MBA staff, officers and other volunteers are hard at work on plans for next year. As usual, lots of new offerings are in store, as well as some different wrinkles on programs the MBA offered last year.
For MBA affiliated bar associations, there are some particularly exciting opportunities. The MBA soon will initiate a Bar Services program, through which we plan to provide additional support to affiliated bars.
A centerpiece of this offering is an idea developed by President-Elect Richard Van Nostrand. On Friday, Oct. 31, the MBA will hold the first annual Bar Leadership Institute at the Warren Conference Center in Ashland. (In the future this program is likely to be held in the spring).
The MBA also will make staffing support available to bar associations in need of occasional logistical support. Additional information about both programs will be forthcoming soon.
We also are very excited to announce a new partnership with CLE/Legal Span, a provider of online continuing legal education programs. Starting in September, the MBA will offer an array of online programs to supplement the fantastic seminars the MBA already provides.
This service will allow us to provide educational offerings in a host of subject areas not previously available through the MBA. The MBA's new online partner is already working with more than 20 other state bar associations; the organization has a proven track record of providing high quality educational programs. Expect to see additional information about this in the coming months.
This online programming is part of the MBA's effort to offer members a vast array of new technological tools designed to support you in your everyday practice. These products and services will be part of the MBA's new Legal Tech Toolbox. The finishing touches are being put on some of the tools to be included in the Toolbox in time for the fall. Watch for details about the contents of the Legal Tech Toolbox in the coming weeks.
All of this, plus Casemaker too!
So, if you have never joined the MBA before or you have permitted your membership to lapse, why not give us some serious consideration?
Right now is a great time to join, because your membership will be considered paid through August 2004. You will have nearly two months of membership benefits at no additional cost to you!