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WSBA reports rebound in section memberships; launches sections-focused survey
Summary
The Washington State Bar Association told section leaders it has reversed a multi‑year membership decline, from 14,543 section memberships on April 1, 2025 to 15,980 on April 1, 2026, and will deploy a sections‑focused member perception survey in late 2026 to learn how to sustain growth.
At the Washington State Bar Association’s spring section leaders meeting, Advancement Department Director Kevin Plachy reported that total section memberships rose from 14,543 on April 1, 2025 to 15,980 on April 1, 2026.
“That trajectory has started to change,” Plachy said, noting the increase of roughly 1,400 section memberships across WSBA sections. He emphasized that the figure represents total section memberships (some members hold multiple section memberships), not unique members.
Plachy said the member engagement council — a committee of the board of governors that fields a quarterly member perception survey in partnership with the National Business Research Institute — will devote the upcoming quarterly instrument to sections. The sections‑focused survey will ask both members and non‑members what they value about section membership, why some members do not join sections, and what would entice non‑members to join. Plachy said the council expects to deploy that survey in the fourth quarter of 2026 and share results with section leaders.
The council has already solicited initial input from section executive committee officers via a January–February outreach, Plachy said, and staff will circulate final survey materials and findings to help sections tailor recruitment and retention strategies.
What this means for sections: staff encouraged leaders to use the forthcoming data to design outreach and programming that responds to member priorities, and to coordinate with WSBA on publicity and roster requests to support targeted recruitment efforts. The sections team reiterated that rosters can be requested (allow one week for delivery) and that personal outreach — messages on listservs or direct contact — remains a top recruitment tactic.
The meeting packet and follow‑up materials will include contact points for the member engagement council and the sections team so sections can prepare to use the survey results when they are released.
