The Association's History

At the 1987 march on Washington, DC for lesbian and gay rights, the idea of creating a national lesbian and gay bar association was introduced and enthusiastically support by a core group of volunteers.  

The first Lavender Law® conference was held in San Francisco, in November 1988, at the Golden Gate University.  Historic transcripts of that conference, including sessions "Where after Harwick?," "Contested Custody Litigation," and "Military Law for Gays and Lesbians" are available from NLGLA on audio tape.

In 1989, at the American Bar Association Mid-Year meeting, by-laws were presented, and a nonprofit board of directors was formalized.  By the time of the second board meeting in 1989 in Boston, NLGLA had 293 paid members, and initiated a campaign to ask the ABA to include protection based upon on sexual orientation to its revision of the Model Code of Judicial Conduct for Judges, which has now been accepted by several states.

In 1992, NLGLA became an official affiliate of the American Bar Association and it now works closely with the ABA's Section on Individual Rights and Responsibilities and its Committee on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.