BCBA Overview

The Boone County Bar Association, Inc. is a voluntary association of lawyers and judges who practice and/or reside in Boone County, Missouri. It is incorporated as a Missouri not-for-profit corporation. Approximately 380 lawyers and judges are members.

Membership qualifications and dues are set out in the BCBA Bylaws. Dues are also summarized on the Dues Page. Lawyers or judges interested in joining should go to the How to Join Page.

The association’s Executive Committee adopts an annual budget. The most recent budget can be viewed on the Budget Page.

The BCBA holds monthly membership meetings, usually at lunchtime on the second Wednesday of each month in the lower-level meeting room of the Bleu Restaurant and Wine Bar, 811 E. Walnut St., Columbia, Missouri. Tthese meetings feature a speaker on a topic of interest to lawyers, and many of them provide continuing legal education (CLE) credit.

Special events each year include:

  • Social gatherings of lawyers and judges in the 13th Judicial Circuit (Boone and Callaway counties), which allow them to interact and get to know each other outside the more formal courtroom atmosphere.
  • A picnic and annual meeting in September to which lawyers’ families are invited. Officers are elected at this event for the program year which starts after the annual meeting.
  • A holiday dinner party in December to which lawyers and their spouses or dates are invited.

Other BCBA activities include:

  • Participation in a Bar-Schools Partnership with the Columbia Public Schools. This program includes making presentations on legal topics in the schools, conducting mock trials for student groups, and mentoring students who participate in a high-school mock trial program.
  • Activities designed to improve the administration of justice in Boone County, including working with the judges to improve local rules and procedures.
  • The BCBA does not operate a lawyer referral service. Members of the public seeking a lawyer can visit the Missouri Bar’s Lawyer Search Service.
  • The BCBA does not operate a job-openings service for lawyers, although occasionally some available jobs are listed in the Newsletter. Lawyers interested in listing an available job or viewing job openings should visit the Jobs for Missouri Lawyers page on the Missouri Bar’s website.