Over the next few months many new and exciting changes will occur with respect to membership in the ABA and, in particular, membership in the Law Practice Division (LP). At the 2018 ABA Annual Meeting, the ABA House of Delegates approved the framework for a new ABA membership model, including a generally new and lowered dues structure, as well as the provision of a greater package of benefits that will be available to all ABA members, without additional cost.
A key component in the new membership offering is complimentary membership in LP. Quite simply, effective as of the bar year beginning Sept. 1, 2019, LP will itself become one of the items of greater benefit at no additional cost to ABA members. Membership in LP for ABA members will be available simply by checking the box—and opting in. You will not automatically be enrolled as a member without specifically opting-in on your membership renewal. This opportunity will be made available with the 2019–20 membership dues notices that are sent out in May 2019 and thereafter. All that an ABA member will have to do to become an LP member will be to select the Law Practice Division as an entity he or she would like to be a member of.
Many of the readers of our publications, such as Law Practice magazine and our Law Practice Today webzine, are already members of LP. If you are already an LP member, your membership will continue at no additional cost and you will continue to receive the print version of Law Practice. For all other members of the ABA, including those ABA members who have perhaps been readers of Law Practice or Law Practice Today but have not yet joined LP, new membership in the Division, with all of its benefits and discounts, will now be available at no additional cost over your ABA membership. Upon joining LP, new members will receive access to an electronic version of Law Practice. New members will also have the opportunity to subscribe to a print version of Law Practice for an incremental publishing cost.
LP leadership is looking forward to the Division being a significant part of this new ABA membership model. LP exists to help those in the legal profession who provide legal services to clients in all of the core areas of the business of practice: management, marketing, finance and technology. It is knowing how important the business of law is to the practice of law that the ABA has determined all members should have access to all LP resources. These benefits, to name a few, include discounts when attending on-site CLE and ABA TECHSHOW as well as the discounts offered on publications and other practice management resources. In addition, LP will be providing the ABA CLE library with dozens of new webinar programs annually—all at no cost to ABA members. Look for your membership renewal form soon, and be sure to either continue, or begin anew, your membership in the ABA Law Practice Division. If you continue, you gain the added benefit of receiving the print edition of Law Practice magazine. If you are new to LP, get ready to reap the benefits at no additional cost—beginning with the new bar year.