General Information – Membership, Dues, Publications, Office Location, etc.
Classes of Membership
Welcome to the Buncombe County Bar. We have five online classes of membership:
- Buncombe Bar Member – Active for Membership when admitted to the NC State Bar as living or working in the 40th Judicial District. Click Here to Become a NEW Buncombe Bar Member
- Buncombe Bar Associate Member – You have an alternative home Judicial District, but would like to participate in Buncombe Bar events and receive newsletters. This membership is not mandatory by the NC State Bar. Click Here to Become a Member
- Buncombe Bar Judge Member – You are a Buncombe Bar Member as provided by the NC State Bar, but are an elected official that will not need an attorney directory listing. Click Here to Become a Member
- Buncombe Bar Active Military Member – You are a Buncombe Bar Member assigned to the 40th Judicial District, but do not pay annual dues for membership. Thank you for your service. Click Here to Become a Member
- Inactive Buncombe Bar Member – You enjoy bar membership privileges (events, etc.), but have retired, or are no longer actively practicing in the 40th Judicial District. There is no charge for an inactive membership, but you will not have a listing in our attorney directory. If you would like to have a listing, please register as an associate member instead. Click Here to Become a Member
Questions About Membership?
Questions about membership status? See our Bylaws to learn about Active and Inactive membership status.
If you have questions or concerns please contact our Bar Administrator via admin@buncombebar.com.
Mandatory Dues
Annual dues of $90/year are required by law and have been implemented through our local bylaws. See N.C.G.S. 84. Dues are billed electronically in July, and there is a $15 late fee for payments received after September 15. If you would like to join as an associate member, the annual membership is $90. Become a Member to add the product to your cart and checkout through this website.
Meetings
We hold our monthly Bar meetings at luncheons on the second Wednesday of the month at The Asheville Social Hall. The meeting starts at 12:30 PM, with doors opening at 12:15. No meetings are held in July, August, December and January. The meeting is free, but the fee for an optional boxed lunch is $15 for members, $20 for guests. Please RSVP for any events you plan to attend on our events page. To view all upcoming events, visit this page.
Bar Communications
Preface
Most Bar communication is electronic: it is sent via email and/or posted on this website. Our 82+ members use a wide variety of technology and software. We do our best to communicate compatibly with the modalities most commonly in use by lawyers, but we know that users will experience problems. Many problems will be solved by users’ taking the steps permitted within their systems to cause Bar emails and Bar website applications to be accepted by their spam filters, email servers, and other elements. Having taken steps to provide wide compatibility, we have not staffed our office to help with technology problems that individuals may experience with our communications.
Weekly Email
A weekly email is sent electronically to all members to the email address on file. It is the most time-sensitive way of receiving information of interest to Buncombe County lawyers and the legal community. So, make sure that your Bar Administrator has an email address for you.
To enter a submission to the weekly email, click Submit Items for Publication to learn how to create and email an entry.
Website
This is the Bar’s website. Among its benefits is a Member Directory. We invite you to join the directory by setting up a profile. (A basic initial profile may be set up for you by the Bar Administrator, but optimizing the benefits of the directory can only be achieved by your input in creating and periodically updating the profile.) An initial password will be provided by the Bar Administrator.
Website Help
Logging In To This Website
If you have not received or do not know your login criteria, contact the webmaster and a new welcome email can be generated for you. You may reset the password after logging in.
To login, click LOGIN from the top of the site. Enter your email address and password. Once logged into the site, you may update your online profile, submit Member News, Classifieds, or an upcoming event.
Managing Multiple Logins
Are you a Firm Administrator responsible for handling annual dues for all firm members? If so, please select the Law Firm Administrator account page. You can disregard most fields, including the “Group Code” and the “Member Information” section.
Please accurately input the number of seats (attorneys) your firm will be responsible for. This will automatically calculate your annual dues payment.
After submitting this information at checkout, the system will generate a Group Code. You must provide this code to all attorneys under your firm’s membership. They will need to enter it on their membership page to activate their membership without being charged a dues payment.
You can also enter the email addresses of each attorney, and the Buncombe Bar website will send them clear instructions on your behalf.
Be sure to save your Group Code for future use, as you will need to provide it to any new attorneys your firm hires.
For those who need a Marketing Administrator membership to post news on behalf of multiple attorneys or groups, please email admin@buncombebar.com with your login username and the bar numbers you wish to manage, and we will provide access.
The Membership Directory and Your Profile
This website provides user managed membership profiles searchable by members of this website and the public. We hope you will utilize it as another pathway to connect with peers and members of the public in need of a lawyer’s services.
On the Member Directory page, you can search for your profile using the “Search Members” box. If you cannot find your profile, have not received or do not know your login criteria, contact the webmaster for assistance.
Browse to your profile by clicking your image in the list generated from your search results. Updating your member profile is as simple as changing and/or completing the form provided. File limitations exists as to type and size. You may upload image files that do not exceed 2MB.
Member News Items
When logged into this site, members can post press release and member news in accordance with the Publication Guidelines. Approved member news will be provided to the Bar membership in Tuesday’s Bar Brief’s Newsletter. All approved member news will be posted to this website, available for review at each member’s convenience.
When logged in, you can access forms for submitting member news from the top and side menus.
Member Classified Items
When logged into this site, members can post classified advertising (help wanted, office space, vacation rentals, etc.) in accordance with the Publication Guidelines. Approved member classifieds will be provided to the Bar membership in Tuesday’s Bar Brief’s Newsletter. All approved member classifieds will be posted to this website, available for review at each member’s convenience.
When logged in, you can access forms for submitting member classifieds on the Tabs at the top of this website, from the Bar News pages, and from the Footer of the site.
Member Submission Moderation
All member submissions through this website are reviewed and approved for publication by the Communications Committee pursuant to the Publication Guidelines. Moderation is not immediate. You will be notified if there is an error preventing publication of your news item, classified ad or event.
Events: Registering and Managing
Event management is not a new element of the Bar’s website. The system will help the you and the Bar administration to manage event registrations and reminders. Upcoming Events are listed strategically throughout the website. You can find the complete calendar on the Events page.
The Upcoming Events calendar is organized by month. Each link on the calendar has its own Event page, with full information, locations and registration. Once you’ve registered for an event, the registration form closes on the main event page, so you don’t accidentally duplicate event registrations. If you need to cancel or add to your registrations, you can Manage Your Event Registrations anytime you are logged in.
Creating An Event
Member created events are moderated and, if approved, placed on the calendar along with other Bar events. Member Events can include open houses, CLE’s, retirement parties, etc. You can create an event by following the “Create Event” link in the Membership section of the Tabs and Footer navigation when you are logged in to this site.
Bar Briefs Weekly Newsletter
The Bar Briefs newsletter will be delivered weekly on Tuesday morning to the email address associated with your user account. The list is an opt out list. If you do not wish to receive the weekly email, you can opt out by managing your Subscription Options.
If you do not receive your Bar Briefs on Tuesday, check your email spam filters. Even though the Bar Briefs comes to you from “admin@buncombebar.com,” a familiar email address, spam filters are smart and recognize the mail is being generated from a website and not the Bar Administrator’s email address specifically.
If you prefer not to receive Bar updates, you can still remain informed. The Bar Briefs are cataloged online article by article.
Publication Guidelines
New tools require new Publication Guidelines. Knowing the Online Bar Briefs publication criteria will ensure your posts will pass moderation approval. Links to the Publication Guidelines are placed strategically throughout the website.