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Should I do it? Or should I wait until I'm an actual law student? Any benefits?

I saw they offer memberships for undergrad students and the general public. I graduate in two weeks, so probably not eligible for the undergrad. If I make a general public account can I later turn it into a law student account?

Just wait until you are a law student. I don't see the point of joining as a 0L. Hell, most law students don't join, but they should.

"General public accounts"? The ABA's insatiable appetite to increase it's membership revenue is ridiculous.

patrickd139 wrote:"General public accounts"? The ABA's insatiable appetite to increase it's membership revenue is ridiculous.

They actually call it an "Associate" account.

From ABA - http://www.americanbar.org/membership/j ... renew.html

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Associate
Join now as an associate member
If you wish to join the ABA but are not a student or licensed U.S. attorney, you may
join the ABA as an Associate.
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And it's $175 annually for a "non-lawyer, non-student" membership compared to $25 for law students or undergrad, I think I'll pass.

What's the point?

bk187 wrote:What's the point?

Networking opportunities, receiving updates about major court decisions, resume booster, etc.

bdm261 wrote:Networking opportunities, receiving updates about major court decisions, resume booster, etc.

There are much better ways to network, you don't need to pay money to get updates on major decisions, and it's not a resume booster.

I wouldn't pay for it as a 0L. I don't pay for it as a law student (unless it's somehow automatically paid through my tuition and I'm not noticing it). Save your money.

bk187 wrote:

bdm261 wrote:Networking opportunities, receiving updates about major court decisions, resume booster, etc.

There are much better ways to network, you don't need to pay money to get updates on major decisions, and it's not a resume booster.

I wouldn't pay for it as a 0L. I don't pay for it as a law student (unless it's somehow automatically paid through my tuition and I'm not noticing it). Save your money.

To elaborate, I agree with bk's end result (don't join as a 0L), but not necessarily his view of ABA membership as a law student. In that context, it's still not a resume booster, but in some fields (like taxation or family law) and in some locations (more rural or suburban locales) and with some types of employers (small- and mid-size firms, as opposed to biglawl) becoming involved in sections of the ABA as a law student can be a valuable way to network. It's cheaper than regular membership, and local counsel in many areas sometimes host events for law students.

Like bk said, don't do it now. But don't write it off completely in law school either. Unless you want to do biglaw. In that case, even paying the modest law student membership fee is probably wasteful.

patrickd139 wrote:To elaborate, I agree with bk's end result (don't join as a 0L), but not necessarily his view of ABA membership as a law student. In that context, it's still not a resume booster, but in some fields (like taxation or family law) and in some locations (more rural or suburban locales) and with some types of employers (small- and mid-size firms, as opposed to biglawl) becoming involved in sections of the ABA as a law student can be a valuable way to network. It's cheaper than regular membership, and local counsel in many areas sometimes host events for law students.

Like bk said, don't do it now. But don't write it off completely in law school either. Unless you want to do biglaw. In that case, even paying the modest law student membership fee is probably wasteful.

I defer to your knowledge as my hiring experience is pretty exclusively biglaw. I definitely see how it could be helpful for local/regional firms.