National Association of Appellate Court Attorneys (NAACA)
Visit our new website at http://www.naacaonline.org
Who We Are
The National Association of Appellate Court Attorneys, Inc., or NAACA, is an organization comprised of attorneys employed by state and federal appellate courts across the country. NAACA is incorporated in the Commonwealth of Virginia, and has been granted section 501(c)(3) non-profit status by the Internal Revenue Service. 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.
History
NAACA was formed in the summer of 2005 by four former members of the Council
of Appellate Staff Attorneys. Those attorneys (Gina Policano, John Tucker,
Melissa Wood, and Mark Zanchelli) had all been active members of CASA, and
wanted to preserve the tradition of annual independent summer seminars for
appellate court attorneys that had been provided by CASA in the past but
that, for reasons beyond the control of CASA’s leadership, would not
be offered again in the foreseeable future. The founders of NAACA incorporated
the organization and affiliated with the University of Richmond School of
Law, with the generous assistance of the law school’s Dean, Rodney
Smolla. We hired Mary Ellen Donaghy, formerly CASA’s ABA liaison,
to be NAACA’s executive director, obtained tax exempt status, and
started on the long process necessary to get the organization up and running.
With the support and hard work of many court attorneys, our organization
has blossomed. We have ended our first year with 106 members, more than
we imagined possible in our first six months of existence.
The Future
NAACA has selected Portland, Oregon for the site of the 2008 conference. The dates will be July 2-6. We are in the process of selecting the site for the 2009 conference. We continue to recruit members, and have revised the bylaws which were approved by the membership on July 9, 2006. Martha Newcomb of the Rhode Island Supreme Court is spearheading the efforts of the publication committee with a biannual electronic newsletter. A membership directory is available to members on this website. NAACA welcomes financial donations. Anyone with ideas for NAACA’s growth and development is encouraged to contact a member of the Board of Directors; contact information is available through the link above.