The National Lawyers Guild (Guild) was an association of over 10,000 progressive attorneys, law students, legal workers and jailhouse lawyers with over 200 chapters across the country, In 1985 Guild activist Paul Albert formed the National Lawyers Guild AIDS Network (NGLAN) in response to the inadequate legal services many Persons With AIDS were experiencing at that time. NGLAN was set up to provide legal assistance to people with HIV and to AIDS service organizations around the country through a network of attorneys and legal workers. It also advocated for progressive public policy, and educated individuals and groups about HIV and the law. It was organized as a separate body, with its own Board, policies and fiscal program, but was clearly a subsidiary of the Guild. Albert was appointed director, a position he held until he left five years later. Eileen Hansen, another legal activist and community organizer, was hired to direct the Network in 1990.

NGLAN's primary work involved referral of HIV positive individuals to the AIDS organization nearest them, and referral of AIDS organizations to cooperating local lawyers. Their major educational contributions included the preparation and publication of the AIDS Practice Manual, a comprehensive resource on HIV law for attorneys, and the Exchange, a newsletter published three times a year for lawyers, people with HIV, and other interested parties. NLGAN closed in 1993.