What Missouri Bar does

The Missouri Bar is the mandatory integrated bar association for the State of Missouri, established by the Supreme Court of Missouri and founded in 1944. Headquartered in Jefferson City, the organization operates as a non-profit professional body with between 11 and 50 employees and serves every attorney licensed to practice law in Missouri through compulsory membership. Its functional remit spans regulatory administration, professional discipline support, continuing legal education, member services, and public-facing legal access programs.

The Bar's core product and service stack includes MoBarCLE for continuing legal education delivery, Fastcase for legal research access, Smokeball Bill (introduced via a June 2025 partnership) for practice management and billing, the Missouri Lawyers Assistance Program (MOLAP) for attorney wellness, and Missouri.FreeLegalAnswers.org for pro bono service delivered in partnership with the American Bar Association. Operations are organized through more than 40 committees, sections, and divisions that drive member engagement and specialty community formation.

Revenue is generated principally through mandatory annual enrollment fees paid by every licensed Missouri attorney, supplemented by CLE programming fees, publication and advertising income, and negotiated affinity benefits. No public financial disclosures are available, and the organization does not raise external capital. Strategic activity centers on deepening the member-benefit technology stack and expanding pro bono and wellness programs rather than on geographic or product-line expansion outside the mandatory membership framework.

Name

Missouri Bar

Legal name

The Missouri Bar

Website

https://mobar.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1944

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Missouri Bar is the mandatory integrated bar association for every attorney licensed in Missouri, providing regulatory oversight, continuing legal education, member services, and pro bono programs. Founded in 1944 and headquartered in Jefferson City, it operates as a non-profit under Supreme Court authority.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Jefferson City

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Annual Enrollment Fees: The Missouri Bar collects annual enrollment fees from all licensed Missouri attorneys as a mandatory condition of bar membership. Fees are paid through the online portal at fees.mobar.org.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

The Missouri Bar is a mandatory statewide bar association that regulates Missouri-licensed attorneys and provides them with continuing legal education programs (MoBarCLE), free legal research via Fastcase, free trust accounting and billing software through the Smokeball Bill partnership, ethics guidance, lawyer wellness support (MOLAP), and public-facing resources such as a lawyer directory and pro bono legal clinic (Missouri.FreeLegalAnswers.org). It is funded primarily through annual enrollment fees collected from every attorney licensed to practice in Missouri.

Product overview

The Missouri Bar operates as a mandatory statewide bar organization offering a comprehensive suite of services to lawyers and the public. The portfolio includes practice management tools (Smokeball Bill for trust accounting and billing), legal research (Fastcase), professional development (MoBarCLE for continuing legal education), member directories (Lawyer Directory, LawyerSearch), and access to justice initiatives (Missouri.FreeLegalAnswers.org, Disaster Recovery Hotline). Additional offerings encompass dispute resolution services (Arbitrators/Neutrals Search), lawyer wellbeing support (MOLAP), publications (Journal of The Missouri Bar), educational content (Legal Glossary, Is It Legal To... Podcast), professional networking (connect.MOBAR, Leadership Academy), and government relations resources (Legislative Engagement Center). The Smokeball Bill partnership launched in June 2025 provides free trust accounting software to all members.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• MoBarCLE Continuing Legal Education (CLE) platform providing affordable programs and publications to help Missouri lawyers meet their annual MCLE compliance requirements and stay informed about changes in the law.
• Fastcase Comprehensive legal research database providing Missouri Bar lawyers online access to millions of cases, statutes, and regulations. A $695-value service provided at no cost to active, licensed Missouri Bar members.
• Smokeball Bill Trust accounting and billing software solution helping solo and small firm lawyers manage client trust accounts in a compliant manner and reduce the risk of compliance errors and malpractice claims. Provided at no cost to members through a partnership with Smokeball (typically $588 per user per year).
• Lawyer Directory Official Directory of Missouri Lawyers allowing members of the public to confirm whether a lawyer is licensed and in good standing with the Supreme Court of Missouri.
• LawyerSearch Free online tool to help members of the public find a lawyer in good standing who is currently accepting new clients, searchable by areas of practice or location.
• Missouri.FreeLegalAnswers.org Free virtual legal advice clinic, operated as a partnership with the American Bar Association, allowing low-income Missouri residents to get free legal answers about non-criminal problems from volunteer lawyers. Helped 1,100+ Missourians since January 2025.
• MOLAP (Missouri Lawyers' Assistance Program) Professional, confidential counseling program for members of The Missouri Bar, immediate family members, and law students, providing free services including counseling, crisis intervention, education and prevention, and substance use support.
• Missouri Disaster Recovery Legal Assistance Hotline Disaster legal services hotline providing legal help to those affected by disasters in Missouri, addressing issues such as landlord-tenant disputes, replacing important documents, insurance claims, and contractor scams.
• Journal of The Missouri Bar Scholarly publication issued six times a year to assist members of The Missouri Bar in keeping abreast of changes in legal developments and meeting their professional obligations.
• connect.MOBAR Online platform allowing Missouri lawyers to connect, collaborate, and share knowledge and resources through online communities based on practice areas and settings.
• Leadership Academy Program recruiting, training, and retaining Missouri attorneys admitted for ten years or less for leadership positions in the Missouri Bar.
• Legislative Engagement Center Government relations resource providing up-to-date information about legislation affecting the legal profession, practice, and clients, with staff tracking bills of interest during legislative sessions.

Quantifiable outcome

• 1,100 Missourians helped through Missouri.FreeLegalAnswers.org since January 2025
• +1 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• SmokeballcoreTechnology or Integration · 3 June 2025Exclusive partnership announced June 3, 2025, providing Smokeball Bill trust accounting and billing software to all Missouri Bar members at no cost. The software typically costs $588 per user per year and helps solo and small firm lawyers manage client trust accounts in a compliant manner, reducing compliance errors and malpractice claims. This is Smokeball's 14th no-cost product partnership with a state bar organization, following similar arrangements with the State Bar of Texas and Oklahoma Bar Association.
• American Bar AssociationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to operate Missouri.FreeLegalAnswers.org, a free virtual legal clinic where low-income Missouri residents can ask civil legal questions and receive answers from volunteer Missouri lawyers. The service has helped over 1,100 Missourians since January 2025.
• State Bar of TexasminorOthersPrecedent partnership that also provides Smokeball Bill at no cost to members, serving as a model for the Missouri Bar partnership.
• Oklahoma Bar AssociationminorOthersPrecedent partnership that also provides Smokeball Bill at no cost to members, serving as a model for the Missouri Bar partnership.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Others

• Smokeball: Legal practice-management software vendor providing Smokeball Bill to Missouri Bar members at no cost via a June 2025 exclusive partnership. Adjacent ecosystem partner rather than competitor, also serving other state bars.
• Clio: Leading cloud legal-practice-management platform competing for the same solo/small-firm wallet that the Bar serves through Smokeball. Indirect competitor in the practice-tools category and an alternative member benefit.
• LexisNexis: Major legal-research and information provider serving the same Missouri attorneys who access Fastcase through the Bar. Indirect competitor to the Bar's Fastcase member benefit rather than to the Bar itself.

Regional players

• Florida Bar: Florida's integrated state bar providing regulatory oversight, mandatory CLE, member benefits, and practice-management resources to Florida-licensed attorneys. Directly comparable mandate and product set.
• California State Bar: California's integrated state bar with mandatory membership, regulatory authority over attorney licensing/discipline, and a broad CLE and member-services portfolio. Significantly larger in scale but structurally analogous.
• Illinois State Bar Association: Illinois-based voluntary bar association with comprehensive CLE, practice tools, and member services. Comparable product set though Illinois operates as a voluntary rather than mandatory bar.
• Oklahoma Bar Association: Oklahoma integrated state bar cited as a direct precedent for the Smokeball partnership. Similar membership mandate and benefit portfolio, but with Oklahoma-licensed attorneys as the exclusive addressable market.
• New York State Bar Association: Voluntary state bar in New York offering CLE, publications, sections, and member benefits at scale. Comparable operating model and member-services portfolio, different geographic mandate.
• State Bar of Texas: Texas integrated state bar with mandatory membership and analogous CLE, legal research, and practice-management member-benefit offerings. Highly comparable structure but operates exclusively in Texas, not directly competing with Missouri Bar.

Broad incumbents

• American Bar Association: National voluntary bar association and direct partner on Missouri.FreeLegalAnswers.org. Operates at much broader geographic scope across the U.S. and is a complementary (not competing) body to The Missouri Bar.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/MissouriBar
• Facebookfacebook.com/missouribar
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-missouri-bar
• Instagraminstagram.com/mobarnews
• Xx.com/mobarnews

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Missouri Bar