Membership

An individual may apply or be nominated for regular membership. Regular membership is open to any law-school graduate who has met at least one of the following criteria:

• authored a book, published by an established publisher, on a legal subject;
• authored at least two articles, published by a law review, law journal, bar-association publication, or other recognized publication on legal subjects;
• authored at least two book chapters, published by an established publisher, on legal topics;
• served as an editor of a legal publication in any capacity; or
• won an award for excellence in legal writing from Scribes, a bar association, a law school, the Burton Foundation, an academic association, or a similar organization.

Individuals may apply for Regular membership or be nominated by a Scribes Board member for Regular membership.

*Individuals who were Regular Members as of December 31, 2025 will qualify for $75 annual dues through December 31, 2028.Scribes reserves the right not to accept every applicant or nominee, even if they meet the stated qualifications.

Transition: Individuals who were Regular Members as of December 31, 2025 will not need to re-qualify under the criteria above.

An individual approved as a Regular Member may choose to become a Life Member to reflect their commitment to Scribes’ mission and goals. Life-Member status attaches when the full $1,000 is paid. At that point, the individual becomes a permanent member of Scribes.

A Sustaining Life Member is a Life Member who continues to make annual contributions to Scribes to support Scribes’ mission and programs.

To qualify for this membership category, the individual must be a law student at or graduate of an ABA-accredited law school who has met one of the following criteria:

• been nominated and approved as a member of the National Order of Scribes;
• be or have been a member or editor of a law review or law journal, a member of the school’s moot-court board, or a teaching assistant for the school’s legal-writing program; or
• met at least one criterion for Regular membership.

An individual may remain in this membership category for up to five years after graduation. To remain a Scribes member after that point, the individual must become a Regular Member.

Transition: Individuals who were Student-Editor members as of December 31, 2025 will become Student Members or Newer Lawyer Members, depending on their status, if they renew in 2026.

Any ABA-approved law school, state-approved law school, federal or state court, law firm, law department, law library, or other legal organization may become an institutional subscriber. A legal writing department, law library, or law journal within an ABA-approved law school may apply to be an institutional subscriber.

An institutional subscription entitles each attorney in the organization whose name and email are provided to Scribes to:

• electronic copies of The Scrivener and The Scribes Journal of Legal Writing;
• semi-monthly email tips on legal research, writing, and grammar;
• the same discount offered to Scribes members for any continuing legal education or other special programs offered by Scribes and open to the public during the subscription period.

Institutional subscribers who are law schools may nominate students for induction into the National Order of Scribes; their law-journal members may also attend the National Conference for Law Review Editors at no additional cost.

If you are an existing Institutional Subscriber and did not receive an invoice but would like to renew, please complete the Inquiry Form.

Transition: Prior Institutional Members will become Institutional Subscribers at their next renewal.

Any person who shares Scribes’ goals may become an individual subscriber. An annual individual subscription entitles the subscriber to:

• electronic copies of The Scrivener and the Journal;
• semi-monthly email tips on legal research, writing, and grammar; and
• free attendance at the Scribes annual CLE and the annual CLE featuring the Scribes Book Award winner.

Transition: Those who were formerly Associate Members will become Individual Subscribers at their next renewal.