Akron Bar Association

What Akron Bar Association does

The Akron Bar Association is a private non-profit professional membership organization founded in 1875 and headquartered in Akron, Ohio, serving attorneys and legal professionals in Summit County, Ohio. With approximately 15 employees and a membership base of over 1,400 local attorneys, the organization functions as both a professional association and a service provider, delivering membership services, continuing legal education (CLE), lawyer referral services, and quasi-regulatory functions such as grievance investigation, fee arbitration, and judicial candidate ratings.

Its core product is the Rubber City CLE platform, which delivers over 200 hours of annual programming across in-person courses, live interactive webinars, video replays, and an OnDemand catalog of 133 programs. Supporting services include the Lawyer Referral and Information Service (LRIS), committees and sections, the Perantinides and Nolan Leadership Academy, the Pathfinder mentorship program, and notary public services. An affiliated Akron Bar Foundation administers grants, scholarships, an annual gala, and the William C. Becker Lawyers Fund, which provides financial assistance to attorneys in distress.

The organization operates a member-funded revenue model combining annual membership dues (with tiers such as A+kron, Classic, and Associate), CLE course fees, event registration income, and referral service fees. Distribution is regional, anchored by the akronbar.org website and supplemented by social media channels and in-person events. The organization has no external investors, no parent company, and no subsidiaries other than the Akron Bar Foundation.

Name

Akron Bar Association

Legal name

Akron Bar Association

Website

https://akronbar.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1875

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Akron Bar Association is a non-profit professional membership organization founded in 1875 that serves over 1,400 attorneys in Summit County, Ohio, through continuing legal education, membership services, lawyer referral, and regulatory support functions.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Legal Association Services

NAICS

Professional Organizations (81392)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Association & Society Conference Management (Nonprofit, Professional Bodies) (THAHACAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Governance & Board Effectiveness Advisory (BPAHAFAC)

Keywords

• Legal professional association
• Continuing legal education
• Attorney membership services
• Lawyer referral service
• Bar association CLE

Headquarters

HQ city

Akron

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: The organization generates revenue through membership dues from attorneys in Summit County, Ohio. Members receive access to CLE programs, networking events, committees and sections, ethics hotline, and other member services.
2. Continuing Legal Education (CLE): Revenue generated from CLE course fees including in-person, live interactive webinars, video replays, and OnDemand courses. The organization provides over 200 hours of local CLE courses annually through Rubber City CLE.
3. Event Registration: Revenue from ticketed events such as the Cleveland Guardians CLE event, with ticket prices ranging from $35-$80 depending on membership status.
4. Lawyer Referral and Information Service (LRIS): The organization operates a lawyer referral service connecting the public with attorneys, generating revenue through the referral program.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Akron Bar Association is a non-profit professional membership organization serving attorneys in Summit County, Ohio. It delivers continuing legal education through its Rubber City CLE platform (200+ hours annually across in-person, OnDemand, and live webinar formats), tiered membership services for more than 1,400 legal professionals, a Lawyer Referral & Information Service connecting the public with attorneys, and charitable support through the affiliated Akron Bar Foundation.

Product overview

The Akron Bar Association operates as a bar association providing legal professional services primarily through its Rubber City CLE platform for continuing legal education, supplemented by membership services connecting over 1,400 attorneys. The organization offers multiple CLE delivery formats including live in-person courses, OnDemand video courses, and Live Interactive Webinars, with over 200 hours of annual programming. Supporting services include the Lawyer Referral & Information Service (LRIS) for public attorney matching, and the Akron Bar Foundation which administers the William C. Becker Lawyers Fund for attorneys in financial distress. The CLE program is structured with various course bundles and individual programs covering practice areas including criminal law, family law, ethics, and technology.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Rubber City CLE

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration5 records

AI capability4 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association (CMBA)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-sponsored the CLE event 'Why Attorneys Strike Out: Professionalism in Baseball and the Legal Profession' alongside Akron Bar's Rubber City CLE.
• Toledo Bar AssociationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerToledo Bar Association publishes the Walinski Federal Court Practice Seminar, which Akron Bar offers through its OnDemand catalog.
• Philip Bogdanoff, Esq.minorOthersPhilip Bogdanoff is a nationally recognized CLE speaker who presents multiple programs for Akron Bar including litigation skills, ethics, and professionalism courses.
• Red Cave Law Firm ConsultingminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerJared D. Correia, Esq. provides multiple CLE programs on law firm management, AI in legal practice, and succession planning through Akron Bar.
• Cleveland GuardiansminorOthersCleveland Guardians organization partnered for the CLE event at Progressive Field, providing venue access and game tickets as part of the programming.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Allegheny County Bar Association: A Pennsylvania county bar association serving the Pittsburgh legal community. Direct comparable in operating model, CLE programming, and member services for a midsize metropolitan legal market.
• Columbus Bar Association: The Columbus (Franklin County) bar association offering membership, CLE, and member services to Central Ohio attorneys. Direct comparable in terms of county-level bar association function and CLE publishing.
• Cincinnati Bar Association: A similarly structured Ohio county bar association offering CLE, membership services, and lawyer referral programs. It is a direct comparable in scale and operating model to Akron Bar.
• Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association: A fellow Ohio county bar association serving the Greater Cleveland legal community. It is a direct comparable given similar membership structure, CLE programming, and partnership activity (co-sponsored the 'Why Attorneys Strike Out' CLE event with Akron Bar).
• Toledo Bar Association: Another Ohio county bar association with similar local membership, CLE programming, and committee structure. Toledo Bar is a content partner through the Walinski Federal Court Practice Seminar offered via Akron Bar's OnDemand catalog.

Broad incumbents

• Practising Law Institute (PLI): A nonprofit continuing legal education provider offering CLE courses across many practice areas. It is a broader incumbent in the CLE market that competes for attorney training spend with larger content libraries and digital delivery.
• American Bar Association: The national bar association serving U.S. attorneys. It is a broader incumbent offering CLE, publications, and member benefits at scale, with overlapping jurisdiction but a much wider geographic and member footprint.
• BARBRI: A leading national CLE and bar exam prep provider. It is a broader incumbent in the legal education space that competes with Akron Bar's CLE programming through online, multi-jurisdictional content delivery.
• Ohio State Bar Association: The statewide bar association for Ohio. It is a broader incumbent that competes with Akron Bar for CLE programming and member engagement across the state, while Akron Bar focuses on the local Summit County market.

Regional players

• West Virginia State Bar: A state-level bar association operating in a different geography but offering a comparable suite of membership services, CLE, and lawyer referral programs. Included as a regional structural comparable for nonprofit bar association models.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/AkronBarAssoc
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCjMQOxo0eyBU-IOxNYNafbg
• Facebookfacebook.com/AkronBarAssociation
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/akron-bar-association

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Subsidiaries1 record

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 Akron Bar Association