Qualifications

Qualifications for TLA-DC Membership

General Requirements. TLA-DC welcomes as members, without regard to race, sex, religion, nationality, ethnic background, age, or disability, all qualified persons who genuinely support its mission and who are dedicated to the cause of individuals who are injured, who are accused, or whose rights are violated or jeopardized.

No person is eligible to become or remain a member who:

is an officer, director, or employee of an insurance company;
devotes a significant part of his or her professional time to defending tort, civil-rights, or workers’-compensation claims or actions, or otherwise to advocating in any setting for defendants or respondents in these types of claims or actions or for insurance companies; or
is in a professional partnership, corporation, or other entity with persons who devote a significant part of their professional time to defending tort, civil-rights, or workers'-compensation claims or actions, or otherwise to advocating in any setting for defendants or respondents in these types of claims or actions or for insurance companies.

Classes of Membership. There are three classes of membership in TLA-DC: regular, sustaining, and associate.

Regular Members are lawyers in good standing who devote a substantial part of their professional time to advocating on behalf of plaintiffs in personal injury, wrongful death, or civil rights matters, claimants in workers' compensation or Social Security matters, or the accused in criminal investigations or proscecutions. They are entitled to vote at all TLA-DC membership meetings, to participate in all TLA-DC educational programs, to serve o n TLA-DC committees, and to serve as a TLA-DC Governor or officer.

Regular Membership Dues:

$275     admitted to the Bar for 10 or more years
$200     admitted to the Bar for 5-9 years
$120     admitted to the Bar for 1-4 years
$75       admitted to the Bar for less than 1 year

Sustaining Members are lawyers who meet the requirements of Regular Membership andwho pay the dues required by the Board of Governors for Sustaining Membership ($550). Sustaining Members are entitled to receive the benefits, rights, and privileges of Regular Membership as well as special recognition in every TLA-DC publication (e.g., quarterly newsletters, awards dinner program). Dues: $550

Associate Members are lawyers who specialize in other practice areas, law school graduates, law school students, paralegals or legal assistants employed by TLA-DC members, or retired TLA-DC members. They may participate in TLA-DC membership meetings and educational programs, serve on TLA-DC committees, and avail themselves of TLA-DC's wide array of services and benefits. Dues $50

Application Process. A person seeking admission to membership must submit to TLA-DC a written application accompanied by payment of one year's dues. The TLA-DC Membership Committee will review each application, conduct such inquiry as it deems reasonable and appropriate, and make a recommendation to the Board of Governors. A qualified applicant will become a member upon approval by a majority vote of the Board members present and voting at a duly convened Board meeting. The Board of Governors has the sole discretion to determine whether an applicant qualifies or a member continues to qualify for membership.

Please click here for a membership application.
For more information about TLA-DC’s benefits and services, please contact:

Mary Zambri, Esquire
Executive Director
TLA-DC
1919 M Street, N.W., Suite 350
Washington, D.C. 20036

202-659-3532 (phone)
202-775-9040 (fax)

mary@tla-dc.org