State Bar Associations Explained

While most law students are familiar with the American Bar Association (ABA), many do not know the benefits of individual state bar associations, which could become extremely beneficial in both their law school and professional careers.

Many states have bar associations covering a wide range of interests and demographical groups fit for almost anyone who wants to join. These professional associations provide professional publications written by members of the association and provide important up to date information about the law to current members and the community. There are also personalized sections within the associations to cater to different types of members providing such sections as the young lawyers section as well as sections on different types of law such as tort law, litigation, and corporate law.

California has the most number of local Bar Associations spanning from the Beverly Hills Bar Association to the Italian American Lawyers Association. Other states such as Pennsylvania, New York and Texas also have a very large amount of Bar Association to fit a wide variety of interests.

A little closer to home, Indiana and Illinois have their fair share of Bar Associations. While Indiana has both the Indiana State Bar Association and Indiana Trial Lawyers Association, Illinois, in addition to the Illinois State Bar Association, has many separate county associations (Cook, Champaign, DuPage, Kane, Winnebago) along with the Chicago Bar Association, Chicago Council of Lawyers, Illinois Association of Defense Trial Counsel, Illinois Judges Association, Illinois Trial Lawyers Association and the Justinian Society of Lawyers.

In many respects these association take the place of law school social groups giving young lawyers and weathered attorneys alike the opportunity to interact and communicate with one another while also providing a service and information for the community. These services include many community service and pro bono projects that many state bar associations undertake.

Probably one of the most significant reasons new young attorneys and law students join bar associations is for the networking aspect of the membership. It is an invaluable resource to be able to meet attorneys in different fields and also interact with new lawyers and go through the process in a group like atmosphere. Some legal employers even require their prospective employees to be members of at least one local state bar association.

Apart from the services provided by state bar associations there are also many exclusive membership benefits afforded to members. These benefits span from discounts on continuing legal education courses, travel, services, equipment, supplies, and many informational resources that attorneys use on a day-to-day basis.

Most Bar Associations give law school students a large discount on membership fees making fees as low as $10 a year providing them with all the benefits given to regular professional members. Signing up is easy and can be done at the various State Bar Association Websites. In order to join the Indiana State Bar Association, visit www.inbar.org, and to join the Illinois State Bar Association, visit www.illinoisbar.org.