Bylaws Link
What is the DCBA?
The Durham County Bar Association was founded in 1925 and became a recognized IRS 501(c) 6 nonprofit in 1982. It is the voluntary Bar for attorneys in the area. Any licensed attorney in good standing can join the DCBA, including those who are not assigned to the Sixteenth Judicial District Bar. There are a number of attorneys assigned to nearby districts, who elect to participate in Durham’s voluntary Bar.
What does membership include?
- To start with — CLE! That’s right, all CLE. The DCBA hosts events during the year which provide 100% of the statute-mandated CLE hours that every licensed attorney must obtain. This is 12 hours and each year includes 2 hours of Ethics / Professional Responsibility and 1 hour of Substance Abuse/Mental Health education.
- The DCBA also hosts luncheons most months, September to May, at restaurants and banquet venues around town. Typically these are on the second Wednesday of the month. Click over to the Events Calendar to see this year’s events in list or month-view format. This year they will be in September, October, November, January, March or April, and May.
- BARCares benefits that are typically provided directly to each attorney in the Sixteenth Judicial District Bar are extended to family members of DCBA members. DCBA members may also “donate” their three free BARCares mental health provider visits to other members or their immediate family.
Dues are $125 and are paid without regard to a member’s mandatory district assignment. Those who intend to pay Sixteenth JDB dues may do so on the same check or web payment because the Sixteenth JDB and DCBA share a common fiscal year and billing process. Members who do not pay at the beginning of the fiscal year should pay DCBA dues as soon as they decide to start attending events, which extend from September to May.
Other Ancillary Organizations
Durham has several excellent smaller organizations which may capture the attention of attorneys from a variety of backgrounds and with several different practice specialties. These include:
- The Young Lawyers Division of the DCBA
- The George H. White Bar
- Durham Orange Women Attorneys
- Criminal Law Bar
- Family Law Bar
Other pages on this web site contain more information about these groups.