Virginia

• Old Dominion Bar Association, founded in 1941, is an affiliate of the National Bar Association. It grew out of the need to confront discriminatory policies then offending Virginia's African American lawyers personal and professional dignity. As a bar association, it fills the need of Black lawyers to associate for personal and professional growth and development. As a body, the ODBA uses its strength to have input in judicial appointments. The ODBA is NOVABAA's sponsoring organization.
• The Virginia State Bar (VSB) was created in 1938 by the General Assembly as an administrative agency of the Supreme Court of Virginia. The creation of the agency unified Virginia's lawyers in a mandatory State Bar.
• Virginia Bar Association is a voluntary organization of Virginia lawyers committed to serving the public and the legal profession by promoting the highest standards of integrity, professionalism and excellence in the legal profession; working to improve the law and the administration of justice; and advancing collegial relations among lawyers.
•  Alexandria Bar Association has been serving the community for 75 years, established in 1928. Several members of the law community of Alexandria realized there was a need for more involvement in this community. They also understood they need to unite the law community in order to accomplish this, hence, The Alexandria Bar Association was created.
• Fairfax Bar Association provides a "community" to foster professional growth and to establish peer relationships. It offers members a chance to improve the legal system in which they work and to give something back to the community in which they live. More than 2,000 lawyers belong to the association.

District of Columbia

• The District of Columbia Bar Association was created by the D.C. Court of Appeals in 1972, is among the largest unified bars in the United States. D.C. Bar's is a single organization that upholds the ethical standards and rules of professional conduct.
• Greater Washington Area Chapter, Women Lawyers Division, National Bar Association is a network of African American women attorneys dedicated to the professional development of its members. We are committed to improving the quality of life in the Greater Washington Area through a variety of activities, including educational programs and community service projects.
• Washington Bar Association is one of the first African American Bar associations in the country, was formed in 1925 by such legal luminaries as Charles Hamilton Houston. The WBA was created simultaneously with the National Bar Association and is an affiliate chapter of that organization.
• Bar Association of the District of Columbia has a broadly inclusive membership, has provided leadership and direction for the Washington legal community since its founding in 1871.

Maryland

• The Maryland State Bar Association is a voluntary, non-profit membership organization comprised of more than 19700 attorneys and judges.
• J. Franklyn Bourne Bar Association

American Bar Association

• The American Bar Association is the largest voluntary professional association in the world. With more than 400,000 members, the ABA provides law school accreditation, continuing legal education, information about the law, programs to assist lawyers and judges in their work, and initiatives to improve the legal system for the public.
• ABA Accredited Law Schools: A total of 188 institutions are approved and accredited by the American Bar Association.
• ABA Commission on Racial and Ethnic Diversity in the Profession addresses those issues related to racial and ethnic diversity in the legal profession.
• ABA Council on Racial and Ethnic Justice works in issues of race and ethnicity as they pertain to issues of social justice.
• ABA Advisory Council on Diversity supports issues related to the "pipeline" and encouraging more minorities to pursue a career in law.

National Minority Bar Associations

• National Bar Association is the nation's oldest and largest national association of predominately African-American lawyers and judges. It represents a professional network of over 20,000 lawyers, judges, educators and law students.
• The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) is the United States' only national association of Asian Pacific American attorneys, judges, law professors, and law students, providing a national network for its members and affiliates.
• Hispanic National Bar Association (HNBA) represents the interest of over 25,000 Hispanic American attorneys, judges, law professors, and law students in the United States and Puerto Rico.

Other National Minority Legal Associations

• National Black Prosecutors Association the only professional membership organization dedicated to the advancement of Blacks as prosecutors. Founded in 1983, the Association's membership is comprised of over 800 prosecutors nationwide.
• The National Conference of Black Lawyers (NCBL); an association of lawyers, scholars, judges, legal workers, law students and legal activists. Our mission is to serve as the legal arm of the movement for Black Liberation, to protect human rights, to achieve self-determination of Africa and African Communities and to work in coalition to assist in ending oppression of all peoples. NCBL is a bar association but its program concerns matters of critical concern to the broader Black community.
• Minority Corporate Counsel Association (MCCA) was founded in 1997 to advocate for the expanded hiring, retention, and promotion of minority attorneys in corporate law departments and the law firms that serve them.
• National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) was formed in 1909 by a multiracial group of progressive thinkers. It is a non-profit organization established with the objective of insuring the political, educational, social and economic equality of minority groups. The NAACP has as its mission the goal of eliminating race prejudice and removing all barriers of racial discrimination through democratic processes.
• The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF) was founded in 1940 under the leadership of Thurgood Marshall. Although LDF's primary purpose was to provide legal assistance to poor African Americans, its work over the years has brought greater justice to all Americans. LDF was originally affiliated with the NAACP but it has been an entirely separate organization since 1957.
• National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE) seeks to ensure equity in the administration of justice in the provision of public service to all communities, and to serve as the conscience of law enforcement by being committed to justice by action. The goal of NOBLE is to be recognized as a highly competent, public service organization that is at the forefront of providing solutions to law enforcement issues and concerns, as well as to the ever-changing needs of our communities.
• The Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, Inc. (CBCF) was established in 1976 as a non-partisan, non-profit, public policy, research and educational institute. As envisioned by its founders, the CBCF's mission is to serve as the non-partisan policy oriented catalyst that educates future leaders and promotes collaboration among legislators, business leaders, minority-focused organizational leaders, and organized labor to effect positive and sustainable change in the African American community.

High School Students

• Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund was established to remedy the absence of a national effort to support exceptional merit scholars attending America's Historically Black Public Colleges and Universities.
• The United Negro College Fund (UNCF) is the nation’s largest, oldest, most successful and most comprehensive minority higher education assistance organization. UNCF provides operating funds and technology enhancement services for 39 member historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs), scholarships and internships for students at almost 1,000 institutions and faculty and administrative professional training.
• INROADS seeks high performing African American, Hispanic, and Native American students for internship opportunities with some of the nation's largest companies. Their rigorous career development training process will challenge you to commit to excellence and raise the bar on your personal expectations.

College Students

• The Council on Legal Education Opportunity ("CLEO") was founded in 1968 as a non-profit project of the American Bar Association Fund for Justice and Education to expand opportunities for minorities and low-income students to attend law school and become members of the legal profession by providing pre-law recruitment, counseling, placement assistance and training. More than 7,000 students have been oriented to law school through the CLEO Summer Institutes. CLEO provides pre-law recruitment, counseling, placement assistance, and training to increase the number of qualified students in law school. See also the separate alternate CLEO ABA site athttp://www.abanet.org/cleo/whatis.html#.
• INROADS interns are graduating high school seniors, college or university freshmen or sophomores with a grade point average of B or better, and a combined SAT score of at least 1000, or an ACT score of 20 or better. They have demonstrated a proven leadership ability, and are interested in pursuing a Bachelor's degree in business, engineering, retail, technology, nursing, pharmacy, marketing, and sales.
• Black Collegian provides cutting-edge information on career resources for Black collegians. Job search strategies, graduate school opportunities, career and industry reports are abundantly explored.

Law School Admission Test

• The Law School Admission Council (LSAC) is a nonprofit corporation whose members are 202 law schools in the United States and Canada. LSAC administered about 147,600 LSATs last year.
• ABA-LSAC Official Guide to ABA-Approved Law Schools is the online 2007 Searchable Edition.
• LSAC Minority Perspective: No single minority group in the United States accounts for more than 4% of the lawyers in the United States. The Law School Admission Council and its member law schools want to increase the numbers of lawyers from underrepresented minority groups in the United States.
• Commercial LSAT Prep: Kaplan; Princeton Review;

Law Students

• The National Black Law Students Association (NBLSA), the largest student-run organization in America, has over 200 chapters at law schools throughout the country.
• The National Latina/o Law Student Association (NLLSA) is dedicated to promoting and sustaining the academic success of Latina and Latino law students.
• Just the Beginning Foundation (JTBF) From Slavery to the Supreme Court is a multi-racial organization of lawyers, judges, and other individuals formed in 1993 to commemorate, preserve, and educate the public about the contributions of African Americans to the federal judicial system. The foundation commemorates the contributions of African-Americans to the federal judiciary, and documents the experiences of African-American lawyers and judges. Since 1789, more than 2,540 Article III federal judges have been appointed in the United States. Of that number, only 106 have been African Americans.
• American Inns of Court (AIC) are designed to improve the skills, professionalism and ethics of the bench and bar. An American Inn of Court is an amalgam of judges, lawyers, and in some cases, law professors and law students. Each Inn meets approximately once a month both to “break bread” and to hold programs and discussions on matters of ethics, skills and professionalism.
• National Association for Law Placement provides leadership and expertise in legal career planning, recruitment and hiring, employment, and professional development worldwide.
• Black Entertainment & Sports Lawyers Association (BESLA) is an international organization of lawyers and other entertainment and sports industry executives in support of a more diversified, expert and informed group of entertainment and sports industry professionals.
• See also listing of Local Bar Associations above.

Bar Examination Resources

• FindLaw list of state bar organizations allows you to get information about bar admission requirements or to apply for admission to the bar. Also available at http://www.ncbex.org.
• National Conference of Bar Examiners was formed in 1931 as a not-for-profit corporation. The mission of the Conference is to work with other institutions to develop, maintain, and apply reasonable and uniform standards of education and character for eligibility for admission to the practice of law, and to assist bar admission authorities by providing standardized examinations of uniform and high quality for the testing of applicants for admission to the practice of law. It is affiliated with the American Bar Association (ABA).

Federal Resources

• Firstgov: The comprehensive directory of US government resources, hosted by the US government.
• White House: All the executive branch resources, including executive orders.
• U.S. Courts: Is maintained by the Administrative Office of the US Courts, this site provides a comprehensive list of U.S. Federal Courts, including the Supreme Court, Courts of Appeals, District Courts, and Bankruptcy Courts.
• THOMAS: Legislative information including roll call, committees, bill activity, and more from the Library of Congress.
• Congressional Black Caucus Foundation (CBCF) was established in 1976 as a non-partisan, non-profit, public policy, research and educational institute. The CBCF's mission is to serve as the non-partisan policy oriented catalyst that educates future leaders and promotes collaboration among legislators, business leaders, minority-focused organizational leaders, and organized labor to effect positive and sustainable change in the African American community.

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