The Wilkes-Barre Law and Library Association is the official name of the Luzerne County Bar Association. Located in the Law Library and adjacent Room 23 on the Second Floor of the Luzerne County Courthouse in Wilkes- Barre, Pennsylvania, the Bar Association is one of the oldest county bar associations in the United States.

Founded on June 18, 1850 as the ‘Wilkes-Barre Law Association,’ the name of the association was altered in 1855 to the ‘Wilkes-Barre Law & Library Association’ to reflect the important role of the operation of a community law library for its member attorneys. Originally, housed in the Third Courthouse that existed on Public Square in Wilkes-Barre from 1859 to 1909, the Law Library has grown over the years.

Today, the Law Library contains over 20,000 volumes of law books, reports, and journals. The Bar Association also operates the Luzerne Legal Register, the law journal of Luzerne County and the official reporter of the decisions of the Court of Common Pleas of Luzerne County. A modern-day Lawyer Referral Service is also operated out of the Law Library for people who need a lawyer but do not know whom to call.

Other services include a Fee Dispute Committee to help resolve billing disputes between clients and member attorneys of the Association, and a confidential referral service for complaints involving alleged lawyer misconduct to the Disciplinary Board of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania and alleged misconduct of judges to the Court of Judicial Discipline of Pennsylvania.

Organization: The Wilkes-Barre Law & Library Association is presently governed by a President, Vice President, Treasurer, Secretary, and an Executive Committee, consisting of five members. The officers and Executive Committee are elected to one year terms beginning at the Annual Meeting of the Association held in January.