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NSBA Information : History of the Bar
The Nebraska State Bar Association is an 8,400-member professional association of lawyers and judges dedicated to improving the administration of justice. Its offices are located on the second floor of the Roman L. Hruska Law Center at 635 S. 14th St., Lincoln.
Founded as a voluntary Bar in 1899, the NSBA was integrated by order of the Nebraska Supreme Court in 1937. It is one of approximately 40 unified (mandatory) bar associations in America.
The mission of the Nebraska State Bar Association is helping lawyers help people. To achieve this mission, the Association addresses these goals and objectives:
- To foster and maintain integrity, professionalism, civility and high standards of conduct by NSBA members
- To improve public understanding of the legal system and the role of lawyers and judges in society
- To provide quality support and services for NSBA members
- To promote and safeguard the proper professional interests of the NSBA
- To promote full opportunities for participation in NSBA activities by all segments of the profession
- To promote quality legal education
Programs supported by the Association include Volunteer Lawyers Project, which provides pro bono or donated legal services to indigent Nebraskans who would not otherwise have access to the legal system;Counsel for Discipline, which investigates public complaints of attorney misconduct and prosecutes offending lawyers; Communications, which informs Nebraskans of their fundamental rights and responsibilities under the law and the Lawyers Assistance Program which helps attorneys, judges, their families and friends overcome chemical dependancies. A professional staff of 20 supports the work of the Nebraska State Bar Association.
Other programs affiliated with the NSBA are Nebraska Continuing Legal Education, Inc., which offers educational seminars to enhance attorneys' ability to serve the public good; the Nebraska State Bar Foundation, which uses attorney gifts and pledges to support educational and charitable activities; and the Nebraska Lawyers Trust Account Foundation, which helps fund the state's three legal services programs by collecting and disbursing interest on lawyers trust accounts (IOLTA) monies.
The Association is governed by a 74-member House of Delegates,
the official policy-making body of the profession; and by an Executive
Council consisting of one delegate elected from each of Nebraska's
six Supreme Court districts, a chair and chair-elect elected by
the House of Delegates, and a president, president-elect, president-elect
designate and immediate past president elected by the profession
at large.
Included are the Rules of Governing of the NSBA (pdf
file), and the Bylaws Governing the NSBA (pdf
file).
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