Membership Information

TO JOIN WACDL: Sign up online, print an application form, or call us at 206-623-1302. For more information, call or email us.

ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP DUES

WACDL MEMBER BENEFITS

Practical Assistance for Criminal Defense Practitioners  

• WACDL’s email discussion group, resource panel, and events give members access to a network of experienced trial and appellate counsel ready to assist you with complex and novel legal issues.
• WACDL members may search our brief bank and expert witness lists, and access other WACDL resources, 24 hours a day on our website.
• Our brief bank includes hundreds of trial and appellate briefs, articles, and other material on defense issues. 
• WACDL’s CLE programs feature top regional and national speakers, and focus on trial skills and nuts & bolts issues.  Because prosecutors are not allowed to attend our seminars, our faculty is able to focus on defense issues and strategies. 
• WACDL's Ethics Hotline gives you access to members who can help you figure out what to do when the RPCs aren't clear.
• WACDL’s Amicus Committee provides defense counsel and the judiciary with our expertise on questions affecting the constitutional rights of the accused.
• Our educational programs, committees and annual conference provide opportunities to meet and share information with the best defense lawyers in the state. 

Publications to Keep You Informed

• WACDL provides timely updates by email on legal issues in state, federal and DUI/traffic cases.
• Our membership magazine, Washington Criminal Defense, features practical and provocative articles — written by and for defense lawyers — on new developments in criminal law and procedure, along with tips on innovative trial tactics.
• Our newsletter, WACDL News, keeps members informed about association activities. 

CLE Programs to Sharpen Your Skills

• WACDL’s CLE programs feature top regional and national speakers, and focus on trial skills and nuts & bolts issues.
• Because prosecutors are not allowed to attend our seminars, our faculty is able to focus on defense issues and strategies. 

Support When You Need It Most

• WACDL’s Strike Force is available for consultation and, in some cases, representation of WACDL members who are being harassed for their vigorous defense of their clients.  WACDL may provide representation or file an amicus brief at no charge in appropriate cases.
• Through our mentor program, we match experienced attorneys with members new to criminal defense practice.
• WACDL’s Death Penalty Committee provides support and networking for members handling death penalty cases.  

Legislative Advocacy

• WACDL is a respected voice in Olympia.  Our Legislative Committee, with support from members and a lobbyist, aggressively represents the defense bar's interests in the Washington State Legislature. 

Join Our Efforts to Improve Justice

 If you're practicing criminal defense, you owe it to yourself and your clients to be a part of WACDL.  WACDL's publications, educational programs, and committees provide the support you need to stay informed about, succeed in, and influence the practice of criminal law.

Eligibility: Persons who perform a prosecutorial function or persons employed in the offices of prosecutors, including, but not limited to, United States Attorneys, City Attorneys, District Attorneys or Attorneys General, and any persons employed in law enforcement, including police officers, sheriffs, correctional officers and probation officers are not eligible for membership in the organization.  Further, any person engaged in a full-time judicial function, including any full-time judge, commissioner or referee, is disqualified from membership.