durham county bar association

What durham county bar association does

The Durham County Bar Association (DCBA) is a 501(c)(6) nonprofit professional bar organization founded in 1925 and incorporated under that tax status in 1982, serving licensed attorneys in Durham County, North Carolina. It is co-located organizationally with two related entities: the mandatory Sixteenth Judicial District Bar (formerly JD 14), which all active North Carolina attorneys assigned to the district must join under NCGS §84-18 to maintain good standing; and the Durham Bar Foundation, Inc., a 501(c)(3) charitable body established in 2003 to administer scholarships and community grants. DCBA delivers a suite of member services including a 12-hour annual CLE program covering all North Carolina–required categories (Ethics, Professional Responsibility, Substance Abuse/Mental Health), the BarCARES confidential mental health partnership with HRC Behavioral Health, monthly luncheons, networking events, and ancillary divisions (Young Lawyers Division, George H. White Bar, Durham Orange Women Attorneys, Durham Defense Bar). The Foundation runs the Adam Lischer Memorial Scholarship (33 awards since inception) and a Community Grants Program (two $5,000 grants annually to Durham nonprofits). Technology backbone is the ClubExpress SaaS membership platform, which handles dues billing, event registration, on-demand CLE delivery, and member directories.

The revenue model is a combination of mandatory and voluntary annual dues plus event-driven income. Mandatory JD16 dues are $90 per attorney per year, voluntary DCBA membership is $175 per year (including all 12 hours of CLE), and non-members pay $50 per CLE hour. Foundation Benefit event tickets ($75–$150) and sponsorship tiers ($500–$5,000) provide incremental revenue; the inaugural 2025 benefit raised $22,674.34. Geographic scope is strictly Durham County, North Carolina, with no expansion outside the Sixteenth Judicial District. Distribution is exclusively direct-to-member through the website (durhambar.net), with no resellers or third-party channels. Governance is by a volunteer board of approximately 12–15 attorneys led by President Yesenia L. Polanco-Galdamez and supported by a single full-time Executive Director, Bonnie B. Biggs, who has held the role since 2006.

Name

durham county bar association

Legal name

Durham County Bar Association

Website

https://durhambar.net

Company type

Private

Founded year

1925

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Durham County Bar Association is a 501(c)(6) nonprofit professional bar association serving ~1,350 mandatory and ~500 voluntary members across Durham County, NC, delivering CLE, networking, BarCARES mental health services, scholarships, and community grants through the ClubExpress platform.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Durham

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, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Mandatory District Bar Dues: Sixteenth Judicial District Bar mandatory dues of $90 per year collected from all licensed attorneys assigned to the district, required to maintain good standing as an active attorney in North Carolina. Fiscal year runs July 1 - June 30.
2. Voluntary Bar Association Dues: Durham County Bar Association voluntary membership dues of $175 per year, providing access to CLE programs, luncheons, and social events. Attorneys from other districts may also join.
3. CLE Participant Fees: Non-members may pay $50 per hour for CLE courses, though joining DCBA ($175 annual membership) provides 12 hours of CLE at no additional charge.
4. Foundation Benefit Events: Annual fundraising events including ticket sales ($125-$150 for general attendees, $75-$100 for YLD members) and sponsorship packages (Diamond $5,000, Platinum $3,000, Gold $2,000, Silver $1,000, Bronze $500). The inaugural 2025 event raised $22,674.34.
5. Community Grants Program: The Durham Bar Foundation awards two $5,000 grants annually to 501(c)(3) nonprofit entities serving the Durham community through access to justice, poverty alleviation, economic empowerment, public health, environmental conservation, and education initiatives.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Durham County Bar Association operates as the voluntary professional bar association for attorneys in Durham County, North Carolina, providing membership services, a 12-hour annual CLE program (live virtual and on-demand formats), monthly networking luncheons, BarCARES mental health support, specialty sub-bars, and scholarship and community grant administration through its affiliated Durham Bar Foundation. It co-administers the mandatory Sixteenth Judicial District Bar membership required for active-licensed attorneys in the district.

Product overview

The Durham County Bar Association operates a unified member services platform for legal professionals in Durham County, North Carolina. The core offerings include mandatory membership in the Sixteenth Judicial District Bar for state bar compliance and voluntary membership in the DCBA for CLE and networking benefits. These are supplemented by the BarCARES mental health program, Young Lawyers Division, specialty bars (George H. White Bar, DOWA, Durham Defense Bar), and the Durham Bar Foundation which manages scholarship and grant programs. The CLE program features both annual live virtual events and on-demand courses covering legal topics including AI in law practice.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Sixteenth Judicial District Bar Membership
• Durham County Bar Association (DCBA) Membership
• On-Demand CLE Courses
• Two-Day Live Virtual CLE
• BarCARES Mental Health Services
• Young Lawyers Division
• George H. White Bar
• Durham Orange Women Attorneys (DOWA)
• Durham Defense Bar
• Adam Lischer Memorial Scholarship
• Community Grants Program
• Foundation Benefit Annual Fundraiser

Quantifiable outcome

• 1,350 mandatory bar members and 500 voluntary members served
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship and minor.

• North Carolina Association of Women Attorneys (NCAWA)coreOthers · 1 January 1998Durham Orange Women Attorneys (DOWA) is a chapter of NCAWA, serving Durham and Orange counties since 1998. NCAWA membership is required for DOWA chapter membership. DOWA typically has the most law student members of any NCAWA chapter due to nearby law schools (Duke, NCCU, UNC Chapel Hill).
• HRC Behavioral Health & Psychiatry, P.A.coreOthersHRC Behavioral Health provides BarCARES confidential counseling services to members of the Sixteenth Judicial District Bar and Durham County Bar Association. The program offers three free counseling sessions for mental health support including crisis intervention, depression/anxiety, substance use, family issues, and professional stress. Services are provided at no cost with complete confidentiality.
• North Carolina Bar FoundationflagshipGTM or Marketing PartnerNC Bar Foundation co-hosts the Summer Social event with the Sixteenth Judicial District Bar. The event is open to all legal professionals in Durham County and serves as a collaborative networking initiative between state and local bar organizations.
• North Carolina Central University School of LawcoreOthersNCCU School of Law is the primary beneficiary of scholarship programs. The George H. White Bar presents scholarships to NCCU Law students including the C.C. 'Buddy' Malone Scholarship for Trial Advocacy. Many scholarship recipients have ties to NCCU.
• Mystic Farm & DistilleryminorOthersVenue host for the Durham Bar Foundation Annual Benefit events. The second annual benefit was held at Mystic Farm & Distillery at 1413 Stallings Rd, Durham, NC 27703.
• ECJ Winstons CateringminorOthersCatering partner for the Durham Bar Foundation Annual Benefit events, providing dinner menus for the fundraising events.
• Duke University School of LawminorOthersPartner through DOWA chapter membership; Duke law students participate in NCAWA/DOWA as one of the three nearby law schools. Some scholarship recipients have Duke affiliations.
• UNC Chapel Hill School of LawminorOthersPartner through DOWA chapter membership; UNC law students participate in NCAWA/DOWA. Some scholarship recipients have UNC affiliations.
• Weldon Mills DistilleryminorOthersVenue host for Summer Social event at 300 E Main Street, Durham, NC 27701. The event was co-hosted with NC Bar Foundation.
• Bull City Burger & BreweryminorOthersVenue host for JD 16 Joint Board Meeting at 107 E Parraph St, Durham, NC 27701.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• North Carolina Bar Association: The statewide professional association for North Carolina lawyers, offering membership, CLE, networking, publications, and practice support. Its member-services model and legal-professional customer base closely overlap DCBA's voluntary association activities.
• Wake County Bar Association: A local bar organization serving the Raleigh-area legal community through membership, CLE, events, and professional resources. Its county-and-judicial-district structure closely parallels DCBA's combination of mandatory and voluntary bar functions.
• Mecklenburg County Bar: The professional bar organization for Mecklenburg County, providing member services, legal education, events, and court-community programs. It is directly comparable as another large North Carolina county bar serving local attorneys.
• American Bar Association: A national membership organization for attorneys that provides CLE, professional networking, policy activity, publications, and member benefits. It operates the same core association model as DCBA at substantially greater geographic scale.
• National Bar Association: A national professional association offering advocacy, education, networking, and member support, with particular relevance to African-American lawyers and judges. It compares directly with DCBA's George H. White Bar and other identity- and practice-focused communities.
• Federal Bar Association: A national attorney membership association that provides legal education, publications, conferences, and practice-section communities. Its audience and service mix are closely aligned, although it concentrates on federal practitioners rather than a local bar.
• Association of Corporate Counsel: A global professional membership organization serving in-house counsel through education, networking, publications, and career resources. It is comparable by membership and professional-development model, though focused on corporate counsel rather than local practitioners.

Others

• North Carolina State Bar: North Carolina's statewide attorney licensing and regulatory body, responsible for standards, discipline, and district-bar membership administration. It is a key ecosystem counterpart to DCBA rather than a conventional competing association.
• National Association of Bar Executives: A professional organization for bar leaders and executives that supports management knowledge, networking, and operational best practices. It is adjacent to DCBA because it serves the people who operate bar associations rather than attorneys directly.
• North Carolina Bar Foundation: A charitable legal organization that supports access-to-justice and law-related philanthropy across North Carolina. It is comparable to the Durham Bar Foundation's grantmaking, scholarship, and nonprofit-fundraising functions.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/GeorgeWhiteBar
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/durhamcountybar

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles14 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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