Professional associations can assume to be a significant part in your legal career yet it’s unlikely that you join a legal association until you're a lawyer. In reality, many legal associations’ offers a lot of exposure, knowledge and handholding to legal students, who are yet to passed out of their law college. It’s always a great idea to join such associations much before you actually start practicing.

Enrollment to such association are mostly on membership basis which could be free or paid, depending you the, offering they have for the students.

Let’s discuss the benefits one by one.

Getting involved in the legal profession

Being actively involved in a professional association enables you to take part in activities that contribute to the legal profession. Every State has its own law society that contributes to law reform and advocacy on behalf of its members. If you are interested in a particular area of law, getting involved in the advocacy undertaken by a law society or association can be a good way for you to understand the practical issues that are faced by lawyers practicing in that area and might even help you decide on which areas of law you are interested in practicing in.

Resources

Professional associations are designed to support their members; therefore members are given access to lots of useful resources. Many associations even provide tailored information for law students, including providing practical career guidance.

Networking

Think of membership as a gateway to networking in the legal profession. Some of the larger law societies have dedicated Young Lawyers Sections which provide the opportunity for students to join committees to get involved in projects, network with other students and young lawyers and develop contacts early in their careers.

Mentoring

Many law associations offer mentoring programs for members, which is of particular value to students as mentors can provide valuable support and guidance on successfully making the transition from college to profession.

Events and Professional Development

Events organized by such associations give an ample of professional and personal development opportunities to the students. A law student can be benefit from attending seminars about current issues and new developments in the law.