The ABA (American Bar Association) has a feature they call “Legal Rebels“. Well, I am a Legal Rebel, and here’s why: I’m leaving the ABA. When my current membership expires, I’m not renewing it.
In a recent post over at My Shingle, Carolyn Elefant talks about the ABA “making a play” for solos and asks if solos should play back. I will preface this post by saying that I have not seen all of the ABA’s new efforts, but based on what was outlined in Carolyn’s post and the ABAJournal article I’m unimpressed.
Here’s the run-down:
* Sponsoring Solosez. Good for Solosez! How does that really help me? Solosez is a mailing list the overhead cannot be that much. And you do not have be an ABA member to participate in Solosez. So, this is worth $X a year??
* GP Solo Magazine. I don’t need another ******* magazine. Seriously. Every bar org out there has a magazine. Or six. I flip through them once standing next to the recycling bin, and unless something really seems worth reading, they go straight in. I probably get 6-8 of these types of magazines a month. In the last year, I’ve given a reprieve to _two_ issues to read an article. In both cases, I regretted it.
* Quarterly Solo e-Mail Newsletter. This is why people increasingly view the ABA as an anachronistic organization. An e-mail newsletter. Seriously???
* Smart Soloing eBook and publication. _Yawn_. As Carolyn mentions, these types of publications rarely contain information that isn’t already available by the boatload on other blogs or on-line resources that are, quite often, free.
* Smart Soloing School. The ABA is so tired and out of ideas, that they have decided to blatantly rip-off one of their _own_ nominated Legal Rebels, Susan Cartier Liebel, who runs Solo Practice University. The ABA claims their “school” is a $1600 value. Well, guess what? SPU costs a fraction of that, and provides excellent, on-going content and community. Why does the ABA need to re-invent the wheel? So they can focus even more on content I don’t need from them because it’s already being provided by someone else who is doing it well?
* Lobbying. Yes, I appreciate the ABA lobbying on behalf of lawyer advertising, blogging, virtual law office technology, etc. But as far as I can tell, given the disparate state of ethics rules across the country regarding virtual offices, etc. The ABA isn’t really doing a bang-up job there, either.
All these things are nice, but honestly, as a practicing solo, let me clue the ABA in on what it is that _*I*_ really need:
1. Community. I need to be in touch with other solos regularly to share resources, share/get referrals, and commiserate with. I can–and do already–have that nationwide through Solosez, Twitter, etc. I don’t need the ABA to do it because they are duplicating effort, and generally, not doing it very well. As for the in-person networking, one or two conferences a year does not make for good networking opportunities. My local bar associations (the Illinois State Bar Association and the Chicago Bar Association) provide so much more value in terms of community and networking, that for the ABA to even attempt it is laughable.
2. Insurance. I need insurance: professional liability insurance, health insurance, life insurance. The ABA “value” really falters here. Did I say falter? I meant fail. Epic fail. Titanic fail. At least for my practice areas and geographic location. Considering the membership numbers at the ABA, the ABA should be able to offer me the best deal in all three areas of major insurance. Yet, in all three, the ABA offered me the _worst_ deals. How is that possible? They have the largest membership of any bar association, and they are lawyers–but they couldn’t negotiate better discounts than my local bars?! Should I fear for the future of the ABA or the future of my profession!?
3. Legal Research. Have you priced Lexis and Westlaw these days? I pay as I go for them, and rely primarily on Fastcase. Which, by the way, I get for _free_ from the Illinios State Bar Association. And the ISBA membership is _still_ less than ABA Membership.
4. CLE. Again, I can get this from so many other sources, most of the time cheaper and better. Including, again, my local bar associations.
So, while I think there _could_ be value in the ABA for solos, there certainly isn’t for me, at least not now. Right now, the only value I get from the ABA comes from Solosez and the TechShow, neither of which require membership to gain access to. For everything else, and I do mean everything, my local bar associations provide a much better return on investment for my membership fees. Of course, living in Chicago, my experience might not be the same for solos who don’t have strong local bar associations–I can’t speak to that.
But in the opinion of this solo Chicago attorney, take the money you save by not joining the ABA and join a local bar association instead. That’s the real “Legal Rebel” way.
The value of the ABA is in its sections. I get value out of being part of the ABA Cyberlaw Subcommittee of the Business Law section. (That value might fade at higher price points, though.)
That might be–but most of the sections charge additional fees to participate (even though they are usually nominal). So again, more money, and what is the value that you get? Interaction with peers? Assuming you could get the introductions elsewhere, couldn’t you get that same interaction elsewhere, too? Education?
Not saying they aren’t worth it, but if sections are the only real value, they should spin off. I’d probably be willing to pay for a membership in a smaller, more specialized organization than a huge general organization where only a small section actually meets my needs. It’s not just about *total cost* it’s about relative value. I pay more (combined) for my CBA and ISBA memberships than the cost of the ABA–but I get a lot more, too.
There may be some other cyberlaw groups I could be part of, but having this one be part of the ABA provides a larger pool of people to connect with and certain other opportunities that wouldn’t exist otherwise.
Case in point: I just wrote a paper on CDA Sec. 230 for an ABA publication. A quicker route to being published and read than others would be. Also, I’m going to give a presentation at the ABA conference in San Francisco. What makes it a particularly interesting opportunity is that there is a chance to present to people outside the immediate section, to reach and inform people who aren’t cyberlaw experts but wish to learn about it. If I were in a separate group, that couldn’t happen.
Don’t get me wrong; I still regard the ABA at large with some suspicion. It has certain defects I don’t like and hope will be improved. But I think there already have been some, and at the moment the calculus of value v. annoyance definitely tips in favor of belonging (at least at this price point…) despite the downsides.
Dave,
Thanks for recognition and support of Solo Practice University. We try hard 🙂
If there are lawyers who find value in the ABA, they don’t need to defend their decision to belong. It’s a free country. The truth of this value will be evidenced by an upswing in membership. If the upswing comes from solos, they they are getting the value they seek. It’s a numbers game. Period. Very easy to measure.
But there blatant rip-off of SPU makes me (and apparently others) start to really think about the integrity of the organization as it could very well undermine their efforts.