Membership     

Membership in WSPA is open to paralegals living or working in the State of Washington, as well as to certain other parties interested in the success of both WSPA and the paralegal profession.  Membership in WSPA may be applied for online, or via mailing in an application (see both PDF and Online application forms at Left)

WSPA Membership includes many benefits, including a subscription to WSPA's newsletter, Findings and Conclusions. The newsletter is usually printed six times each year and covers a variety of statewide and national issues of interest to paralegals/legal assistants. (See sample newsletter issue here.)   When you join WSPA, you automatically become a member of NFPA (the National Federation of Paralegal Assocations). A portion of your dues paid to WSPA is paid to NFPA. You will receive all of the benefits of NFPA membership in addition to your WSPA benefits!

Definition:  A paralegal is a person qualified through education, training, or work experience to perform substantive legal work that requires knowledge of legal concepts and is customarily, but not exclusively, performed by a lawyer.  This person may be retained or employed by a lawyer, law office, governmental agency, or other entity or may be authorized by administrative, statutory, or court authority to perform this work. See The Profession for more discussion. Membership fees vary depending upon the membership category. Please see the appropriate forms (linked on the left) to see the current fees for each category.

 WSPA has adopted a calendar year-end to correspond with NFPA's fiscal year end. Current year applications and renewals extend through December 2008.   Read Details Here.  

NEW WAY TO JOIN OR RENEW!   Members can now join or renew their memberships online via our secure web service, Acteva.  
                      (Join New Here)     (Renewing Exisiting Members Renew and Pay Online Here)

There are five categories of membership:

• Voting Member - A voting member is eligible for all benefits of membership, including the right to vote in the election of officers and directors. A new member, or a renewing member who has not previously been a voting member, who has three years experience as a paralegal or meets certain education requirements, qualifies for voting membership. A member who has been a voting member for at least a full year must demonstrate that s/he has accrued at least 10 continuing education credits during the preceding year in order to retain his/her status as a voting member.  

• Student Member - A person who does not qualify for voting membership but is a full time student in a paralegal studies program can apply for student membership, which is eligible for all benefits of the association except that he or she may not vote or hold office.

• Non-Profit or Government Employee Member - Any individual otherwise eligible for voting membership who works for a federally recognized non-profit [501(c)(3)] organization or a government agency (including armed forces). Nonprofit and government members are eligible for all membership benefits, including the right to vote and hold office, and must meet the other requirements applicable to voting membership, including experience and/or education and continuing legal education. See Voting Membership, above.

• Associate Member - A person who does not qualify for voting, nonprofit, government, or student membership may apply for associate membership. Associate members are eligible for all membership benefits, but may not vote or hold office.

• Sustaining Member - An person, firm, organization, partnership, agency, or other entity interested in supporting the objectives of WSPA shall be eligible for sustaining membership and may participate fully in the affairs of the association except that they shall not be eligible to vote or hold office.

See the Bylaws for a more complete description of membership requirements. See the CLE Guidelines for more information about continuing legal education requirements. In addition to specific membership requirements, any WSPA member is expected to comply with certain ethical guidelines as published by NFPA.  New Member Benefits are being added frequently. Check here for lastest details!

Application Forms: To apply for membership, print and complete the appropriate form from the panel at the left, then mail it with a check in payment of the required membership fee to:

Washington State Paralegal Association
PO Box 58530
Seattle WA 98138-1530

For more information, write to the above address,
call 866-257-WSPA(9772) or e-mail administrator@wspaonline.org.

Note: Some of the documents and forms referenced above and left are in pdf format, and can only be opened if you have Adobe Acrobat Reader on your computer. If you do not have Acrobat Reader, you can obtain it at no charge by clicking on the icon to the left.

 

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