Christopher Bonnaig, 26, a lawyer at a New York City litigation boutique founded by his mother Denise, joined the city bar because he was impressed with the legal education classes he saw promoted on social media and thrilled that as a newly admitted lawyer he could attend for free. "I want to grow in the legal profession and I know that my growth will be twice as fast if I'm putting myself out there and the city bar association is one way to do that," he said. Since the free classes debuted Aug. 30 of last year, the city bar has managed to sign up 900 new members. It marks the biggest gain in membership in 17 years at a time when the majority of bar associations around the country are facing declines or at best managing to stay even. And it appeals in particular to millennial lawyers who are not as likely to join bar associations as their older colleagues. "I would not have joined if that wasn't a feature of membership," said Andrew Gruna, 26, a lawyer working for the New York City Human Resources Administration. "The classes are all after work and so I'm able to get there by 6 and still have plenty of time to get settled." Under the initiative, most of the city bar's continuing legal education classes are free for new graduates, newly admitted lawyers, in-house/corporate counsel, academics, nonprofit lawyers, government attorneys, judges and their staffs. Those who don't qualify but are on the association's 24,000-member roster can choose to pay an annual fee between $399 and $499 to take unlimited classes. To the delight of the leaders of the city bar, revenue from continuing legal education, which was expected to decrease, has been on par with previous years. More members are choosing to pay the flat fee and there has been an increase in revenue from online courses, making up for the decline in education dollars from the members who qualify for the free classes. Shayla Ramos, 27, who was in a pre-law program at the city bar even before she attended law school at Hofstra University, renewed her membership in September. She's glad to be able to attend the free classes but that isn't her only reason for joining the city bar and four other bar associations. "I've gained so many mentors that I can call up at any moment and ask for any advice through all these organizations and for me that's so valuable that's worth the money," she said. Bret Parker, executive director of the city bar, said the free classes serve as an incentive to get younger lawyers and others with lower incomes to participate but that's not the ultimate goal. "They start with a concrete benefit like free CLE," he said. "Now they've joined a committee and now they're even more engaged and now they've told their friends." The city bar has expanded opportunities for younger lawyers to serve as committee members by creating a new classification of non-voting members. They're able to give presentations, take part in discussions, sponsor events—everything but vote. Previously, new lawyers were forced to wait until a spot on a committee opened and that would sometimes be a very long time. Parker doesn't attribute the gains in membership to the free classes alone. Association leaders have stepped up efforts to meet with new lawyers at just about any firm that will host them. This is a departure from a time not that long ago when new lawyers were automatically enrolled in a few bar associations on their first day of work at major law firms. Frederic Ury, an American Bar Association leader, thinks offering free CLEs is an effective strategy. With the profession contracting, bar associations must differentiate themselves from their competitors and the free CLE is one way to do that, he said. He equates it with how Amazon Prime used free shipping, in part, to become the dominant retailer it is today. Ury, who frequently lectures around the country, tells bar leaders that change is inevitable if they want to survive. There's just not enough lawyers to support all the associations that exist today even before accounting for the reluctance of millennial lawyers to join, he said. "The pool that we're fishing in is significantly smaller because of the numbers of people retiring and the numbers of people coming into the profession," he said. Editor's note: This is the third installment of a six-part series. Next up: As Membership Declines, the New York State Bar Association Looks Overseas, Across the Country. Read the first two parts of this series: As Baby Boomers Retire, NY Bar Associations Face Harsh Realities Millennial Lawyers Are Skipping NY Bar Association Events. We Wanted to Know Why. Read More: Facing Increased Competition, NY Bar Associations Reveal New Incentives