Declining Relevance of the American Bar Association

1 month ago 0

In May, I chose not to renew my annual membership with the American Bar Association (ABA), marking the first time since passing the bar exam nearly four decades ago. This decision, coupled with other recent developments, suggests that the ABA’s relevance is dwindling.

Historically, ABA membership offered invaluable benefits for attorneys, including access to continuing legal education, career opportunities, networking, and practice support. Despite these resources, I overlooked the organization’s delve into political and social issues that conflicted with my views or lacked relevance to my practice. Over time, the ABA’s value, especially considering rising membership dues, decreased while its political leanings became more pronounced.

It is no secret that the ABA aligns with leftist politics as lawyers often do. Supporting big government is self-serving; more laws and less certainty mean higher demand for legal services. This liberal slant has damaged the ABA’s reputation. Its biased evaluations of federal judicial nominees led to one political faction ignoring its opinions during confirmations. As the nation’s political divide has widened, the ABA’s public positions, including its amicus briefs, have aligned with one side.

Additionally, the ABA often reacts dramatically to presidential actions, even on issues where the majority of Americans agree, like border security and immigration, gender identity, and racial preferences. Attorneys are well-suited to lead respectful debates on national issues, yet the ABA misses opportunities to encourage such discussions.

The ABA is losing its long-standing control over law school accreditation and state bar admission eligibility. Recently, the Supreme Courts of Texas and Florida stopped exclusively relying on ABA accreditation for their state’s law schools. Alabama and Ohio followed last month, with Tennessee potentially joining soon. These changes mirror federal actions. Last year, the Federal Trade Commission criticized the ABA for anti-competitive accreditation practices that increased legal education costs, limited new lawyer supply, and imposed an elitist school model.

Moreover, the ABA’s current output rarely pertains to my litigation work. Recent publications cover topics like state laws on cat declawing and a judge in a barbershop quartet, which may interest some lawyers but not me. Although the ABA’s litigation section occasionally offers useful articles, specialized litigation bar groups provide similar content without political bias.

As a member, I received excessive advertisements from the ABA and other vendors, cluttering my inbox. Nonrenewal has alleviated this issue. For me, the membership’s cost no longer provides enough value, and many others share this view. Currently, ABA membership includes less than 15 percent of practicing attorneys. Similarly, about 20 percent of physicians belong to the American Medical Association.

Both the ABA and AMA, dominated by a narrow group, still claim to represent their entire professions, but this is misleading. With its diminishing relevance, the ABA’s future seems bleak. The organization has drifted away from the needs of lawyers and Americans, risking its sustainability. Alienating members like me will ultimately prove detrimental.

Don Daugherty is senior counsel for litigation for the Defense of Freedom Institute.