The ABA lacks regulatory power yet wields influence as the profession’s recognized voice.

Evidence

Membership in the ABA is voluntary, and fewer than half of the nation’s lawyers join. High-status lawyers and members of large law firms are disproportionately represented in its ranks. The ABA exercises no direct authority over individual lawyers or the state bar associations that regulate the legal profession, but it conducts a wide range of activities and, as the recognized voice of the legal profession, exerts considerable influence. — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 1031

Categorization

• XREF: The ABA’s informal authority parallels other ‘private’ bodies examined earlier whose power flows from reputation rather than coercion, like the DeBeers sight-system or private judges. — connects to: Over thirty states require all lawyers to join the state bar association. — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 1034; The ABA lacks direct authority yet wields influence over the legal profession. — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 670; The ABA’s unofficial pre-screening role in judicial selection waxed and waned with presidential politics. — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 681 (+2 more)