State bar association

Sign outside the Massachusetts Bar Association in Boston

A state bar association is a bar association that represents or seeks to represent all of the attorneys in a specific U.S. state. Membership in such an association may be voluntary or mandatory for practitioners in that state. State bar associations may be tasked with the administration of the state bar examination and subsequent discipline of attorneys for ethical or other violations. State bars typically provide services for members such as maintaining a directory of attorneys in the state, facilitating social events for attorneys, and publishing a bar journal. They may also require the completion of Continuing Legal Education credits, and may provide classes which fulfill these credits.

Voluntary and mandatory bars

Headquarters of the District of Columbia Bar Association

A mandatory or integrated bar association is one to which a state delegates the authority to regulate the admission of attorneys to practice in that state; typically these require membership in that bar association to practice in that state.

In the other states, membership in the bar associations is voluntary. In some states, a mandatory organization exists primarily for the purpose of regulating admission to practice, while a voluntary organization exists for the purpose of promoting relations within the legal community. In Virginia, for example, the Virginia State Bar is the mandatory organization and the Virginia Bar Association is voluntary.

There are many other bar associations, typically organized by geography (e.g. county bar associations), area of practice, or affiliation (e.g. ethnic bar associations).

Continuing Legal Education requirements

Many state bar associations require members to complete Continuing Legal Education ("CLE") requirements, and also offer courses for lawyers in their area, with discounts to members of the particular bar association. For example, the State Bar of Texas mandates that every licensed attorney complete at least fifteen hours of continuing legal education classes each year. Uniquely, the Kentucky Bar Association offers a two-day program known as Kentucky Law Update, conducted in at least seven locations throughout the state, that allows its members to satisfy their annual CLE requirement without a registration fee.

See also

• Alabama State Bar
• Alaska Bar Association
• State Bar of Arizona
• Arkansas Bar Association
• State Bar of California
• Colorado Bar Association
• Connecticut Bar Association
• Delaware State Bar Association
• District of Columbia Bar
• The Florida Bar
• State Bar of Georgia
• Hawaii State Bar Association
• Idaho State Bar
• Illinois State Bar Association
• Indiana State Bar Association
• Iowa State Bar Association
• Kansas Bar Association
• Kentucky Bar Association
• Louisiana State Bar Association
• Maine State Bar Association
• Maryland State Bar Association
• Massachusetts Bar Association
• State Bar of Michigan
• Minnesota State Bar Association
• Mississippi Bar Association
• Missouri Bar Association
• State Bar of Montana
• Nebraska State Bar Association
• State Bar of Nevada
• New Hampshire Bar Association
• New Jersey State Bar Association
• State Bar of New Mexico
• New York State Bar Association
• North Carolina State Bar
• State Bar Association of North Dakota
• Ohio State Bar Association
• Oklahoma Bar Association
• Oregon State Bar
• Pennsylvania Bar Association
• Rhode Island Bar Association
• South Carolina Bar
• State Bar of South Dakota
• Tennessee Bar Association
• State Bar of Texas
• Utah State Bar
• Vermont Bar Association
• Virginia Bar Association (voluntary)
• Virginia State Bar (mandatory)
• Washington State Bar Association
• West Virginia State Bar
• State Bar of Wisconsin
• Wyoming State Bar

External links

• List of State Bar Associations, courtesy Hieros Gamos