Without community there is no liberation. Audre Lorde

Why Become a Member of the National Lawyers Guild?

As a member of the National Lawyers Guild, you stand with thousands of attorneys, jailhouse lawyers, legal workers, and community members who have dedicated their lives and work to the proposition that human rights are more important than property rights.

Members are the Guild’s lifeblood and determine the Guild’s future. Without the support and countless volunteer hours we receive from members, we would not exist. Please join our ranks and help us create a more just world. Please join/renew today. It is an honor to work by your side for justice.

As of October 2024, our bylaws state, “Members who work as judges, magistrates, referees, or arbitrators where a conflict of interest develops between their work and the work of the NLG must take all steps necessary to notify the Chapter and to remove, recuse, or otherwise firewall themselves from the Chapter’s related work.

Membership is not permitted for individuals who are currently employed or contracted in any capacity by any law enforcement agency, prosecutorial agency, correctional agency, private security entity, or a branch of a union that directly represents any of the aforementioned employee categories.

Membership is not permitted for individuals acting as an informant or infiltrator on behalf of any government agency; choosing to operate in this capacity is grounds for membership revocation.”

What Are the Benefits of Guild Membership?

• Free listing in our national referral directory. Sign up here for a national referral directory listing as a member.

• Access to members only content on nlg.org (e.g. webinars, organizing tools, and other resources)

• Eligibility to join a national committee

• Eligibility to participate in conversations on member-only email lists for NLG committees, chapters, and regions

• Eligibility to vote in Guild elections, run for elected office (locally and nationally), and propose organizational resolutions

• Eligibility to apply for fellowships, such the Weinglass and Haywood Burns Memorial Fellowships

• Discounts for our annual Law for the People Convention and its CLEs

• Discounts at Detroit & Michigan chapter events

• Subscriptions to our publications, Guild Notes and NLG Review, and eligibility to submit articles to both

• Media exposure for your Guild-related work

• Most importantly, developing connections with a community of radical legal professionals!

Above photo by @a_s_alexander.