There’s no question: bar associations are operating in a very different landscape now than they were even a few years ago. Artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping legal practice and changing how lawyers work. These new technologies are creating opportunities, but also raising questions about accuracy, privacy, security, and governance. Meanwhile, members have more choices than ever when it comes to continuing legal education (CLE), networking, and career development. At the same time, bar associations must keep developing valuable programs, supporting members, protecting public trust, and operating sustainably…often with limited staff and resources!
For bar leaders, prioritization is key. Keeping up with every change isn’t realistic, and trying to do so can have a negative impact on your organization. Instead, it’s best to focus on one simple question: Where can my organization have the greatest impact? Now, while no two bar associations are exactly the same, many share similar priorities. Today, we’re looking at six areas that can help guide your bar association’s next steps:
1. Helping Members Navigate Artificial Intelligence
AI has quickly shifted from a future consideration to a tool many lawyers now use in their everyday work. According to 8am’s 2026 Legal Industry Report, 69% of more than 1,300 surveyed legal professionals reported using general-purpose generative AI for work-related purposes (Black, 2026). Further, the ABA’s 2024 Artificial Intelligence TechReport found that 30.2% of surveyed attorneys said their offices were already using AI-based tools (Calaguas, 2024). But for bar associations, the ABA’s report found something even more interesting: an overwhelming 60.9% said that CLE seminars or webinars were where they typically learned about new technology, including AI (Calaguas, 2024).
Nowadays, members need more than introductory presentations on what AI can do. They need practical guidance on confidentiality, competence, accuracy, bias, professional judgment, data security, and responsible use.
Through CLE and other resources, bar associations can help members answer questions like:
- Can confidential client information be entered into a particular AI tool?
- How should AI-generated research and citations be verified?
- When does AI use need to be disclosed to a client?
- What should a firm look for in an AI provider’s privacy terms?
- How much human review is considered “enough”?
The Canadian Bar Association (CBA), for example, has published a toolkit that covers the ethics of AI for legal practitioners, covering competency, risks and limitations, confidentiality, oversight, delegation, transparency, and more. Bar associations should also look inward. If staff are using AI for communications, content, administration, or data-related work, clear internal policies can define what may be entered into AI-assisted tools and where human judgment is still required.
2. Modernizing Without Creating More Fragmentation
Technology modernization can quickly become a conversation about products. It may surprise you to learn, however, that the better starting point is often the workflow.
Many bar associations add systems gradually over time: one for member management, another for continuing education, another for events, then additional tools for communications, payments, certificates, and reporting.
While each tool serves a purpose, the overall environment can become difficult to manage. Information gets duplicated, staff move data between systems, members juggle multiple accounts, and reports require manual consolidation. That’s why modernization should be treated as an organizational strategy, not a series of individual software purchases.
The goal is to reduce friction. Systems that connect membership, learning, events, communications, payments, certification, and reporting can reduce administrative work, improve data quality, and create a more consistent member experience. Plus, when information lives in one reliable environment, your bar is also closer to having a Single Source of Truth (SSOT). Before buying anything new, map a few common processes like membership renewal, CLE registration, certificates, payments, and reporting. Re-entering data, manually verifying records, exporting and importing files, and checking multiple systems to answer a single member question are all clear signs of fragmentation.
3. Protecting Data and Maintaining Trust
Bar associations hold a significant amount of member information, including contact details, membership records, CLE histories, event attendance, committee involvement, payments, communications, and professional interests.
Protecting that information is fundamental to maintaining member trust. Responsibility doesn’t just sit with the IT department or outside vendors, either. Both the Federal Trade Commission (Ho, 2021) and the National Association of Corporate Directors (Clinton, 2026) treat cybersecurity as an organization-wide concern that requires leadership and board oversight.
For bar leaders, cybersecurity is largely about strategy. They should know how information is collected, where it’s stored, who can access it, how vendors use it, how long it’s retained, and what happens if something goes wrong. These questions become even more important as bar associations introduce AI and automation into everyday practices. Leaders need to understand whether organizational or member information is being entered into external AI systems, whether that information is retained, where it’s stored, and what contractual protections are in place.
As lawyers are increasingly expected to use AI responsibly, bar associations should hold themselves to the same standard. Strong governance and clear policies help show members that their information is being handled with the care they expect.
4. Building Financial and Operational Resilience
Bar leaders are often asked to accomplish more with less.
Membership revenue may fluctuate. Events can be unpredictable. Staff members are often juggling multiple responsibilities across programs, communications, education, membership, and administration.
Operational resilience depends on financial discipline, thoughtful program evaluation, strong data, and better use of technology.
Leaders should ask themselves:
- Which programs deserve more investment? Enrollment and completion rates can show which CLE topics are attracting the most interest.
- Which services are members actually using? Popular benefits may deserve more promotion, while underused ones may need to be reworked.
- What takes the most staff time? Repetitive manual processes are often strong candidates for simplification or automation.
- Which revenue sources are most dependable? Tracking where revenue is consistent (and where it isn’t) helps leadership make more informed decisions.
Reliable reporting ties all of this together. Decisions about programs, pricing, staffing, and technology are stronger when they’re based on member and operational data rather than assumptions.
5. Demonstrating Clear Member Value
Ask yourself: What do members need when they join, and what keeps them engaged?
There probably won’t be a single simple answer. Members aren’t a monolith, and different people will value different things. For instance:
- A lawyer entering their second year of practice may seek mentorship, introductory CLE, career guidance, and networking.
- A solo practitioner may care more about affordable education, practice-management resources, referral directories, and access to peers.
- A veteran lawyer may prioritize specialized programs, leadership opportunities, speaking roles, or committee involvement.
It’s easy to see why membership value can’t be reduced to a standard list of perks.
Legal organizations are already experimenting with their formulas. In a 2025 article for the American Bar Association’s (ABA) Bar Leader Magazine, Mike Ward highlighted some of the findings from the ABA’s 2024 Bar Benchmarks:
- Responding local bar associations reported:
- 33% had changed their dues and fee structures in the past two years
- 28% were considering similar changes
- A median member retention rate of 92%, with the lowest reported rate at 61%
- Voluntary state bars reported:
- 45% had changed their dues and fee structures in the past two years
- 20% were considering similar changes
- A median member retention rate of 94%
And, while a new dues model won’t be right for every organization, it’s important they examine the value their members are already getting. Improvements may mean bundling CLE or event passes with membership, segmenting benefits by career stage, or simply paying closer attention to the data those groups generate.
Are newer lawyers using different benefits from established practitioners? Are members attending events but rarely using online education? Are frequent CLE users more likely to renew?
Your existing platforms may already hold enough information to start answering these questions. The goal is simple: connect membership decisions to what members actually do.
6. Supporting Well-Being and Sustainability for Legal Professionals
The welfare of lawyers continues to be an important concern for the community.
For example, the ABA created a Well-Being Pledge Campaign to recognize mental health and substance-use challenges within the legal community. It encourages legal employers to create healthier, more sustainable working environments. Bar associations are similarly well positioned to provide resources, education, peer support, mentoring, and connections to professional assistance.
Furthermore, one of the most useful things an organization can do is make sure their members know what resources exist and how to reach qualified, confidential support when it’s needed.
Now, even a strong resource will sit, unused, if members can’t find it. Instead of promoting well-being only through occasional campaigns, it’s important to weave relevant resources into regular member communications, professional development, leadership programs, and other services throughout the year. This keeps lawyer welfare visible as an ongoing part of member support, not just an annual initiative, too!
The Common Thread: Relevance
These priorities may look broad, but they all come back to the same question: How can an organization remain relevant to its members, the profession, and the public?
For bar associations, relevance might mean understanding why a new lawyer joins and why a long-time member stays. It might mean giving lawyers useful guidance on AI, without them having to figure everything out on their own. It could even mean fixing an administrative process that asks staff to enter the same information three times, or ensuring that leadership knows where member data is stored.
The strongest bar associations combine trusted leadership with modern operations. They use technology responsibly, provide education that reflects the realities of legal practice, protect member data, and stay focused on the needs of the communities they serve. Ultimately, there is no universal roadmap for what comes next. The key is knowing where your organization can have the greatest impact and building your priorities around it.
REFERENCES
Black, N. (2026). 2026 Legal industry report: Trends, benchmarks & insights. In 8am.com. 8am. https://www.8am.com/reports/legal-industry-report-2026/
Calaguas, M. (2024). 2024 Artificial intelligence TechReport. In Americanbar.org. American Bar Association. https://www.americanbar.org/groups/law_practice/resources/tech-report/2024/2024-artificial-intelligence-techreport/
Clinton, L. (2026). Treat cybersecurity as a strategic risk. In Nacdonline.org. NACD. https://www.nacdonline.org/all-governance/governance-resources/governance-research/director-handbooks/2026-cyber-risk-oversight/cyber-risk-handbook-principles-2026/principles-1-treat-cybersecurity-as-strategic-risk/
Ho, J. (2021). Corporate boards: Don’t underestimate your role in data security oversight. In Federal Trade Commission. https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/blog/2021/04/corporate-boards-dont-underestimate-your-role-data-security-oversight
Ward, M. (2025, May 13). Dues done differently: Bars see success with innovation. American Bar Association. Americanbar.Org. https://www.americanbar.org/groups/bar-leadership/resources/bar-leader-magazine/2024-2025/dues-done-differently-bars-see-success-with-innovation/
