At its January 25 meeting, the MSBA Board of Governors reviewed and accepted a proposal from the Greater Minnesota Practice Section Council to make the section free for any member that elects it for the 2024-25 bar year and beyond. The proposal was presented by Council member Janna Borgheiinck and came about after the section’s membership declined and engagement began to wane in recent years, likely because most CLEs are provided through sections linked to particular practice areas.
In considering ways to combat these issues, the section’s purpose was taken into consideration: “to enhance the viability of attorneys practicing in Greater Minnesota and to identify and work toward solutions for the problems shared by those attorneys.”
In response the section took two actions.
1. Enhance the viability of their practice by identifying problems and creating solutions. One problem identified was the difficulty of finding jobs and/or finding applicants to fill legal positions in greater Minnesota. To address this problem, the Greater Minnesota Legal Opportunity Map was created. This new tool (see image) will be housed on the section’s community page.
2. Membership support to attorneys. How can the association reach more members practicing in smaller cities, towns, and rural areas? By offering section membership for free, the section will seek to expand its reach to
more members.
For more information, visit: www.mnbar.org/greater-minnesota