New Jersey State Bar Association

Overview

Established: 1899
Memberships in Other Bar Association: MidAtlantic Bar

Bar Profile:
The New Jersey State Bar Association was formed and incorporated in 1899 as a voluntary (non-unified) organization dedicated to serving the interests of lawyers and law-related professionals. The founders specified that the purposes of the Association were to maintain the honor and dignity of the profession of law, as well as to cultivate social relations among its members, to suggest and urge reforms in the law, and to aid in the administration of justice.

The Association adopted an expanded "mission statement" in 1992. It states:

The mission of the New Jersey State Bar Association is:

To serve, protect, foster and promote the personal and professional interests of its members.

To serve as the voice of New Jersey attorneys to other organizations, governmental entities and the public with regard to the law, legal profession and legal system.

To promote access to the justice system, fairness in its administration and encourage participation in voluntary pro bono activities.

To foster professionalism and pride in the profession and the NJSBA.

To provide educational opportunities to New Jersey attorneys to enhance the quality of legal services and the practice of law.

To provide education to the New Jersey public to enhance awareness of the legal profession and legal system.

The Board of Trustees manages the affairs and the property of the Association pursuant to the bylaws. An Executive Committee is composed of the President, President-Elect, First and Second Vice Presidents, Treasurer, and Secretary. The trustees and the officers are elected from among the membership and serve in various capacities and for terms outlined in the bylaws.

The New Jersey State Bar Association offers 37 sections in substantive fields of law, 17 standing committees which oversee the workings of the Association, and 27 special committees dedicated to subjects timely to the practice of law. The Young Lawyers Division is aimed at individuals aged 36 or younger or those lawyers who have been in practice for less than five years. The sections, committees, and the YLD organize programs of both an educational and a social nature.

The New Jersey State Bar Association provides members with a variety of services to enhance law firm efficiency and growth. Fastcase online legal research, the Daily Briefing and the New Jersey Lawyer Magazine are among the offerings available free of charge to members.

The New Jersey Law Center is the headquarters for the New Jersey State Bar Association, the New Jersey State Bar Foundation, the Institute for Continuing Legal Education, the IOLTA Fund of the Bar of New Jersey, the New Jersey Lawyers Assistance Program and the New Jersey Commission on Professionalism.

ANNUAL MEETINGS
An annual meeting is held each year in state during the month of May, and a mid-year meeting takes place in the month of November. Future dates and locales are as follows:

2012 Annual Meeting
May 16-28, 2012
Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa
Atlantic City, NJ

2012 Mid-Year Meeting
October 10-14, 2012
Encore at Wynn Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada