The National Association of Appellate Court Attorneys, Inc. (NAACA) is an organization composed of attorneys employed by state and federal appellate courts across the United States and Canada. NAACA’s mission is to provide educational, networking, and professional development opportunities for staff attorneys, judges’ law clerks, and other attorneys employed by appellate courts. In July 2021, NAACA affiliated with the UC Berkeley Law School and the Berkeley Judicial Institute (BJI).
The highlight of the NAACA year is the annual summer conference. Lectures at our conferences span a wide variety of subjects pertinent to the work of both state and federal staff attorneys. Many of our lecturers, including Dean Erwin Chemerinsky and Professors Steve Vladeck and Patrick Barry, are nationally known experts in their respective fields. Our 2026 conference will be held in Providence, RI on July 28-31, 2026. Our recent conferences were held at the Sheraton Salt Lake City, The Drake Hotel in Chicago, IL (2024), in Pittsburgh, PA (2023), and in Berkeley, CA (2022).
Incorporated in 2005 in the Commonwealth of Virginia, NAACA has been granted Section 501(c)(3) non-profit status by the Internal Revenue Service. John Tucker, former Chief Staff Attorney at the Virginia Court of Appeals, and Mark Zanchelli, former Chief Deputy Clerk at the US Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, now serve as the executive directors. You can contact them here.