AAfPE bylaws provide for 4 classifications of membership: Institutional, Sustaining, Individual, and Honorary.
AAfPE is the nation’s largest and continuously operating organization dedicated to promoting quality paralegal and legal studies education. AAfPE members enjoy access to a wealth of resources including:
The AAfPE Listserv, where you can post questions, learn, and share resources
The Journal of Paralegal Education and Practice, our double-blind peer-reviewed professional journal
The Electronic Resource Library (ERL), our extensive collection of course and program-level content
Online Membership Directory to connect with peers
Discounts on registration for AAfPE conferences
And much more!
AAfPE's membership includes hundreds of universities, colleges, and other institutions of higher learning throughout the United States and in Canada. Since 1981, AAfPE's member schools have trained thousands of paralegal students each year to help increase, improve, and support access to the legal system in their communities.
All new applications for membership must be completed online and include any specified supporting documentation. Applications will not be processed until all supporting documentation has been received and the non-refundable application processing fee and first year's dues are paid. Please allow 1-2 weeks for processing.
Where new applications for membership are made part-way through the year, an allowance is made to adjust dues for the first year of membership only. Please see the pro-rated dues table.
Membership dues are assessed on a calendar-year basis and are payable by January 1 of each year. Invoices will be sent to all current members by AAfPE Headquarters staff during the fall of the preceding year. Dues may be paid by VISA, MasterCard, or American Express. Credit card payments may be made online by logging into your account.
Institutional Membership is available to schools offering paralegal and legal assistant education programs that are 1) approved by the American Bar Association or 2) institutionally accredited by an accrediting agency recognized by the Commission on Higher Education Accreditation of the U.S. Department of Education or a comparable agency. As an Institutional Member, one representative from that school may vote at the annual business meeting, but anyone teaching in the program may take advantage of AAfPE's many membership benefits.
AAfPE Listserv for questions, solutions, and resource-sharing
Access to real-life resources, syllabi, assignments, and assessment templates in the ERL
Stay current with The Legal Educator (double-blind peer-reviewed professional journal)
Online membership directory to easily connect with peers
Discounted registration fees for AAfPE conferences (regional and national)
Opportunity to stand out by forming a chapter of Lambda Epsilon Chi (LEX) honor society
Institutional members exercise a voice on decisions affecting the paralegal profession and may use AAfPE membership for advertisement or endorsement purposes.
Dues are $545.75 annually (January 1 – December 31).
Law firms, agencies, organizations, consultants, paralegals, or other individuals/entities interested in paralegal education may join as Sustaining Members.
Benefits include:
AAfPE Listserv access
Stay current through The Legal Educator
Online membership directory listing and access
Discounted sponsor/exhibitor fees for AAfPE conferences (regional and national)
Dues are $551.25 annually (January 1 – December 31).
Individual Membership is open to paralegal program educators or administrators who foster paralegal and legal studies education and endorse the policies of the Association, but who are not currently associated with any institution. Individual memberships cannot substitute for Institutional or Sustaining membership and is a non-voting category.
Benefits include:
AAfPE Listserv access
Sample syllabi, assignments, and assessment templates in the ERL
Stay current with The Legal Educator (double-blind peer-reviewed professional journal)
Online membership directory access for connecting with peers
Conference registration discounts
Dues are $31.50 annually (January 1 – December 31).