Member FAQ

Member Frequently Asked Questions

 

General

Q: Who is eligible to join NAPD?

A: Membership is open to all members of the public defense community, including attorneys, investigators, social workers, paralegals, administrative staff, and students; as well as those in research or advocacy organizations which directly support public defense and criminal justice reform. We welcome anyone working in service to the mission of providing high-quality representation to indigent clients.

Q: If I change roles during my active membership period, what do I do about my membership?

A: We understand that careers evolve. To protect the integrity of our community and the safety of all members, we ask that you promptly discontinue your NAPD membership if you become an employed or otherwise meaningfully engaged in any of the following workplaces: a prosecutor’s office, the judiciary, a police department, a field completely unrelated to public defense, or any other position which may represent a conflict of interest. Please reach out to the NAPD team on our Help Desk for assistance end-dating your membership account.

Q: I am not a member of NAPD.  Can I still attend NAPD events?

A: NAPD welcomes non-member defenders to its trainings and programs, providing a non-member registration rate for nearly all events. However, to sign up as a non-member you will still need to create an account! To create your non-member account, click here. Once you have logged in, you will be able to view and purchase tickets at eligible events at the non-member rate. 

Q: Does NAPD offer CLE (Continuing Legal Education) or CEU credits?

A: Accreditation status of conference events is noted on the event page.   While many of our webinars are eligible, we do not have the resources to obtain advanced accreditation for each session; participants must follow self-submission guidelines to obtain credit.  Please check the specific event page for credit details.

Q: Is it possible to get a refund on an NAPD Event that I can no longer attend?

A: Our ability to offer a full or partial refund or credit is dependent on a number of factors, in order to balance the needs of our members with the fiscal responsibility of the association. You can read our full Event Refund & Credit Policy by clicking here. 

Q: How do I access the NAPD MyGideon Resource Library?

A: The MyGideon Resource Library, home to NAPD’s recorded webinar archive and other member resources,  is now housed within the NAPD Online Communities Platform! When logged in to the Online Communities platform, select Main Libraries from the main menu and then select MyGideon Resource Library from the list. Not sure how to access the Online Communities? Scroll down to the Online Communities section of the FAQ for more info!  And remember, you MUST be logged in with an active membership to access this library!

Q: How do I access the NAPD Public Resource Library? 

A: The NAPD Public Resource Library is home to NAPD’s public-facing position statements, policy papers, ethics opinions, amicus briefs, annual reports, and other materials that we want to keep accessible to all members of the public and not just our logged in members. Like our MyGideon Resource Library, you can find it linked in the NAPD Online Communities under Main Libraries. Unlike MyGideon, however, no login or membership is necessary to browse!

Organizational Membership

Q: My office has an active membership – how do I join it? OR, I am a roster manager for my office – how do I make changes?

A: Individual users seeking to join an existing org membership, or organizations seeking to make changes to their roster can both find instructions in our NAPD Membership Portal Guide! Click here to view. 

Q: What is the “100% Participation” rule for organizations?

A: To provide the most equitable and sustainable pricing, our organizational rates are predicated on the entire staff joining. This ensures that every member of the defense team—not just attorneys—has access to the same high-level resources.

Q: How do we set up a private Talent LMS branch for our office?

A: Private LMS branches are a premium service for organizational members. These are scoped based on the size of your office and your specific training needs. Please submit an inquiry to our Technical Assistance team to schedule a consultation.

Specialized Sections & Add-ons

Q: Can I join the NAFD Section for federal defenders without an NAPD membership?

A: No. Sections are specialized communities within the larger NAPD framework. You must have an active Individual or Organizational membership to join a specific section.

Account & Billing

Q: When does my membership expire?

A: NAPD memberships are annual and renew on the anniversary of your join date. You can check your status and renewal date anytime in your “Member Profile” which is the first page you’re brought to when you log in.

Q: Can I pay for my membership via check or purchase order?

A: While we prefer online payments for faster processing, we do accept checks and POs—particularly for large organizations. Please select the “Invoice Me” option during checkout or contact us for billing assistance.

Q: Is my membership tax-deductible?

A: NAPD is a 501(c)(6) non-profit organization. Membership dues are generally not deductible as a charitable contribution but may be deductible as a business expense. Please consult with your tax professional.

Online Communities & Getting Involved

Q: What are the NAPD Online Communities?

A: NAPD’s Online Communities are the latest, more evolved version of our old listserv network! With the option to engage as a site-based social networking platform or directly via email digests, NAPD offers a variety of Online Communities with role-based, issue-based, and committee-based focus. Here we combine discussion forums with collaborative shared libraries, community-based meetup events, a member directory, and the ability to curate your own viewable member profile. 

Q: Who can participate in Online Communities?

A: Anyone who works in public defense directly or in a closely aligned field allying on public defense issues is welcome to join – the only requirement is an active NAPD membership! Members of the public or people with expired memberships will have very limited access – limited only to the Online Communities home page and our NAPD Public Resource Library. Only those who have logged into the site with an active membership will be able to view and participate in Online Community discussion forums, events, and libraries. 

Q. How do I access the Online Communities?

A: There are three ways to access our Online Communities. The first is here on the main NAPD website, by going to the Engage dropdown and selecting Online Communities. From there, click on the button in the top right corner to log in using your usual NAPD credentials. The second way to get to the Online Communities is for those already logged in to the NAPD Member Portal. From there, you will go to the menu option at the top of your screen labeled Groups. Click into any one of your groups and follow the tinyurl in the group description to get to that Online Community’s home page. The third way to reach the Online Communities is by bookmarking the direct URL! You can find them here at: napd.connectedcommunity.org

Q: What is the Open Forum?

A: Added automatically as part of your active NAPD membership, the Open Forum is our all-member online community where you can discuss general public defense related topics with ALL active NAPD members. Share your successes, ask questions, keep up with industry news, and more with your national public defense community. 

Q: How do I choose which Online Communities I belong to?

A: Inclusion in some Online Communities is automatic – like our all-member Open Forum and our section-specific Online Communities for those who have purchased add-on section membership. But for most of our Online Communities, you can control your belonging via the Groups menu option of the NAPD Member Portal at my.thenapd.org! The first tab on that page, My Groups, shows the Online Communities you are currently enrolled in. To leave a community, select the blue Leave Group button next to the name of that community. The second tab on that page, Open Groups, shows the Online Communities you do NOT currently belong to which are open to join. To join a community, select the yellow Join Group button next to the name of that community.

Q: What about Online Communities for Committees?

A: Because requests to join committees must first be reviewed by committee chairs, they are hidden from the Open Groups page of your Member Portal. Those who are looking to join one of our committees (currently Amicus, Systems Builders, and Workloads) should submit their request to our Help Desk for review via the Contact Form. Those who are already enrolled in a committee-based community who would like to leave will be able to see it on the My Groups tab in their Member Portal and utilize the Leave Group button – but once you have left, the community will once again be hidden and you will need to reach out to our Help Desk to re-join. 

Q: How do I sign up for virtual meetups?

A: Unlike webinars and conferences which you register for on the Events tab of your member portal, our members-only virtual meetups now live directly in their corresponding Online Communities! You can view and RSVP to any upcoming meetups in any of your Online Communities by heading to the homepage for that community (in the My Communities menu tab of the Online Communities platform) and scrolling down to the Upcoming Events widget. Virtual meetups are regularly reoccurring and absolutely free for members, and RSVP’s take just one click! 

Q: What more can you tell me about NAPD’s libraries in the Online Communities?

A: There are two types of libraries available to you in the NAPD Online Communities platform. The first are the Main Libraries, which are accessible to all members regardless of which Online Communities they are enrolled in. The Main Libraries include the MyGideon Resource Library, which is home to our recorded webinar archive and other members-only resources, and the NAPD Public Resource Library, which is home to our position statements, policy papers, ethics opinions, amicus briefs, annual reports, etc. Any member of the NAPD community can contribute a resource to the MyGideon Resource Library via the Create button in the top right corner of the Online Communities platform – and we welcome all members to do so! In addition to our Main Libraries, each individual Online Community has its own community-specific library which is accessible only by those who enrolled in that particular community. Anyone in that community can contribute resources to that community-specific library, from links to PDFs to photos and videos and more. Please note, if you think a resource would be of interest to all in the NAPD community and not just one community then MyGideon is the place to submit!

Q: How do I manage my email notification settings for the Online Communities?

A: When logged in to the Online Communities platform, there are a couple of places you can go to manage your email notifications. If there’s a particular Online Community you would like to change the settings for, head to the home page for that specific community using the “My Communities” menu of the Communities drop-down in the main menu. Once you’ve arrived at the home page for that community, you will see a gray settings button with a gear on the righthand side. From there, you can select to receive Real Time email updates with each new post, a Daily Digest email of all new activity from that community at the end of the each day, or No Email. You can customize your settings for each and every community you belong to if you wish. Most of our Online Communities default to Daily Digest updates. If you would like to customize your email notifications even further, head to your profile using your little profile icon in the top right corner of the screen. From there, select My Account and then Email Preferences to make additional notification choices.

Q: Will I still be able to use the NAPD listservs to communicate via email?

A: As of August 1st 2026, NAPD will retire its network of listservs offered through Groups IO and fully transition to the Online Communities platform. You will no longer be able to send and receive emails using our old listserv system. However, those who prefer engaging via email will still have this option using the new Online Communities platform! If you opt to receive email notifications for your communities, either Real Time or as Daily Digests, you will have the option to reply to the group or directly to the poster via links in the email notification. Those emails will also contain a link at the top to post a brand new thread to the Online Communities. 

Q: If I was enrolled in NAPD’s listservs, have I been added to the new Online Community for that group automatically?

A: In most cases, yes! As part of our platform transition, NAPD downloaded all of our listserv rosters and automatically loaded those subscribers in to our new Online Communities platform to match their old subscription settings to provide a smooth transition! However, those without an active NAPD membership and/or those who were subscribed to listservs via an email that is NOT the same as the email attached to their NAPD membership would not have been included in the automatic enrollment transition. Your membership status and current Online Communities enrollment can be viewed in the NAPD Member Portal. In addition to those who had previous listserv subscriptions, the NAPD team also auto-enrolled members in role-based communities if they had a role type listed in their NAPD member profile. Those who would like to leave a community to which they were auto-added can do so anytime in the Member Portal. 

Q: I have an idea for a new committee/online community. Who can I talk to about that?

A: If you have a strong need or interest for a particular committee, meetup group, or online community to exist at NAPD that does not currently exist, please contact us on the Help Desk so that we can keep it in mind as we work to expand our offerings! If you are willing to take an active role in building and leading your suggested community, make sure to mention that in your message. It takes a lot of effort to make these communities thrive and knowing we have capacity building support may move it up our list! We may not respond to each and every suggestion email that we receive, but all requests are logged and tracked so we can identify the greatest needs in our community!

Q: How can I contribute trainings/blog posts/resources/etc to the NAPD community?

A: We are always looking for trainers, writers, resource contributors, and mentors! Look out for calls to get involved from the NAPD team within our Online Communities space, or contact us on the Help Desk if you’d like to offer your contribution!