The role of the Bar Association has two equal parts: serving the public and helping our members in their practices. Among the challenges in helping our members is the fact that our members practice in increasingly diverse ways. In recent years, a great deal of emphasis has been placed on diverse ways of helping our members practice. In at least two ways there have been substantial advances this year.

Practicelaw.org supplies forms, links to outside resources, case summaries, and articles in specific areas of practice. On December 31, 2003, new forms libraries were launched including family law forms and real property forms. These were added to the family law file, employment law file, claimant law file, appellate practice file, marketing file, the Uniform Conveyance Blank forms, and the guardianship and conservatorship file. In addition, the Bankruptcy Section, receiving national funding from the American College of Bankruptcy, has added forms for bankruptcy practice focusing on pro bono. As of December 31, 5,304 members (35% of our membership) subscribed to this free service and by next December 31, we expect 8,000 subscribers, more than half of our entire membership! Much of the work in this project is done by staff, but several of our sections - including real property, family law, and probate and trust - have been critical contributors. Individual lawyers also contribute their forms and are given credit.

Discounts for Smaller Firms. After a lengthy period of investigating alternatives and negotiating, in 2004 we entered into a three-year agreement with Thompson/West. We had found that solos and smaller firm practitioners (up to 40 members), smaller corporate legal departments and government law offices (up to 20 attorneys) have needs for assistance in online legal research with more and better information at a lower cost. West will offer a package of content and features designed to meet the needs of MSBA members at a rate comparable to that paid by larger firms. The discount for MSBA members in these segments for the standard Westlaw PRO packages will range from 17 percent to 25 percent, depending on the length of the contract (one to three years). Significant discounts are also made available for print publications and technology solutions.

CourtOps offers daily digests and full text of state and federal court opinions in civil and criminal categories (four in all). There are 3,352 users of this program (6,138 subscribers across the four lists). I use this feature and like it a lot. The very first day of my subscription several years ago, I received a report of an 8th Circuit case directly on point (and favorable) in a matter I was working on that helped me reach a favorable settlement.

Discussion lists are offered for those with particular interests - "solosmall" (solo and small firm practices), "estate," "familylaw," "bankruptcy-talk," "animal-law," and "acw-law" (Aitkin and Crow Wing County Bar Association), for a few examples. Most of these lists are used by several hundred members each. Rick Hendrickson, the lawyer who was shot, told me how much he valued these lists and how much he help he had received from other lawyers in recent years through these online discussion groups.

Bench & Bar articles, columns and "Notes and Trends" case summaries are listed online. Articles from 1999 on are archived on the site and are researchable. In addition, there is an index listing all articles and authors from 1995 on with links to the articles. This site draws an average of 8,900 monthly visits.

Legal News Digest provides services, summaries and links to breaking news stories affecting lawyers. About 11,600 MSBA members receive this service and it ranks high on member surveys.
n Sections and Committees that help keep us up to date in our practices are there for most of us. These provide the communities of lawyers we most closely relate to in the Bar. Every section and committee has a "mini-website" for meeting notices, minutes and reports. Many sections post documents of use to their members. These sites receive 11,700 monthly visits. These sections and committees also offer their own email discussion lists as well. Active members of the sections, of course, receive many hours of free CLE.

Other Benefits. Classified ads from Bench & Bar are also posted online. There are ads for "attorney wanted," "office space," "professional services" and other services. This site receives 8,500 monthly visits. The online directory of MSBA members (excluding those who do not want to be listed) has more than 8,300 monthly visits. The lawyer referral program continues online and matches clients with lawyers each month.MSBAdvantage gives discounts on car rentals, advantageous credit cards, etc. Our most popular benefit of this type is insurance. Our Insurance for Members Committee has recommended a number of products and arranged favorable pricing.

These are some examples of the way in which your association seeks to help you in your particular practice. All of these services (except for the modest section membership dues) are free. They are used by a large portion of our membership. We plan to keep expanding practicelaw.org and adding new aids to our membership in their practice.

JIM BAILLIE is president of the Minnesota State Bar Association. A shareholder in the firm of Fredrikson & Byron, P.A., he concentrates his practice in business bankruptcy and insolvency law and related litigation and business transactions.