State Bar Associations – 32 responses
Local Bar Associations – 36 responses
Special-focus Bar Associations – 2 responses
 
 

1a.  What is the length of your annual meeting and midyear meeting?
 

State bars Avg length of annual meeting: 2.8 days Avg length of midyear meeting: 3 days

Local bars Avg length of annual meeting: 4.5 hrs Avg length of midyear meeting: 7.5 hrs

Special-focus bars Avg length of annual meeting: 2.3 days

 
1b.  What type of venue do you use for your annual meeting and midyear meeting?
 

State bars For the annual meeting: 30 – hotel/resort/convention center 1 – historical site (Colonial Williamsburg) For the midyear meeting: 12 – hotel/resort/convention center 1 – bar building 1 – various sites (bar, hotel or auditorium)

Local bars For the annual meeting: 22 – hotel/resort/convention center 3 – restaurant 3 – courthouse/bar building 2 – country club 1 – bar member’s home 1 – auditorium 1 – park (for picnic)   Local bars, continued … For the midyear meeting: 7 – hotel/resort/convention center 1 – country club 1 – restaurant

Special-focus bars For the annual meeting:  2 – hotel/resort/convention center

 
2.  In the last three years, attendance at these meetings has:
 

State bars Annual meetings: 2 – Increased more than 20% 2 – Increased 0-10% 18 – Stayed the same 3 – Decreased 0-10% 3 – Decreased 11-20% 2 – Decreased more than 20% Midyear meetings: 1 – Increased more than 20% 1 – Increased 0-10% 7 – Stayed the same 2 – Decreased 0-10% 2 – Decreased 0-20% 1 – Decreased more than 20%

Local bars Annual meetings: 4 – Increased more than 20% 2 – Increased 11-20% 7 – Increased 0-10% 15 – Stayed the same 3 – Decreased 0-10% 2 – Decreased 11-20% 1 – Decreased more than 20% Midyear meetings: 1 – Increased 0-10% 4 – Stayed the same 1 – Decreased more than 20%

Special-focus bars Annual meetings: 1 – Increased 0-10% 1 – Stayed the same

 
3.  Has your bar added or eliminated a meeting in the last three years?
 

State bars 3 – Yes 27 – No [1 – “Yes, but not permanently” and  1 – “Yes, but in 1992”]

Local bars 6 – Yes 27 – No

Special-focus bars 2 – Yes 0 – No

3a.  If so, what meeting and why?

See responses
 

3b.  How have your members responded to the change?

See responses
 

4.  Have you surveyed your members or held focus groups within the last three years regarding meeting attendance?
 

State bars 9 – Yes 23 – No

Local bars 6 – Yes 26 – No

Special-focus bars 1 – Yes 1– No

4a.  If so, what were the major findings?

See responses.
 

4b.  To what do you attribute the increase/decrease/maintenance of your meeting attendance in the past three years, if different from the answer to 4a?

See responses.
 

5.  What is the purpose/structure of your meetings?
 

State bars Annual meeting 28 – Mix of social, CLE, bar business, etc. 2 – Mostly social, bar business (elections, installations, awards) Midyear meeting 12 – Mix of social, CLE, bar business, etc. 1 – Social, bar business

Local bars Annual meeting 16 – Mix of social, CLE, bar business, etc. 17 – Mostly social, bar business (elections, installations, awards) Midyear meeting 4 – Mix

Special-focus bars Annual meeting 1– Mix of social, CLE, bar business, etc. 1 – Mostly social, bar business (elections, installations, awards)

6.  Have you experimented with alternative methods of delivering CLE (e.g., live Web cast, teleconferencing, etc.)?
 

State bars 10 – Yes 21 – No

Local bars 6 – Yes 27 – No

Special-focus bars 0 – Yes 2– No

6a.  If so, has it impacted the attendance at your annual/midyear meetings?
 

State bars 0 – Yes 9 – No 1 – Unknown

Local bars 0 – Yes 6 – No 1 – Not applicable

Special-focus bars 2– Not applicable

Please explain:

See responses.
 

7.  Does your bar hold section meetings separate from annual/midyear meetings?
 

State bars 25 – Yes 6 – No

Local bars 25 – Yes 7 – No

Special-focus bars 1 – Yes 1– No

7a.  If yes, attendance trends at section meetings are
(see individual bar responses for comparisons)
 

State bars 15 – mirroring attendance trends at annual/midyear meetings 8 – different than attendance trends at annual/midyear meetings

Local bars 9 – mirroring attendance trends at annual/midyear meetings 10 – different than attendance trends at annual/midyear meeting

Special-focus bars 0 – mirroring attendance trends at annual/midyear meetings 1 – different than attendance trends at annual/midyear meetings

If different, please explain:

See responses.
 

8.  What is your annual/midyear meeting fee?
 

State bars Average annual meeting fee:  $189. Average midyear/other meeting fee:  $202.

Local bars Average annual meeting fee:  $59. Average midyear/other meeting fee: $150.

Special-focus bars Average annual meeting fee:  $160

8a.  What does your meeting fee generally include?

See responses.
 
 

8b.  Do you offer flexible registration options (one-day, half-day, etc.)?
 

State bars 14 – Yes 15 – No

Local bars 7 – Yes 12 – No 12 – Not applicable

Special-focus bars 0 – Yes 2 – No

8c.  If yes, please describe flexible registration options.

See responses.
 
 

8d.  Has there been a discernable impact on your attendance as a result of these options?
 

State bars 3 – Yes 7 – No [1 – “Yes/No – yes the first year, no after that”  1 – “We see more members but they tend not to stay as long”]

Local bars 2 – Yes  5 – No

Special-focus bars 2– Not applicable

 
 
 

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