The Lafayette Bar Association has reached a new milestone. This year the Association celebrates 40 years of serving the Lafayette legal profession, by promoting professional excellence and encouraging fellowship amongst its members and the court.
to inform the membership at its August meeting the Lafayette Bar Association’s board of directors approved a $25 per member dues increase for all members for the 2013 annual membership year. This would make each members annual investment $125 per year.
Over the years, the Lafayette Bar Association has grown in leaps and bounds and is considered a premier local bar association in the state of Louisiana. There is no question that the strength of this organization lies in our members and the annual investment each of you makes to support the Lafayette Bar Association.
After holding the line for close to a decade with no increase in dues revenue and with annual operating costs increasing every year the board decided the LBA has reached a critical point financially where a dues increase was an economic necessity for the future growth of the organization. Over the last several years the LBA has worked to diversify its non-dues revenue to support member’s services such as increased vendor sponsorships and additional CLE offerings. However, looking forward, the cost of doing business and maintaining a professional staff continue to rise each year which is the reality of running a professional membership organization. It is important to note that even with the upcoming dues increase the Lafayette Bar Association dues are significantly less than other bar association in the state.
The leadership of the bar association hopes that you consider your annual dues payments as the best professional investment you make and wants
From a historical perspective in its 40 year history this will be only the third time the Lafayette Bar Association has approved a dues increase. The first was in the 80’s when the then board approved an increase from $50 to $75 to help hire a professional staff for the organization. The second increase came many years later in 2006 and was a result of the after effects from Hurricane’s Katrina and Rita. In 2005 the Supreme Court waived all CLE requirements for Louisiana attorneys due to the devastating hurricanes which ravaged the state. This resulted in a tremendous loss of CLE revenue for the LBA causing the organization to use its reserves to manage operating costs and was the impetus behind the 2006 dues increase.