Most of us don’t have “A Beautiful Mind” like mathemetician John Nash, to help figure out the equation in this week’s Bar Bulletin headline.
In fact, most of us went to law school to flee such things as math.
Thankfully, the equation is not an algebraic abstraction, but instead a basic acronym formula.
You’ll soon receive your renewal notice for membership in The Jacksonville Bar Association for the next fiscal year, starting on July 1.
I strongly encourage you to choose the full/sustaining value enhancement option.
This past year, the charge was $270 in addition to your basic membership dues.
Here’s how the formula works: $270 (buy one JBA full/sustaining membership) equals GO(ywocle).
The enhancement option entitles you to attend every live JBA event, including CLE seminars, social events and the annual golf tournament.
For me, the main enticement to the enhancement option is the CLE event attendance benefit. Before the close of this fiscal year, I will have attended many JBA live CLE events:
• Three ADR practitioners lunch meetings equals $75 value
• 14th annual Raymond Ehrlich Trial Advocacy Seminar equals $270 value
• Diversity Symposium equals $120 value
• TTC at TPC (the technology conference at The Players Championship) equals $225 value
• 10th annual ADR practitioners CME/CLE event equals $240 value
For me, the “buy one JBA full/sustaining membership equals get one year’s worth of CLE” formula reveals the following: Pay $270 equals get $930.
As you can see, I made out like a bandit, more than tripling my investment.
The formula only has value if the association provides a sufficient array of live events.
This past year, he JBA implemented the following annual CLE event calendar, ensuring the primary practice areas are frequently addressed –– locally.
• February –– trial advocacy (full day)
• April/May –– professionalism (biannual, every odd year) and technology (biannual, every even year) (half-day)
• June –– mediators CME/CLE (full day)
• September –– family law (full day)
• November –– transactional law seminar (half or full day)
The Jacksonville Bar Association is providing archived options for these annual CLE events via audio files, DVDs and the almost-launched online video streaming platform. These are not included in the full/sustaining membership upgrade.
The JBA offers other seminars throughout the year, including diversity and the popular judicial sidebar CLE lunch events.
Our committees will continue to plan smaller, focused seminars and lunch seminar events.
In short, the JBA’s plan for CLE programming remains robust –– even more so after annualizing our seminars.
Be on the lookout for your membership renewal request and consider the value of the upgrade option.
Standard membership entitles you to attend luncheons at no cost, join committees, network with fellow members, participate in members-only events and have access to member pricing for seminars, social events and vendor services.
At the upgrade cost of $270, your full/sustaining membership gives you prepaid admittance to any live JBA event – social, CLE events and the golf tournament.
The association aims to meet your continuing legal education requirement needs. Our annual CLE event schedule allows JBA members to plan their seminar calendar. You no longer need to travel to Orlando, Tampa or South Florida to amass your CLE hours. Save that expense and time by getting your educational hours in your own hometown.
Better yet, invest the additional $270 to attend any number of CLE events without stroking any additional checks.
BO(jbaf/sm) equals GO(ywocle)? You don’t have to be John Nash to understand that math.
Blane McCarthy is a personal injury attorney and mediator