Feb. 1 deadline for fee payment, MCLE
compliance
Members of the State
Bar have until Feb. 1 to pay their annual fees of $410 for
active lawyers and $125 for inactive lawyers.
The 2013 dues bill includes
contributions to the Client Security Fund, disciplinary activities, the Lawyer
Assistance Program, the building fund and technology upgrades. Fees are waived
for inactive attorneys who are 70 years old on Feb. 1.
Those lawyers whose last names start
with A-to-G (Group 1) also have a Feb. 1 deadline to report completion of their
25 hours of Minimum Continuing Legal Education (MCLE).
Dues can be paid and MCLE compliance can
be reported online by logging on to My State Bar
Profile.
Failure to pay fees by the deadline will
trigger a $100 late payment penalty for active lawyers and a $30 penalty for
inactive attorneys.
Lawyers also have the opportunity to
donate to the Justice Gap Fund (recommended
donation $100), the California
Bar Foundation ($50
recommended donation), the Conference
of California Bar Associations (CCBA — $35 recommended donation) and
the California
Supreme Court Historical Society (CSCHS — a $25 donation is
recommended). In addition, they can deduct $5 for lobbying, $5 for the
elimination of bias fund and another $20 — with an option to donate that amount
to legal services.
Active lawyers with qualifying income
levels are eligible for a 25 percent reduction in the membership fee. To
qualify, a lawyer must declare a total gross annual individual income from all
sources of less than $40,000 in 2012.