Appellate Lawyers Association

What Appellate Lawyers Association does

The Appellate Lawyers Association of Illinois (ALA), founded in 1968 and headquartered in Naperville with an administrative office in Springfield, is a professional membership association serving lawyers who practice in Illinois courts of review and the judges who serve on those courts, including honorary members from all Illinois reviewing courts. Its core offerings are organized around member benefits: tiered annual membership (Sustaining $250, Regular $200, Public Sector $75, Retired $25, Law Student $10), member-only publications including The Brief blog, the Cases Pending catalogue of matters before the Illinois Supreme Court, the Illinois Civil Appeals Guide, and the IL App Recaps digest covering all five Illinois Appellate Court districts (also available to non-members at $85/year), plus an annual National Moot Court Competition and the Richard Chase Award for outstanding service.

The association's technology stack is built on Wild Apricot membership management software, used for website operations, member communications, event registration, and the member directory. The ALA does not develop proprietary technology platforms; its competitive position is anchored in curated content, credentialed peer access, and institutional relationships with Illinois appellate courts, including formal input on court rule changes (notably the May 2026 approval of Local Rule 22 and 21 amendments in the First District). Its GTM motion is community-led, relying on membership applications requiring documented appellate experience, in-person events and seminars (including co-hosted programs with county bar associations in Peoria, Rockford, and Carbondale and with SIU School of Law), content marketing through The Brief, and member referrals.

The business model is predominantly subscription-recurring membership dues, supplemented by event registration fees, publication sales (including the non-member IL App Recaps subscription), and moot court competition sponsorships drawn from a recurring cohort of Illinois litigation boutiques and regional law firms. The association has no outside funding, no parent company, and no subsidiaries; it is governed by elected officer-directors from its membership base with a single administrative director managing operations.

Name

Appellate Lawyers Association

Legal name

Appellate Lawyers Association of Illinois

Website

https://applawyers.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1968

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Appellate Lawyers Association of Illinois is a 1968-founded professional membership association serving Illinois appellate lawyers and reviewing-court judges through tiered dues, member-only publications, an annual national moot court competition, and the Richard Chase Award.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Legal Professional Association

NAICS

Professional Organizations (81392)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Criminal Justice Reform & Legal System Advocacy (BPAGAFAI)

akta.pro secondary industry

Judicial Courts & Court Administration (BPAIAFAA)

Keywords

• Appellate practice association
• Legal professional membership
• Bar association services
• Continuing legal education
• Appellate court publications

Headquarters

HQ city

Naperville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: Annual membership dues from individual lawyers and legal professionals. The association offers multiple membership tiers at different price points to accommodate different career stages and practice types.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Appellate Lawyers Association of Illinois (ALA) is a professional membership association founded in 1968 for lawyers who practice in Illinois courts of review and judges who serve on those courts. It sells annual memberships at multiple price tiers and delivers value through member-only publications (Cases Pending, Illinois Civil Appeals Guide, IL App Recaps Digest, The Brief blog), educational seminars, networking events, an annual national moot court competition, a member directory, and the Richard Chase Award for outstanding service.

Product overview

The Appellate Lawyers Association of Illinois offers a membership-based professional organization serving lawyers who practice in Illinois courts of review and the judges who serve on those courts. The association provides member-only publications (The Brief blog, Cases Pending catalog, Illinois Civil Appeals Guide, and the Illinois Appellate Decisions Digest), educational events, an annual moot court competition, the Richard Chase Award for outstanding service, and a member directory. The organization has offered publications since 1968 and continues to support appellate practice through member resources and professional development.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• ALA Membership
• Cases Pending

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• Hinshaw & Culbertson LLPminorOthers · 2 November 2018Gold Sponsor of the ALA's 2018 National Moot Court Competition. Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP is a U.S. law firm with 450 attorneys located in 11 states and London, with a national reputation for its insurance industry work and a National Tier 1 ranked Appellate Practice according to U.S. News.
• Donohue Brown Mathewson & Smyth LLCminorOthers · 2 November 2018Silver Sponsor of the ALA's 2018 National Moot Court Competition. One of Chicago's pre-eminent civil litigation law practices focusing on professional liability, product liability, insurance coverage, commercial litigation and appeals.
• Quarles & Brady LLPminorOthers · 2 November 2018Silver Sponsor of the ALA's 2018 National Moot Court Competition. Full-service firm with particular depth in appeals courts where they have offices: Arizona, Florida, Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin, as well as the Seventh, Ninth and Federal Circuits.
• BartlettChen LLCminorOthers · 2 November 2018Bronze Sponsor of the ALA's 2018 National Moot Court Competition.
• Neal, Gerber & Eisenberg LLPminorOthers · 2 November 2018Bronze Sponsor of the ALA's 2018 National Moot Court Competition.
• Law Offices of Michael W. RathsackminorOthers · 2 November 2018Bronze Sponsor of the ALA's 2018 National Moot Court Competition.
• Winnebago County Bar AssociationminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 13 November 2013Co-hosted a luncheon program with appellate court justices from the Second District at the Forest Hills Country Club in Rockford, Illinois.
• Peoria County Bar AssociationminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 4 November 2013Co-hosted an appellate practice seminar with the ALA at the Spalding Pastoral Center in Peoria, Illinois. The event featured Justice William E. Holdridge and Illinois Solicitor General Michael Scodro.
• Southern Illinois University School of LawminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 23 October 2013Co-sponsored an appellate practice seminar with SIU School of Law in Carbondale, following oral arguments of the Illinois Appellate Court, Fifth District. The seminar focused on Professionalism and Appellate Practice.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Federal Bar Association: National bar association for lawyers practicing in federal courts, with membership tiers, publications, CLE events, and chapter-based advocacy. Comparable to ALA in serving lawyers practicing within a specific court system through a membership-services model.
• Illinois State Bar Association: State-wide mandatory and voluntary bar association serving Illinois lawyers with comparable membership tiers, CLE programming, publications, and advocacy functions. ALA operates as a specialized appellate-focused counterpart within the same Illinois jurisdiction.
• Defense Research Institute: National membership association for civil defense lawyers providing publications, education, seminars, and advocacy. Directly comparable model to ALA, focused on a specific defense bar segment at national scale.
• Chicago Bar Association: One of the oldest and largest local bar associations in the U.S., offering membership services, CLE, and publications to Chicago-area lawyers. Highly comparable membership-association model that overlaps in geography and member base with ALA.
• Illinois Trial Lawyers Association: State-level voluntary bar association for plaintiff trial lawyers in Illinois offering CLE, publications, networking, and legislative advocacy. Closely parallel to ALA in geographic scope, member-services model, and specialty-bar mission.
• Association of Corporate Counsel: Global bar association for in-house counsel offering membership, education, publications, and advocacy. Comparable to ALA in providing professional community and development resources to a specialized segment of the legal profession.
• National Association of Women Lawyers: National professional association advancing women in the legal profession through membership, networking, education, and advocacy. Comparable in operating as a specialized national bar association with tiered membership and CLE programming.
• American College of Trial Lawyers: Invitation-only honorary fellowship of experienced trial lawyers focused on recognizing excellence, ethics, and civility. Comparable to ALA's selective ethos and Richard Chase Award program in being a prestigious, selective bar association with rigorous membership criteria.

Emerging players

• American Health Law Association: National membership association for health law professionals offering CLE, publications, and advocacy. Comparable in model to ALA as a specialty bar association, though serving a different practice-area segment.

Broad incumbents

• American Bar Association: The largest voluntary legal professional association in the U.S., offering membership, education, publications, and advocacy across all practice areas and jurisdictions. Serves as the broad umbrella of which ALA is a state-specialized appellate affiliate.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/applawassoc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Appellate Lawyers Association