Broward County Bar Association | Phone: (954) 764-8040
Broward County Bar Association began over 75 years ago, when several Broward County lawyers decided it was time to form an association. On June 7, 1956, a Charter was filed in Broward County Circuit Court under the name Broward County Bar Association at Official Records Book 653, pages 76 though 79.
The first annual meeting of the BCBA was held at the Middle River Inn in Fort Lauderdale in 1926, with about 35 members attending the dinner, including visiting attorneys from Ohio and New York. (The population in Broward County was approximately 5,000. There are now more laywers in Broward County (around 8,000 in 2008) than people in 1920!
On December 20, 1962, the Association passed an Amendment to Article IV of the Association. On January 14, 1963, the Charter with the Amendment of Article VI was filed with the Secretary of State. The Amendment eliminated the office of Sergeant-at-Arms and created the office of Past President. It also provided the the Association’s Executive Committee would consist of not less than five nor more than 15 members of the Association.
The Association maintained the status quo until March 26, 1965, when it again amended the Charter, adding “Inc.” to the name of the Association and adding as the Association’s purpose: “To maintain the honor and dignity of the legal profession; to regulate the practice of and promote improvements in the law and in the methods of its administration; to educate its members and the general public in matters pertaining to the law and to the legal profession; to promote knowledge and understanding of the legal profession; and to cultivate professional ethics and social intercourse among the members of this corporation.”
Again as of August 30, 1967, the Association’s Charter was amended to raise its authority to own real estate to the level of 0,000.
Thirty years later, in May 1997, the Association amended its By-Laws to include a provision for lifetime memberships. And, finally, as of June 11, 2002, the Association again amended its By-Laws to include a provision for associate memberships.
Since its inception the Association has been led by a group of men and women whose names and professional lives are inseparable from the Association’s history. The purpose of this page is to celebrate the lives of those people and to insure that their contributions will never be forgotten. Please celebrate with us the lives and professions of our past presidents.