intellectual Property Law Section - focused on trademarks; trade secrets; copyrights; patents; licensing; technology, internet & privacy; entertainment and sports; international IP, and other intellectual property issues.
• Family Law Section - focusing on marriage, dissolution, custody and support, community property, adoptions and matters affecting the rights, privileges, duties and responsibilities of members of the family.
• Environmental Law Section - regulatory developments and case law concerning air quality, CEQA, coastal and forest resources, endangered species, energy, global warming, hazardous waste and materials, land use, NEPA, prop 65, solid waste, water quality, wetlands and more.
• Criminal Law Section - substantive and procedural law, prisoner confinement, offender rehabilitation and other matters relating to the prosecution and defense of persons accused of crimes on both the federal and state level.
• Business Law Section - includes 15 substantive committees, focusing on corporate law, banking, health law, franchise law, insolvency, nonprofits, cyberlaw, and the UCC.
• Antitrust, UCL and Privacy Section - federal and state antitrust and unfair competition law, litigation and antitrust counseling, and privacy law, and both private and government enforcement actions.

The attorneys serving in leadership roles within the various sections participate in the following types of activities:

• Commenting on administrative regulations and rules of court;
• Recommending positions on pending legislation on behalf of CLA;
• Drafting legislation which might become part of the CLA legislative program;
• Presenting educational seminars on timely topics throughout the year;
• Establishing committees through which members may actively participate; and
• Publishing newsletters to keep members informed of new developments.

Additional Resources

CLA’s CEtoGo or Podcast - CEtoGO is a searchable catalog of downloadable podcasts, webinars, or webcasts for licensed California attorneys. Podcasts can be downloaded and listened to offline or while on the go. An on-demand program is a recording of a webinar or webcast event. Find out when an attorney must complete their MCLE compliance and the end date of the compliance period or final deadline. The webcast uses video, audio, supporting material, and slides. The "Advanced Search" tool narrows the search criteria to a date, speaker, category, or topic.

This article was last updated on Friday, February 21, 2020.