Mission
The Southwest Association of Pre-Law Advisors (SWAPLA) is a professional organization supporting those who work with students exploring the legal field. Our members work across a variety of institutions, from community colleges to four-year universities and ABA law schools. Some of us are pre-law advisors by title, while others are faculty members, administrators, admissions professionals, or staff members wearing a lot of hats.
SWAPLA supports the efforts of these professionals through community building, resource sharing, and professional development programming.
We sponsor an annual caravan of law school fairs (the SWAPLA Swing), and multiple opportunities for professional development, networking and collaboration ranging from informal monthly chats (SWAPLA Swaps) to more structured webinars and annual conferences.
We are one of several regional “APLAs” across the nation; together these APLAS and the Law School Admission Council (LSAC) form the Pre-Law Advisors National Council (PLANC). SWAPLA is represented on the PLANC board and over the years, several SWAPLA members have served in leadership positions with PLANC.
Join SWAPLA
Membership is open to pre-law advisors from 2- and 4- year institutions as well as law school representatives from any ABA-approved law school.
Although the SWAPLA region encompasses Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas, pre-law advisors and law school representatives from any state are welcome to join SWAPLA.