Survival of the Fittest: As Membership Declines, the New York State Bar Association Targets Lawyers in Other Countries and States
The state bar is intensifying its recruiting out-of-state and in other countries as membership declines in New York. In 2001, the state bar represented 55.2% of NY lawyers but by 2017 only 38.6% belonged.
October 02, 2019 at 10:38 AM
5 minute read
Seoul is almost 7,000 miles from the New York State Bar Association's headquarters in Albany but nevertheless, New York City lawyer Hyun Suk Choi spent last week at an International Bar Association meeting in South Korea urging foreign lawyers to join. Why? Hank Greenberg, a Greenberg Traurig shareholder and the association's president, said the answer is in the numbers. Some 26,000 lawyers who are admitted to practice in New York list overseas addresses, and another 118,000 are based in other states; together that constituency is almost as formidable as the 182,000 inside the state. "When 46% of New York admitted lawyers practice out of New York, it's just the smart and right thing to do to reach out and meet their needs and provide the services they require," Greenberg explained in an interview. With baby boomers retiring and millennial lawyers less likely to join bar associations, bar leaders around New York are looking for ways to transform. When it comes to the state bar, Greenberg said the international initiative is imperative, but better serving members and potential members in New York is also key. Membership has been declining since 2012, and Greenberg thinks it's because the state bar is relying on a website infrastructure that was built in 1998 and outdated since 2008. The failure to evolve digitally reached a tipping point in 2012, he said, dooming the state bar's chances of attracting the coveted millennial cohort. And dues were raised Jan. 1, 2012. "There is no single explanation," Greenberg said of the 10% drop in membership over the last six years. "But what I think is the primary reason for the decline starting in 2012, I would attribute it to the technological challenges affecting communications with our members and potential new members." When Greenberg became president in June, he put his plan to launch a state-of-the-art website, which he's calling the virtual bar center, into effect. The new website is set to debut in December, and he wants the staff to change along with it by speeding up its communications with members. "The digital transformation is not just about buying the right software or having the best website, which we're doing. But it's also about changing the culture," he said. As far as the international initiative, Greenberg said this was the first time that the state bar was represented at the biggest International Bar Association conference of the year, which attracted thousands of lawyers. Not only did the state bar have a booth at the conference but it also hosted a cocktail party complete with a jazz band. With New York statutes referenced in so many contracts governing international transactions and the state's courts the venue for litigating any disputes that arise, foreign and out-of-state lawyers see value in being admitted to the New York bar, Greenberg said. Speaking at midnight from Seoul after three days at the conference, Choi, a member of Choi & Park and co-chair of the bar association's membership committee, said he was already lining up new members, although he didn't have an exact count. The state bar has more than 4,000 international members already. "The great thing about this conference is we actually learn about how much interest foreign attorneys have in NYSBA," he said. "Many of these attorneys get involved in international transactions and disputes, and almost all of them have issues with New York and U.S. companies." Choi said many well-established foreign attorneys were glad to learn they could join the association without being admitted to the New York bar. These attorneys are hoping to take advantage of the networking opportunities to refer clients to New York lawyers and get referrals themselves. The state bar has 60 international chapters and members in 119 countries. In the past year, the international section hosted conferences in Seoul, Montreal and Stockholm, and will have meetings in Tokyo, Madrid and London. The international section also met with delegations from China this year. The state bar, which has 14,380 members in other states, is looking to increase its membership domestically and abroad. It has chapters in Texas where there are more than 600 on the roster and Florida with 1,230 participants and is opening another in D.C., which has more than 1,400 members, in November. Joseph Greenwood, the vice-chair of membership for the international section, said being a member worked for him. "It has been invaluable to me," he said in an email from London. "It connected me to its members across the world and serves as the ultimate resource to my international practice." Editor's Note: This is the fourth installment in a six-part series. Up next: How NYC's LGBT Bar Doubled Revenue. Read the First Three 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. How the New York City Bar Association Sparked the Biggest Jump in Membership in 17 Years
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