[ScholarLab Dispatch] Visions of Change at NABE's Midyear Meeting 2014

By Christine Oh

ScholarLab hit the road to attend the 2014 National Association of Bar Executives (NABE) Midyear Meeting in Chicago earlier this month, where the presentations, conversations and even tweets circled around the theme of embracing change. It’s true, we’ve reached a new era of law (click to read why), and it is becoming more and more evident that bar associations need to be evolving to the changing demands of today’s lawyers. 

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On the online learning front, this only reinforces how important it is to take a hard look at how lawyers learn today and in turn, build programs that cater to their education needs. Some bars have taken the leap into online CLE, but they’re seeing poor sales and still fighting criticism that bar associations should be doing more for new lawyers. 

The programs are, according to the conference’s twitter feed, failing to facilitate the interactive learning, network and post-graduate skills that lawyers need to successfully enter the legal marketplace.

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But how to put such programs into motion? In a time with such sophisticated learning technologies at their fingertips, bar associations need to modernize their programs to walk in stride with the capabilities of our time. This means moving past the outdated systems that rely simply on the live streaming of content. Instead, bar associations can be providing members with an ecosystem of education and communication tools that will facilitate a more complete, networked and engaged learning experience. 

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At ScholarLab, we are always asking ourselves, what keeps learners coming back? The answer at the end of the day is always a superior learning experience. It’s time we start giving lawyers just that. 

If you’re interested in learning more about some of the great ideas laid out at the conference, look out for online versions of select sessions from the meeting coming soon at: http://nabe.scholarlab.com/

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