A Better Value

• Author: Bob Carlson
• Pages: 8-8

8 || ABA JOURNAL MAY 2019

PHOTO BY TOM SALYER PHOTOGRAPHY

President’s Message || By Bob Carlson

Follow President Carlson on Twitter @ABAPresident or email abapresident@americanbar.org.

A Better Value

ABA reinvigorates benefits for current and new members

The American Bar A ssociation, with an

eye on a bright future, w ill begin intro -

ducing excit ing changes star ting this

month as part of a new membership plan

that oers greater va lue and significantly

enhanced b enefits.

For more than two years, sta  and

volunteers along with outside market-

ing exper ts have conducted meticu lous

research and developed a plan t o posi-

tion us to be an essentia l partner with our

members: helping to build their practices,

strengthen their network s and achieve

success in their ca reers.

We will demonstrate that ABA mem-

bership is essential for al l lawyers’ pro-

fessional de velopment and adva ncement.

The ABA will con nect with the legal c ommunity and

increase awareness of the g reat impact the ABA has

both inside and outside the legal profession.

Our new membership model consists of six ke y

components:

New member benefits and resour ces: Members

will be able to join the Law Pr actice Divi sion and the

Solo, Small Firm and G eneral Practice D ivision at

no additional cost. A ll members will have access to

the content generated by both divi sions, along with

a wide range of premium informat ion and CLE pro-

grams. Members wi ll experience a newly designed

ABA Career Center w ith greater emphasis on deliv-

ering up-to-dat e podcasts and webina rs and will

be introduced to an inter view and resumé-building

tool, ABA Career Forw ard. This benefit is oered to

ABA members through Korn Ferr y Advance and is

designed primari ly for young lawyers, solo pract itio-

ners and those looking to make a c areer change.

CLE marketplace: The ABA is expanding its va st

selection of premier CLE program s—one of the asso-

ciation’s most popular benefits. Members will have

access to an on- demand CLE library w ith more than

450 titles and growi ng, all available to members at no

addition al cost .

Content tai lored for you: We will work to deliver

content to you that is relevant to your prac tice and

interests. This may include ar ticles, digests, synopses,

checkli sts, short v ideos and audio recordi ngs. Content

also will be ava ilable through multiple channels,

including the ABA website, ema il and social media .

Members-only access: For years, much

of the ABA’s information was available

on our website t o anyone. Now, only

members will have acc ess to a major-

ity of ABA content. Some infor mation

will remain a ccessible to the public, such

as the onli ne ABA Journal and news

updates, but most content will b e behind

a paywall and li mited to dues-paying

members. While only entity members

will have ful l access to their entit y con-

tent, all ABA members w ill have the

opportunity to sa mple content five times

a month from any ABA entity so t hat

members can see the value in joini ng a

section, d ivision or for um.

Sensible dues struc ture: The cost of ABA mem-

bership is no longer a barrier to being an a ctive

member. The new ABA annual membership dues

have been simplified to five categorie s: $75 for those

admitted to t he bar four years and less (including

new members of the bar); $150 for those admitted

to the bar for five to nine years , solo practitioners,

small-firm members, judges, re tirees, public serv ice/

government lawyers, and inter national (non-U.S.

licensed) attorneys; $250 for those adm itted to the

bar 10 to 14 years; $350 for those admitted t o the bar

15 to 19 years; and $450 for those ad mitted to the bar

20 years and more. Members belonging to more tha n

one category wil l pay the lower dues rate.

Improved member experience: Ou r newly

designed mobile-friendly website is ava ilable at

ambar.org. We recognize that some users initia lly

encountered technical diculties with the website,

but we have worked hard to address those problems.

We know you will find an enhanced u ser experience

with added ease of nav igation.

We also have changed our logo and updated our

look. But while our look may be new, our core mission

remains the same. The A BA will continue to sta nd

up for the rule of law, justice and lawyers thr oughout

America .

The ABA is serious about showing ever y lawyer the

value of membership. We want to communicate bet-

ter with members and to g ive them what they want

and need from an asso ciation. This new model is an

important first st ep toward achiev ing that goal.

We welcome your ideas and comments. n