Friend goes to States for talks (8)

I believe the answer is:

palavers

'talks' is the definition.
(palavering is a kind of talking)

'friend goes to states' is the wordplay.
'friend' becomes 'pal' (pal is a kind of friend).
'goes to' says to put letters next to each other.
'states' becomes 'avers' (I've seen this before).
'pal'+'avers'='PALAVERS'

'for' acts as a link.

I've seen this clue in The Guardian, The Telegraph and The Globe and Mail.

Want a hint initially instead of a full solution? Install my app