Small Law Firms

Which Professional Organizations Should You Join In 2018?

Researching which organizations to join (and quit) can be one of the best ways to productively use your time and money for the upcoming year.

By  
on

Commonly during this time of year, I am reminded to renew my membership to my state bar association and other organizations for the upcoming year. And just recently, I began to be more selective about which organizations I should join and give money to.

Typically lawyers are members of multiple organizations. Here are a few that I can think of:

  • Your state bar association because it’s mandatory.
  • Your local bar association because it’s usually the best way to get to know the locals.
  • The bar association that focuses on your specialty or industry.
  • If you are an ethnic minority, then your ethnicity’s bar association. You should consider joining another ethnicity’s bar association; if the membership likes you, they will consider you an honorary member.
  • Several “lawyers only” social clubs.
  • The local chamber of commerce.

In my first few years of practice, I joined every social and professional organization that I could. I had a lot of time back then. I wanted to get to know people. The committee meetings sounded like fun. The CLEs were interesting. And most organizations had reduced membership fees for new attorneys.

But as time passed, I got lazier busier and so I had to ration my time. Not only that, my motivation to get involved began to fade. The events became less interesting. I’ve seen the CLE events before. I’ve even organized and spoken at a few. My involvement shrank to the point where I became invisible and began to question whether I should continue my membership.

Finally, membership can get expensive. I “graduated” from the young lawyers section and so I have to pay the full membership fee. Not only that, I still had to pay to attend the organization’s CLE events. (At most bar associations, being a member only gets you a paltry discount.) And then there are the expensive formal dinners where the new board members are sworn in or some well-known figure is attending. All of this adds up.

So today, as I contemplate whether I should renew my membership to various organizations for 2018, I want to share a few thoughts that will strongly influence my decision.

Sponsored

Am I the “go to” person in the organization? It’s hard to leave a group where the members (particularly the leadership) see you as the authority on a certain subject area. For me, it’s not so much about getting referrals but more about being able to help the collective and being appreciated (which usually leads to referrals).

Do I like the leadership? Obviously, having a good relationship with the organization’s leaders can make your membership more enjoyable and more productive. Conversely, if you don’t, you’ll probably be less willing to contribute. And if the hate is extreme, the leadership can make your life miserable.

And even if you like the leadership, do you agree with their agenda for the upcoming term? I’ve seen some people turn an organization overly political or activist, thus alienating some of their members. Or they may make grandiose promises during their election campaign, but when they step into office, they do something totally different.

If you don’t like the leadership, you might be able to hold out for a while if their term lasts a year or less. But many organizations have a ladder hierarchy where a person holds several leadership positions over a number of years. For example, a person becomes secretary for a year, then gets promoted to president-elect, and then promoted to president. So you may end up dealing with the same people for a number of years.

If you see yourself having issues with the leadership, you can either deal with them, fight them, or spend your time and money elsewhere.

Sponsored

Do I feel like I’m getting my money’s worth?

If you are paying several hundred dollars for membership (and additional fees to attend events or CLEs), you should feel like you are getting your money’s worth. I understand that these organizations need to be funded so they can do all of the good things for their members and the community. But I sometimes wish some of the more expensive bar associations would offer a “diet” membership option where we only pay for the events we attend.

You may get discounts to various businesses and other benefits by being a member. But I found that a lot of it is bloat with questionable value. This is generally the case with larger organizations. I hope that more organizations would continuously survey their members about the types of discounts and services they want and negotiate with businesses that offer these services. I don’t need additional life insurance or a state bar credit card.

While you should do a cost-benefit analysis, you should not measure it by monetary return-on-investment alone. Are you getting solid referrals? Are you meeting people who are helpful to you? Do the organization’s educational programs help you perform better? Does the organization make an effort to get to know you and your needs?

Not all organizations are created equal, as some are more useful than others. Some organizations may not be as useful as they once were while others may show future promise. So researching which organizations to join (and quit) can be one of the best ways to productively use your time and money for the upcoming year.

I want to wish all of the ATL readers a happy and safe holiday season. After writing continuously for the last three and a half years, I’ll be taking some time off to travel, relax, and think about the topics I’ll write about when I return. 2018 is shaping up to be an exciting year with mid-term elections, tax reform, and Bitcoin.

Shannon Achimalbe was a former solo practitioner for five years before deciding to sell out and get back on the corporate ladder. Shannon can be reached by email at sachimalbe@excite.com and via Twitter: @ShanonAchimalbe.

Topics

, , , ,