membership Benefits

For more than 30 years, the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA) has been the leading professional organization for attorneys specializing in elder law and special needs planning. The mission of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys is educate, inspire, serve, and provide community to attorneys with practices in elder and special needs law.

NAELA helps its members thrive in practices that are personally and financially rewarding by:

Preparing members to innovate in a rapidly shifting climate of socioeconomic challenges
Creating a community based on trust, open sharing, and mutual support
Cultivating high ethical standards and quality legal services that ensures public trust and support
Consistently alerting the public to NAELA members’ service to their clients and contributions to society
Honoring the dignity, strengths, and contributions of older adults and people with special needs through elder law and special needs planning services and public policy advocacy
Combining member experience into collaborative action that makes government more responsive and supportive of older Americans and people with special needs
Proactively engaging in nonpartisan advocacy to achieve public policy that is fair, sustainable and supportive to older Americans and people with special needs

JOIN NOW

You will be redirected to NAELA.

Continuing Legal Education

As a leading provider of elder and special need law content, NAELA develops content for our weekly emails, publication, webinars and face to face programming. Annually NAELA sponsors two programs, the Annual Conference and Summit. Both programs offer practitioners the latest information on topics including tax issues, estate planning, Medicaid and Medicare and practice management. In addition, NAELA makes digital learning and online materials available for members to exhance their submatter expertise.

NAELA ListServ

The ListServ is a valuable service that allows members to participate in discussions on substantive issues as well as practice management and development issues, and receive immediate feedback from hundreds of members throughout the country.

NAELA Mentorship Program

Illinois NAELA proudly supports mentoring and appreciates the value of having experienced lawyers provide professional guidance and share practical knowledge with new lawyers.

Choose the Formal Track or Informal Track Mentoring Program to help you transition from law student to legal practitioner.

To find out more about this Member Only benefit, please click here.

NAELA Emeritus and Retired Membership

To be eligible for Emeritus or Retired Status a member needs to meet the NAELA National criteria and Illinois NAELA criteria. To apply for Emeritus Membership please click here.

National Elder Law Month

NAELA members have a unique opportunity to participate in various activities in their local communities while promoting Elder Law. By educating the public about Elder Law and Special Needs Planning, NAELA members gain the visibility and credibility that will enhance their practice.

NAELA Publications

Your membership includes subscriptions to NAELA News and NAELA Journal. NAELA News is a vibrant bi-monthly magazine that publishes articles relating to elder law and special needs planning as well as articles representing state chapters and special interest groups and events. NAELA Journal is published twice a year and contains substantive articles covering a wide-range of topics including: health insurance, estate planning, administration of estates, trusts, long-term care placement, elder abuse, fraud recovery, age discrimination and mental health law.

Customized Brochures

NAELA offers brochures covering Elder Law and Special Needs topics. Take advantage of our specially-rated printing partnership and personalize brochures with your firm's contact information. This vendor will handle all the details. NAELA members can also download the hi-res .pdf file and work with a printer of your choosing. Categories of brochures include the following areas:

Living Trusts
Co-Ownership of Assets
Long Term Care Insurance
Health Care Decisions
Guardianship and Conservatorship Age Discrimination
Elder Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation
Estate Planning and Probate
Durable Powers of Attorney
Medicare and Medicaid

Public Policy Activities

Member attorneys are kept abreast of ever-changing legislation through the activities of the NAELA Public Policy Committee. NAELA members get copies of legislation, sample letters to representatives and senators, updates on NAELA public policy activities, and other tools to influence legislation affecting clients and their families.

Sections

Members have the opportunity to participate in specialized Sections of NAELA that enhance their practice. Section subscribers receive articles, cases, and newsletters related to the specific topic of your chosen Section They are:

Advocacy/Litigation
Government Assistance Programs
Guardianship/Conservatorship
Health Care
Practice Success
Special Needs Law
Tax, Trusts and Special Needs Trusts
Young/New Attorneys

The National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, Inc. (NAELA) was founded in 1987 as a professional association of attorneys who are dedicated to improving the quality of legal services provided to people as they age and people with special needs.