President’s Message: Building Resilience (and Membership) in a Time of Uncertainty

This unprecedented time is difficult for us all. We are used to having the capacity to plan well in advance with a level of certainty and relative ease. It is difficult to accept, even after months of quarantine and restriction, that we cannot say for sure what the conditions will be in the coming months. The difficulty this presents for near-term planning is universal and common to us all—families, businesses, governments, courts, and schools are laboring together under the same burden of uncertainty.

In 2018, the FBA saw the effects of declining membership, a trend that has been impacting most bar and professional societies since 2015. Industry trends show that support of membership dues is in decline and, because of the increased movement of attorneys from firm to firm, membership retention is becoming more difficult. The board recognizes that the organization is in transition and must evolve to meet the needs of its national membership. Now more than ever, it is critical to build resilience by focusing on a sustainable financial model that will support the FBA’s future relevance.

Because membership dues are a key component of our financial model, making up more than half of the organization’s revenue, our strategic plan includes action items aimed at increasing retention, such as implementing fiscal calendar renewal and auto-renewal functions. On March 21, the National Council amended the FBA bylaws to allow the organization to convert its membership structure from the current anniversary model to a calendar model. In doing so, all memberships—national, chapter, section, and division—will have an October 1 effective date and expire on September 30. This change will allow our volunteers and national staff to focus on renewals at a single time of year, which will free up resources for volunteers and staff to concentrate efforts on enhancing membership programming and benefits for the remainder of the year. It is our goal to have all current members on the same membership cycle starting Oct. 1, 2021.

Even in today’s COVID world, we live busy lives. Universal membership dates make it easier for everyone to remember when it is time to renew. Whether it is you, your colleague social distancing down the hall, or your fellow chapter members, all members will have the same renewal deadline. Employers will also enjoy the benefit of paying FBA membership renewal with a single payment as we recognized that the anniversary cycle can be burdensome if a firm’s accounting department is managing multiple memberships throughout the year.

The universal membership renewal cycle will not only allow the bar to budget and plan for the coming year but it will also provide members with the assurance that the FBA will be here to provide the quality education, networking, and advocacy that led us all here in the first place, regardless of the circumstances in which we are required to operate.

To transition to the universal calendar renewal cycle, all members who have expiration dates of Oct. 30, 2020, or later will receive renewal invoices for a prorated amount corresponding to the number of months of membership through Sept. 30, 2021. Effective this May, all individuals who join the association will pay a prorated amount and receive a membership effective through this September. I encourage you to reach out to your network and share the benefits of membership with your colleagues, even if it is for a “trial” or prorated term. Individuals who join for a prorated term will receive all the benefits of membership, such as access to free webinars and programming, for a smaller dues investment.

We recognize that some in our community are experiencing financial hardship, and the national staff is able to assist our members with payment alternatives as needed. If you are currently in the renewal cycle and prefer to renew today and move to the new calendar date cycle, our member services team can assist with accepting payment for a prorated amount for a shortened membership term as well.

I encourage all members to remember that even in this trying time, some things are still certain. First among these, we remain committed to the FBA’s core mission: to strengthen the federal legal system and administration of justice by serving the interests and needs of the federal practitioner (both public and private), the federal judiciary, and the public they serve. Our dedication to this mission calls us to continue to operate in the face of the unknown in the immediate future for the sake of our long-term success as an organization.

Christian K. Adams

President

Federal Bar Association