Delaware County Bar Association

What Delaware County Bar Association does

The Delaware County Bar Association (DCBA) is a nonprofit professional membership organization founded in 1872 that serves attorneys practicing in Delaware County, Pennsylvania. Headquartered in Media, PA and operating with a staff of approximately seven, the association represents roughly 1,200 members and provides a portfolio of member services including lawyer referral, continuing legal education (CLE) programming, a Legal Journal publication, practice-specific sections, and bench-bar events. Governance is provided by a rotating elected president — Michael J. Davey serves as the 90th President for 2025 — with Rachel Prince as Executive Director since January 2023.

DCBA generates revenue through a diversified set of member-facing fees: tiered annual membership dues ranging from $150 to $275 depending on category, a $25-per-referral Lawyer Referral Service that connects the public with member attorneys, CLE programs priced at $50–$65 per attendee (including distance-learning options), Legal Journal advertising, and section dues. A separate affiliated nonprofit, the Delaware County Bar Foundation (established 1978 as a 501(c)(3)), extends the association's capacity for charitable and educational work that the 501(c)(6) parent cannot directly perform.

The association operates as a classic county bar model: a regulated, community-anchored professional body whose value derives from credentialing-adjacent services, local network density, and integration with the Pennsylvania legal ecosystem rather than from proprietary technology or differentiated product. Distribution is relationship-driven, with no external sales motion, and there is no evidence of AI, software platforms, or technology-led product offerings in the available data.

Name

Delaware County Bar Association

Legal name

Delaware County Bar Association

Website

https://delcobar.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1872

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Delaware County Bar Association is a 1872-founded nonprofit professional membership organization serving approximately 1,200 attorneys in Delaware County, PA via tiered dues, a lawyer referral service, CLE programs, and a Legal Journal.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Bar Association Services

NAICS

Legal Services (5411)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Legal Aid & Client Advocacy Services (BPAGAEAM)

Keywords

• Bar association services
• Attorney membership
• Lawyer referral services
• Continuing legal education
• Legal journal publishing

Headquarters

HQ city

Media

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, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: The DCBA generates primary revenue through tiered membership dues: Free for attorneys admitted 1 year or less; $150/year for 1-3 years; $190/year for 3-10 years; $275/year for 10+ years; Honorary free for age 75+ with 25+ years membership. Law students and Magisterial District Judges receive free membership. Family Law Section has additional $30/year dues.
2. Lawyer Referral Service: The DCBA operates a lawyer referral service charging $25 per referral, providing a 30-minute initial consultation with a qualified attorney. This is the primary non-dues revenue stream for public-facing services.
3. Legal Journal Advertising: The DCBA publishes a Legal Journal with advertising rates: $100 for various notices (Change of Name, Corporations, Estate Notice, Judgments, etc.) and $0.20 per character for Service by Publication.
4. CLE Program Fees: Continuing legal education programs offered at $50 for DCBA members and $65 for non-members, such as the New Orphans' Court Guardianship Rules program.
5. Section Dues: Family Law Section charges $30.00 annual dues for membership benefits including networking, CLE programs, and social events.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Delaware County Bar Association is a nonprofit professional membership association that supports approximately 1,200 attorneys in Delaware County, Pennsylvania through networking, educational programming (CLE), mentoring, advocacy, and public-facing services. It sells tiered annual memberships, runs a $25 Lawyer Referral Service for the public, hosts a Legal Journal with paid advertising, and delivers online and in-person CLE/distance-learning courses to attorneys.

Product overview

The Delaware County Bar Association operates a membership-based service organization offering a suite of interconnected digital and in-person products. The core offering is the DCBA Website Member Center, which serves as the hub for membership management and access to member benefits. Key services include the Lawyer Referral Service (connecting attorneys with clients), the Legal Journal (official publication), and Distance Learning/CLE Programs (online continuing legal education). Supporting products include the DCBA Store (merchandise and advertising), Job Board, Room Rentals, and Public Information Video Programs. The organization also includes the Delaware County Bar Foundation as its 501(c)(3) charitable arm. Founded in 1872 with approximately 1,200 members, the DCBA provides networking, educational programming, and member support through these integrated services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• DCBA Membership Tiered annual membership for attorneys with primary office or home address in Delaware County, plus Associate Members outside the county, Law Students, and Judges. Includes networking, CLE access, mentoring, affinity programs, committee/board eligibility, and full member benefits.
• Lawyer Referral Service Public-facing referral service that matches individuals with qualified, insured attorneys based on legal matter and geographic preference. Costs $25 per referral for a 30-minute initial consultation across Business Law, Civil Litigation, Criminal Law, Elder Law, Estate Law, Family Law, Individual Rights, and Real Estate. Phone hours Monday–Thursday 9:00 am–4:00 pm and Friday 9:00 am–3:00 pm.
• Distance Learning / Online CLE Programs Self-paced online continuing legal education video courses for attorneys on topics including family law, ethics, real estate, intellectual property, professional wellness, and orphans' court guardianship rules. Priced at $50 per program for DCBA members and $65 per program for non-members.
• Legal Journal Advertising Paid advertising in the official Legal Journal of the DCBA covering Change of Name, Corporations, Estate Notice, Judgments, and Service by Publication notices. Notice advertising is $100 each, with Service by Publication charged at $0.20 per character.
• Family Law Section Membership Section-level membership add-on at $30 annual dues providing family law CLE programs, networking, special social events, and community fundraising for local charities such as Grands Stepping Up.
• Room Rentals Facility rental service allowing DCBA members and external parties to book conference and meeting rooms at the Bar Association building located at 335 West Front Street, Media, PA.
• Job Board Online employment marketplace connecting law firms and legal employers in Delaware County with attorneys and law students seeking positions. Available via the DCBA website.
• DCBA Store E-commerce store selling DCBA branded merchandise such as insulated cups and fleece products, plus legal journal advertising and notice placements.
• In-Person CLE and Events In-person CLE seminars and professional events including the Bench Bar Conference, President's Dinner, Law Day, Judge's Cocktail Party, Phillies Games Tailgate, and topical CLE seminars across Family Law, Intellectual Property, Wellness, and Workers' Compensation.
• Public Information Video Programs Educational video content produced by the Community Outreach Committee covering legal topics including Small Business/Employment Law, Education Law, and Distracted Driving during COVID-19, hosted on Vimeo with password-protected access.

Quantifiable outcome

• 1,200 members served through networking, education, and member support programs
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• Montgomery Bar Association: A neighboring suburban Philadelphia county bar association serving Montgomery County, PA. Operates the same mix of membership dues, CLE, and lawyer referral services for its local bench and bar.
• Allegheny County Bar Association: A large Pennsylvania county bar association serving the Pittsburgh-area legal community. Provides a directly analogous mix of membership, CLE programming, lawyer referral, and section-based engagement.
• Dauphin County Bar Association: A Pennsylvania county bar association serving the Harrisburg-area legal community. Closely comparable in mission, size, and product mix to the DCBA in a different Pennsylvania county.
• Chester County Bar Association: A neighboring Pennsylvania county bar association with a similar membership-organization model. Its prior employment of current DCBA Executive Director Rachel Prince further underscores the operational and structural parallels between the two organizations.
• Bucks County Bar Association: A Pennsylvania county bar association offering comparable membership, CLE, and referral services. Closely comparable in scale, mission, and the suburban Philadelphia legal market context.

Broad incumbents

• American Bar Association: The largest national voluntary bar association. Comparable in mission (professional standards, CLE, networking, advocacy) but operates at national scale and does not specialize in a single county's bench-bar relations.
• Philadelphia Bar Association: The largest metropolitan bar association in Pennsylvania, offering CLE, lawyer referral, and member services at greater scale. Comparable in mission and product mix (membership, CLE, referrals) but significantly larger and serving an urban legal market.
• Pennsylvania Bar Association: The statewide voluntary bar association. Offers membership, CLE, and policy advocacy across Pennsylvania, complementing rather than directly competing with county-level associations like the DCBA.

Others

• LawPay: A fintech provider serving bar associations and law firms with payment processing and trust-account tools. Listed as adjacent ecosystem enabler rather than direct competitor, illustrating the broader bar-association services supply chain.

Regional players

• New Jersey State Bar Association: A neighboring state-level bar association serving New Jersey attorneys. Provides similar CLE, member benefits, and section structure but in a different state jurisdiction.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/2012DCBA
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/delaware-county-bar-association

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Delaware County Bar Association