August 10, 2021

ABA Membership Model Failing; Rives Blames Pandemic

If you prefer to skip the shit-talking happy fluff and the labored cicada/butterfly analogies, just go right to the 11:50 time marker to hear the admission that operating dues revenues for fiscal year 2020 are down 9.6% and the number of members is down (again) by 4.4%. Despite the general statistical assertions that senior members and membership groups are more likely to renew, Rives specifically acknowledges group non-renewals were a major cause of the membership loss. Likewise, we can tell from the relationship of the 9.6% and the 4.4% that these weren't newbie members, but senior lawyers stuck with the age-discriminatory, ultra-high dues rates. Note that the decreases are despite the "new members" number Rives claims from their marvelous CLE and the "paywall" that now hides 78% of all their content from the public.

Notably, no mention of the fact that the CLE is worthless is some jurisdictions, with Florida most recently joining that club. Although Rives seeks to blame "the pandemic," what this really looks like is a continuation of the annual decline that was an established pattern in the years prior to the "New Membership Model." That is, all their re-branding shit, and their "value proposition" shit and their paywall and "New Membership Model" shit, is all failing.

Blaming it on the pandemic may help Rives get to the witless fools for another year of salary, but it isn't going to address the continuing death spiral. ABA will get to the point at which denial will not pay the light bill, and then the game will be up.

https://www.americanbar.org/news/abanews/aba-news-archives/2021/08/annual-meeting-2021--executive-director-address-house-of-delegat/



   

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