The College of Labor and Employment Lawyers

What The College of Labor and Employment Lawyers does

The College of Labor and Employment Lawyers (legal entity: The College of Labor and Employment Lawyers, Inc.; DBA: CLEL) is a U.S. non-profit professional association headquartered at 1997 Annapolis Exchange Parkway, Suite 300, Annapolis, Maryland. Founded in 1996, the organization honors the leading lawyers, arbitrators, mediators, academicians, and scholars nationwide in the practice of labor and employment law, conferring the designation of Fellow through a peer-nomination and reference process. It operates with a lean staff of nine employees and reaches a national U.S. audience.

The College's core offering is its fellowship membership program, which recognizes distinguished practitioners who promote achievement, professionalism, civility, mentorship, and service in the field. Beyond membership, it distributes a portfolio of programs and content: regional meeting papers, an annual Law Student Writing Competition, webinars and live programs (e.g., the April 9 EEOC/DOL webinar), newsletters, and a Video History Project that preserves labor and employment law history through full-length films such as "The Boston Labor Guild." Distribution is primarily through organic professional networks, the website, email newsletters, webinars, and annual and regional events.

The business model is membership-funded, supplemented by event sponsorships (including 30th Anniversary sponsorship opportunities for November 7, 2026) and donations collected via a dedicated payments portal. Specific membership fees are not publicly disclosed. The technology stack is a conventional WordPress website with member login and directory functionality; there is no proprietary AI, app, or API offering.

Name

The College of Labor and Employment Lawyers

Legal name

The College of Labor and Employment Lawyers, Inc

Website

https://laborandemploymentcollege.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1996

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The College of Labor and Employment Lawyers is a 30-year-old U.S. non-profit professional association that honors distinguished labor and employment law practitioners as Fellows through peer nomination, offering membership recognition, regional meetings, webinars, and educational programming.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Legal Professional Association

NAICS

Professional Organizations (813920)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYBPAHAAAD

Employment & Labor Law

Business & Public Services/Professional Services (Legal, Accounting, Consulting)/Legal Services

SECONDARYEDABAIAE

HR Compliance, Employment Law & Employee Relations Training

Education/Corporate Training & Professional Development/HR, Talent, DEI & People Operations Training

Keywords

• Labor law fellowship
• Professional legal association
• Employment law recognition
• Lawyer professional development
• Legal membership organization

Headquarters

HQ city

Annapolis

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The College of Labor and Employment Lawyers is a non-profit professional association that confers Fellowship status on distinguished lawyers, academicians, and scholars in the field of U.S. labor and employment law. Its offerings center on the fellowship membership, complemented by ongoing educational programming (Regional Meeting Papers, Law Student Writing Competition, Webinars and Live Programs), a Video History Project documenting the field's heritage, and milestone events such as the 30th Anniversary Celebration.

Product overview

The College of Labor and Employment Lawyers is a non-profit professional association offering a single, unified fellowship program that recognizes distinguished lawyers, academicians, and scholars in labor and employment law. The organization's offerings include fellowship membership, educational programs (Regional Meeting Papers, Law Student Writing Competition), professional development events (Webinars, 30th Anniversary Celebration), and historical documentation (Video History Project). These offerings collectively support the College's mission of promoting achievement, advancement, and excellence in labor and employment law practice through professionalism, civility, mentorship, and service.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Fellowship Membership The College's core paid offering: a Fellowship designation awarded to distinguished U.S. labor and employment lawyers, arbitrators, mediators, academicians, and scholars following a peer-nomination and reference-based selection process. Membership confers recognition as a leading member of the labor and employment bar and grants access to the College's community, events, and educational resources.
• Regional Meeting Papers

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Regional players

• Federal Bar Association: A US-wide voluntary bar association focused on federal practice. Comparable to CLEL as a national professional legal membership organization with programming for practitioners, though broader in scope.

Direct peers

• National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals: An invitation-only professional organization recognizing top mediators and arbitrators. Comparable to CLEL as a recognition-based membership body serving the alternative dispute resolution wing of labor and employment practice.
• National Employment Lawyers Association (NELA): The leading US membership organization for lawyers who represent employees in employment matters. Directly comparable to CLEL in subject-matter focus (labor and employment law) and member base, though NELA is an advocacy-driven association rather than an honorary college.
• American College of Trial Lawyers: An honorary professional association of the top 1% of trial lawyers in the United States and Canada. Closely mirrors CLEL's model of recognizing distinguished practitioners through fellowship, networking, and standards of professionalism.
• Labor and Employment Relations Association (LERA): An international association of labor and employment relations professionals that combines practitioners, academics, and neutrals. Comparable to CLEL in field focus and cross-sector membership, though LERA is research- and policy-oriented rather than honorary.

Others

• International Bar Association: The world's largest international organization of legal practitioners. Comparable to CLEL as a global professional membership body for lawyers, though much broader in scope and not specialty-focused on labor and employment law.
• National Bar Association: The nation's oldest and largest national network of predominantly African American attorneys and law professionals. Comparable to CLEL as a US-wide professional membership association for lawyers, with overlapping audiences in specialty practice areas.

Broad incumbents

• American Bar Association: The largest voluntary professional association for lawyers in the United States. Comparable to CLEL as a broad legal membership body, though its Labor and Employment Law Section is only one of many practice areas and it is not specialty-focused.
• Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC): A global legal membership association serving in-house counsel. Comparable to CLEL as a professional legal membership body, with overlapping audiences in employment law practice.

Emerging players

• Practising Law Institute (PLI): A leading provider of continuing legal education programs for attorneys. Comparable to CLEL's educational programming mission (webinars, regional meeting papers), though PLI is a for-profit CLE provider rather than an honorary college.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-college-of-labor-and-employment-lawyers

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about The College of Labor and Employment Lawyers