Episode Notes

In this episode with ABA president Robert Carlson, we talk about what it means to lead a large and multifaceted legal organization in a time of technology change and innovation. We also cover the ABA’s new membership dues structure, what it hopes to achieve, and what a much-diminished ABA membership would mean for the practice of law. Lastly, we talk to Bob about some hot-button ethics issues like non-lawyer ownership and advertising regulations. You’ll also get a glimpse of Robert’s plans after his term as ABA president is over.If today’s podcast resonates with you and you haven’t read The Small Firm Roadmap yet, get the first chapter right now for free!

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Your Hosts

Sam Glover

Sam Glover is the founder of lawyerist.com. He is the co-author of the bestselling book The Small Firm Roadmap and original host of the weekly Lawyerist Podcast.

Marshall Lichty

Marshall Lichty is the co-author of the bestselling book The Small Firm Roadmap. He is a frequent contributor to blogs and podcasts focused on legal technology, legal marketing, and law firm management and operations.

Featured Guests

Robert Carlson

Bob Carlson, a shareholder with the Butte, Montana, law firm of Corette Black Carlson & Mickelson, P.C., is president of the American Bar Association, the world’s largest voluntary professional organization with more than 400,000 members.

Carlson has served in many national and state bar leadership positions, including as president of the State Bar of Montana from 1993 to 1994. From 2012 to 2014, he was chair of the ABA’s policymaking House of Delegates, the association’s second-highest elected office. He has served two terms on the ABA Board of Governors and its Executive Committee, chairing its Executive Compensation Committee. Carlson has also served in the ABA House of Delegates as both Montana’s state bar delegate and state delegate and as a delegate at large. He is a life patron fellow and past state chair of the Fellows of the American Bar Foundation and was a member of the Executive Council of the National Conference of Bar Presidents.

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Last updated June 28th, 2022