For nearly twenty years, members of Ohio’s six largest local bar associations have been reaping direct and indirect benefits from one another. In the late 1980s, leaders of Ohio’s largest metropolitan bars began collaborating on statewide issues relating to the legal profession and the operation of their local bar associations. The result of such collaboration has evolved into the Ohio Metropolitan Bar Association Consortium or by acronym, OMBAC.

Today, with member associations in Dayton, Akron, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus and Toledo, OMBAC serves 20,000 attorneys throughout Ohio.

The Ohio Bars have drawn praise and envy from associations coast to coast for the sharing of successful ideas and have gained statewide recognition for the advancement of the legal profession through collaboration from six regional centers.

As a result of the regular meetings attended by the Executive Directors and the periodic meeting of association officers, the Metros work to improve the operation of their individual bars and take on statewide issues for the benefit of our combined membership. Since no real competition exists among the seven bar associations, best practices and new program ideas are freely shared with one another.

The advantages of the Ohio Metro Bar Association Consortium are numerous. The following is a list of the most significant accomplishments to date:

• Obtained Supreme Court reimbursement for local bar association efforts in certified grievance procedures, providing greater focus and resources to maintain integrity in the profession
• Obtained reimbursement for Bar admission reviews of candidates
• Conducted a Needs Assessment of the legal needs of the poor in Ohio
• Obtained a LexisNexis Benefit Program for each Metro Bar to benefit members with programs and financial support
• Formed an online CLE entity representing the best programs from each of the seven Metro Bars
• At the request of Chief Justice Moyer, provided statewide input to the Supreme Court’s Commission on Professionalism
• Provided statewide recommendations to the CLE Commission regarding online CLE; the Commission agreed
• Obtained Supreme Court reimbursement for UPL activities on behalf of Ohio’s legal community
• Held a UPL Summit and authored proposed changes to Gov. Bar R. VII, many of which have been adopted by the Supreme Court of Ohio
• Positioned OMBAC with the Supreme Court as a significant voice in Ohio’s legal community whose input and opinions are sought