The Florida Bar

What The Florida Bar does

The Florida Bar is the quasi-governmental regulatory organization for all attorneys licensed by the Supreme Court of Florida, established under Article V, Section 15 of the Florida Constitution in 1949 and headquartered in Tallahassee, with branch offices in Ft. Lauderdale, Miami, Orlando, and Tampa. It is the official arm of the Florida Supreme Court for lawyer admission and discipline, supported by a 52-member volunteer Board of Governors, 2,000+ volunteers across 74 standing committees, and a 251–500 employee staff. As of June 2026, the Bar reports 98,135 eligible-to-practice members in good standing out of 115,000+ total members.

Core offerings span the full regulatory and member-services stack. Regulatory functions include lawyer discipline (Chief Branch Discipline Counsel across five offices), Unlicensed Practice of Law enforcement, the Attorney Consumer Assistance Program (ACAP), the Clients' Security Fund, and the 24/7 Lawyer Referral Service (consultations capped at $25 per 30 minutes). Member-facing programs include Board Certification (since 1982), Continuing Legal Education, the Florida Registered Paralegal Program (since 2008), the Wm. Reece Smith, Jr. Leadership Academy, and a multi-format content operation spanning the Florida Bar Journal, Florida Bar News, daily news email summaries, five podcasts (LegalFuel, Bar Briefs, Never Contemplated, On Civility, Lawyer/Leader), and 40+ LexisNexis-distributed publications. Technology member benefits include Fastcase legal research, M&T Bank's Nota trust-accounting platform (launched June 2023, 900+ members, renewed 2026), Smokeball Bill billing/trust-accounting software (June 2024), and — most notably — Clio Work AI delivered through the Preferred Bar Program (June 2025/announced June 2026), making the Bar the first U.S. state bar to offer free legal AI as a membership benefit.

The business model combines mandatory recurring membership dues with transactional and one-time fee streams. Mandatory annual dues fund regulatory operations and partially underwrite the Clients' Security Fund; supplementary revenues come from Board Certification application/exam/recertification fees, Pro Hac Vice fees ($250 to the Bar plus a $100 statutory filing), Lawyer Referral Service consultation fees, CLE course registration, and publication sales through LexisNexis. The Bar has no parent company, no equity funding, and no commercial exit path — it is a constitutionally chartered regulatory entity, not a privately investable business, which frames PE/VC analysis around member-benefit modernization rather than capital-structure or exit-driven value creation.

Name

The Florida Bar

Legal name

The Florida Bar

Website

https://floridabar.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1949

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

The Florida Bar is the quasi-governmental regulatory body for Florida attorneys, serving roughly 98,135 lawyers in good standing through mandatory membership, licensing, discipline, continuing legal education, board certification, and technology partnerships including Clio Work AI.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Legal Professional Regulation and Bar Association Services

NAICS

Courts (92211), Legal Counsel and Prosecution (92213), Legal Services (5411)

SIC

Services-Legal Services (8111), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

State/Provincial Courts & Judicial Administration (BPAIABAE)

akta.pro secondary industry

Legal & Compliance (CLE, Paralegal CE) (EDAAALAB)

Keywords

• Legal professional regulation
• Mandatory bar membership
• Continuing legal education
• Lawyer referral service
• Attorney board certification

Headquarters

HQ city

Tallahassee

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Annual Membership Fees: Mandatory annual fees paid by all members of The Florida Bar; partially funds the Clients' Security Fund and other member services.
2. Lawyer Referral Service: Connects consumers to attorneys for a nominal consultation fee ($25); service available 24-7.
3. Board Certification Fees: Fees for board certification applications, exams, and recertification processes.
4. Pro Hac Vice Fees: $250 fee for out-of-state attorneys to appear pro hac vice in Florida courts; $100 statutory filing fee to the court.
5. CLE Course Fees: Continuing Legal Education programs with registration fees for members and non-members.
6. Publications: Sale of legal publications and law practice manuals through LexisNexis partnership.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Florida Bar is the mandatory, unified statewide professional organization for all lawyers licensed by the Supreme Court of Florida, operating as the regulatory arm of the Court under Article V, Section 15 of the Florida Constitution. It administers attorney admission oversight, lawyer discipline, board certification, continuing legal education, ethics guidance, the 24/7 Lawyer Referral Service, the Clients' Security Fund, and a portfolio of member benefits including legal technology access through partnerships with Clio, M&T Bank, Smokeball, and Fastcase.

Product overview

The Florida Bar is a mandatory professional organization for attorneys licensed in Florida, offering a platform of member services rather than a single product. Core offerings include the Lawyer Referral Service (24/7 consumer-lawyer matching), Board Certification (voluntary specialization credentials), and Florida Bar CLE (continuing legal education). Technology member benefits include Clio Work AI (Preferred Bar Program), M&T Bank Nota (trust accounting), Smokeball Bill (billing software), and Fastcase legal research. Supporting programs include the Leadership Academy (leadership training), Florida Registered Paralegal Program, and LegalFuel podcast/professional development resources. The Florida Bar News and Florida Bar Journal serve as the organization's primary publications.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Florida Bar Lawyer Referral Service
• Board Certification Program
• Continuing Legal Education (CLE)
• Wm. Reece Smith, Jr. Leadership Academy
• Florida Registered Paralegal Program
• M&T Bank Nota Platform (Member Benefit)
• Clio Work AI (Preferred Bar Program)
• Smokeball Bill (Member Benefit)
• Fastcase Legal Research
• LegalFuel Practice Resource Center

Quantifiable outcome

• First state bar in U.S. to offer free legal AI as a member benefit
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability4 records

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• CliocoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 18 June 2026Clio partnership makes The Florida Bar the first U.S. state bar to offer free legal AI as a membership benefit. Through the Preferred Bar Program, eligible members receive four months of free access to Clio Work AI platform for analyzing filings, conducting legal research, developing strategy, and drafting documents. Clio also pledged to train 25,000 legal professionals by October 2026.
• SmokeballcoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 10 June 2026Smokeball provides free trust accounting and billing software to Florida Bar members through partnership. The program is part of Smokeball's expansion to 28 state bars, reaching over 900,000 U.S. lawyers. Usage data shows 60-70% of members who signed up were not previously using technology for trust accounting.
• M&T BankcoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 June 2023M&T Bank provides the Nota platform, a cloud-based Interest on Trust Account (IOTA) management tool, as a free member benefit to Florida Bar attorneys. Since launch in June 2023, over 900 members have adopted the service. The partnership was renewed in 2026 with continued enhancements including improved reconciliation workflows and expanded integrations.
• Florida Board of Bar ExaminerscoreOthersFlorida Board of Bar Examiners is the entity charged by the Florida Supreme Court with assuring that only qualified persons will be admitted to the practice of law. The Board investigates character and fitness of applicants, administers bar examination, and submits qualified candidates for Supreme Court approval.
• Florida Supreme CourtcoreOthersThe Florida Supreme Court has exclusive constitutional authority to regulate admission to practice and discipline of lawyers. The Court performs these functions through The Florida Bar (investigative and prosecutorial authority) and Florida Board of Bar Examiners (admissions).
• Local Bar AssociationsminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorLocal bar associations across Florida administer lawyer referral services and partner with The Florida Bar on various member services. Nine local bars operate their own referral services in major Florida cities.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• Smokeball: Legal practice management software with built-in trust accounting and billing, serving small law firms. Provides The Florida Bar members with free trust accounting software through a state-bar partnership program spanning 28 states.
• LawPay: Trust accounting and online payment processor serving the legal industry. Operates in the same trust-accounting technology category as M&T Bank's Nota platform and Smokeball, which The Florida Bar offers to members, making it an adjacent technology peer.
• Clio: Legal practice management SaaS provider serving more than 150,000 lawyers globally. Partners with The Florida Bar to provide free AI access to members and is a key technology ally, making it an enabling partner and adjacent technology peer rather than a competitor.

Direct peers

• Florida Board of Bar Examiners: Constitutional partner entity charged with bar admissions in Florida. Closely linked to The Florida Bar by Florida Supreme Court authority, performing complementary regulatory functions (admissions vs. discipline) in the same jurisdiction.
• State Bar of California: Largest unified state bar in the U.S. with mandatory membership for ~250,000 California attorneys. Operates the same regulatory, discipline, and member services model as The Florida Bar across a single state, making it the most directly comparable peer for member scale and structure.
• State Bar of Texas: Unified state bar with mandatory membership serving roughly 100,000+ Texas attorneys. Operates the same regulatory, discipline, MCLE, and member benefit structure as The Florida Bar, making it a closely comparable peer in a similarly large and growing state.
• New York State Bar Association: Voluntary state bar in New York serving roughly 70,000+ members with CLE, member benefits, and practice resources. While voluntary (unlike Florida's mandatory model), it offers a comparable suite of CLE, publications, sections, and committee programming to attorneys in a single state.

Emerging players

• The Law Society (of England and Wales): Mandatory professional regulatory body for solicitors in England and Wales, with ~200,000 members. Comparable in regulatory function and mandatory membership structure, though operating under a different legal system and jurisdiction.

Broad incumbents

• American Bar Association: National voluntary bar association with over 400,000 members across all U.S. jurisdictions. Operates overlapping CLE, member benefits, and accreditation functions at national scale, making it the broadest incumbent peer though not a state-level regulator.

Regional players

• Illinois State Bar Association: Voluntary state bar in Illinois offering CLE, publications, and member services. Serves a similar attorney population with analogous programming but is voluntary rather than mandatory, making it a regional peer with comparable functional offerings.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/theflabar
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCv1eLzMJfkV6-YY1EynATkg
• Facebookfacebook.com/TheFloridaBar
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-florida-bar
• Instagraminstagram.com/theflabar

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles14 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 The Florida Bar