Our Board is currently working on getting together a sample set of starting documents [constitution, bylaws, officer guidelines] for local chapters and hope to have it available soon. In the meantime, here are some helpful tips in starting a local chapter at your school.

• Check with your school’s Student Affairs Office or Dean of Student Affairs or an equivalent entity to find out your schools guidelines/policies on starting a student organization there.

• Check to see if your school and/or student bar association provides funding to support student organizations. This may be the main source of funding for your group -- after all, your fellow law students are your main constituents.

• Check to see if your school offers office or storage space for student associations. Some schools provide offices with telephones.

• NAPALSA recommends Affiliates charge yearly membership dues. Although this is difficult to do in your flagship year, you should have a plan to instate dues at some point. Current NAPALSA Affiliates charge their members anywhere from $10-$40 a year (some larger NAPALSA Affiliates are able to provide more services to their members, therefore can charge more). This dues funds can help maintain programs for paid members’ use and reduce your reliance on other funding sources.

• Become an Affiliate member of NAPALSA by paying annual dues and appointing a liaison from your school. 

Please feel free to contact any one on the Executive Board if you have any questions or to discuss this in more depth. We also encourage you to come to our national conference to gain valuable leadership skills, meet members from other chapters, network with attorneys, vote in national elections, and learn how to get involved next year on a national level.