Effective as of the Conference of Bar Presidents 2016, in order to be invited to the Conference, all specialty bar associations* must meet the following criteria:

• Cannot be a social organization or devoted primarily to library activities.
• Must not have discriminatory policies on membership.
• Must have officers and/or an executive board.
• Must meet at least quarterly.
• Must hold elections at least every two years.
• Must have bylaws and/or policies and procedures.
• Must have a tax ID number.
• Must be non-partisan.
• Must have at least 35 members admitted to the Maryland Bar.

In addition, all specialty bar associations will need to meet one of the following criteria:

• Must be a 501(c) entity or have a pending 501(c) application or
• Must collect dues.

*Maryland County and Baltimore City Bar Associations will be grandfathered and not subject to the revised Criteria.

Failure to meet the above criteria will result in the specialty bar association not being invited to the conference. Specialty Bars will need to reapply every 2 years.

The individual selected by the invited organization to attend the Conference of Bar Presidents must be a MSBA member or will be charged the current cost of membership to the MSBA in order to attend the conference. In the event that the attendee pays for attendance, he or she will become an MSBA member.

Approved by the MSBA Board of Governors June, 2014.
Criteria will be effective as of the Conference of Bar Presidents 2016.