I’m a lawyer and I don’t have a single friend in the legal community who is a member of the ABA. They are just another liberal lobbying group.
Almost the same here. Not a member; because I joined the Law Student section for free as a law student, they still stalk me (apparently using public info from the state bar to track my changing contact info) and telephone-solicit me about every 3 years. The last time I got such a call, the solicitor (obviously following a script in response to my initial NO NO NOs) asked what it would take for me to join, such as free membership for 2 years, etc. I said, “You misunderstand. I affirmatively seek NOT to be affiliated with the ABA. You could pay ME and I still would not say I was a member.” That ended the entreaties.
I have a few acquaintances who are members, as is my72-year-old dad, but they are under no illusions that it’s a neutral trade organization anymore.