There are a bunch of “optional” bar associations you can join. Foremost among them is the American Bar Association. Of course, there are oodles of others, right down to the smallest associations representing a small piece of your city.

Should you join?

It’s harder and harder to find a reason to pay the dues and be a member in many of these associations.

Membership Has Its Privileges…Or Does It?

These associations once served a number of purposes:

• They brought lawyers together to network. That has been replaced by services like LinkedIn and other social networks that allow us to introduce ourselves and follow up with lunch.
• They provided continuing education. That has been replaced by gobs of providers hawking their courses via e-mails and websites at better prices than most bar associations charge.
• They provided credentials. You could become the chair of a committee or a section or even become president of your association. Then you could use that platform to boost your credibility. That has been replaced by new marketing tools allowing you to prove your worth directly to clients rather than hoping they place value on a title awarded to you by your association.
• They provided a magazine or newsletter keeping you up-to-date on pertinent issues. That has been replaced by more narrowly focused and frequently updated blogs and podcasts provided directly by other expert practitioners.
• They provided discounts on services. That has been replaced by offers coming directly from the vendors who can pass the money they would have paid the bar association to become a “preferred provider” directly back to you.
• They published books. That has been replaced by self-publishing cutting out the middleman and giving authors a bigger cut and readers a discount.
• They provided listserves for communication. They’ve been replaced by e-mail services, social networks, and other providers. The remaining listserves are often weak because so many participants have left. It’s a tough sell when the listserv is all the association offers in exchange for high-priced dues.

Should You Make the Investment?

I’m faced with the question of whether to join an association about once a month when our lawyers ask about joining one group or another.

I always respond by asking them what they’re going to do as group members. Are they just going to skim the magazine and toss it, or are they going to show up to meetings and climb the ladder to become an officer? Are they going to ignore the listserv or jump in and use it as a tool to boost their professional presence by offering to help others? Are they going to skip the parties and gatherings or attend and use them as a way to jump-start their networking?

If they’re going to use the investment in membership, then paying the dues makes some sense. Of course, it makes less and less sense as the groups shrink, but it’s likely to be of use for now.

However, if they’re joining because they think they’re supposed to join or they’re joining because someone else they know joined, then it doesn’t make much sense.

Think carefully about how you allocate your membership dollars. Today, with the associations mostly in decline with an aging and smaller membership, it’s essential to evaluate the expenditure. We have other choices today. We might be better off getting our information, networking, discounts, and education in other ways. The world changes, and the need for associations is changing even faster.