The American Bar Association in recent years has been undergoing a transformation to be more in line with the needs of attorneys. Part of that (and in response to declining membership) has been a restructuring of fees. Remember, if you are a new bar admittee you get one year of membership for free (but this will be going away in September 2019), and if you are a student you also receive access for free (no-change).

 

New Structure:

Years of PracticeAnnual Fee
1-4$75/Year with 1st year of practice being free
5-9*$150/Year*
10-14$250/Year
15-19$350
20+$450

 

The largest change comes to attorneys practicing at least 5-years*. For solo practitioners, retirees, government attorneys, small firms (less than 5 attorneys), judges, international lawyers, associates etc. all would be capped at $150/year (note, if you are currently a student your membership is free).

Members will also receive access to several sections for free including Law Practice Division (LPD) and Solo, Small Firm, and General Practice Sections.

A few additional key changes will be taking place:

  • Much of the ABA-Produced Material that is currently available for free will be placed behind a paywall (whether this affects ABAJournal.com is unknown).
  • CLE will be included as part of the membership

 

All changes will take place in September 2019. You can read about all the changes here: https://www.abajournal.com/news/article/new_membership_model