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 Practice | Annual 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
