About Missouri Bar Committees and Sections

Role and Impact of Missouri Bar Committees and Sections

Committees and sections represent the driving forces behind the work and activities of The Missouri Bar. Typically, committees/sections engage in activities that include, but are not limited to:

• Drafting and/or reviewing legislative proposals
• Developing and presenting continuing legal education programs and print materials
• Increasing public understanding of the law
• Helping educators teach young people about the justice system
• Developing a variety of programs and activities to help lawyers improve the efficiency of their practices
• Developing a variety of programs to maintain the highest level of professionalism among members

Networking, Relationship Building - A Positive Impact on Missouri Lawyers and Their Practices

In addition to having the opportunity to engage in important activities that can have a direct impact on the laws related to particular substantive areas and Missouri's justice system as a whole, active members of committees/sections also benefit by having the opportunity to interact, network and develop important professional relationships with other lawyers who practice in the same substantive area of law.
 

Types of Missouri Bar Committees/Sections

• Open Enrollment Committees/Sections
  All members of The Missouri Bar are invited and encouraged to become involved in committee/section activities. Lawyers can choose from more than 40 open enrollment committees/sections, most with a purpose and activities related to a substantive area of law. Members of the Missouri Bar can join any of these committees/sections at any time of the year by logging in to members-only and clicking on the committees/sections link. In addition, all members of the bar are sent a committee sign-up form once a year during the summer.
  
  Join an open enrollment committee: log on to the Members-Only. Click on the “Committees and Listservs” link. Click on the name of the committee you wish to join and complete the committee and listserv options. 
• Other Permanent and Special Committees
  In addition to the open enrollment committees, several other permanent committees are appointed by the president of The Missouri Bar and Special Committees are often created by the Board of Governors to address specific issues or concerns and the president of The Missouri Bar appoints the members to these committees as well.
• Sections of The Missouri Bar
  The Missouri Bar has two sections – the Family Law Section, which is an open enrollment section available to all members and the Young Lawyers' Section, of which all members of The Missouri Bar who are 36 years of age or younger, or who have been admitted for less than three years, are members.

Meetings, Listserves, Websites and Newsletters

• Spring and Fall Committee Meetings
  Most Missouri Bar committees and sections meet twice annually – once at the Fall Committee Meetings in November and again at the Spring Committee Meetings in May. Both meetings are held in Jefferson City and many committees/sections typically offer free CLE programs as part of their business meetings. You don't have to be a member of a committee or section and there is no registration fee to attend the fall or spring meetings, so these meetings can also be a great way to try a committee/section out and see if it is right for you. Use the link on this page to view the latest information about the next fall or spring meeting.
• Committee/Section Listserves
  Most of the committees/sections have a designated listserve designed to foster communication among members. Members can exchange information, offer assistance to one another, provide moral support and refer cases outside of their geographic area. A significant percentage of bar members subscribe to the committee/section listserves. You can choose to be on the listserve when you join a committee/section. And you can access a handy link to all of the listserves from this page.
• Committees/Section Electronic Newsletters and Webpages
  Some committees and sections produce an electronic newsletter filled with relevant information of interest to their members. Others have developed a specific presence within The Missouri Bar's main website, hosting their own committee/section webpage. Both of these resources are accessible from this page.