FLORIDA BAR MEMBERS FACE AUGUST 17 FEE PAYMENT DEADLINE

The latest figures show that just under 20,000 Florida Bar members have yet to renew their annual memberships. Those members have until August 17 to complete the fee process before a $50 late fee is assessed. Each year, thousands of members are ultimately deemed delinquent for failing to pay their fees or complete the required trust accounting certification.

The quickest and easiest way to pay is online by signing into the Member Portal at member.floridabar.org and clicking the “Pay My Fees” button.

Members can pay via credit card or e-check, select voluntary section memberships, and complete mandatory trust account and pro bono reporting — all required to stay in compliance with Bar rules.

Payments that have not been received by August 17 incur the $50 late fee, and those not received by September 30 will result in delinquency status, which requires a petition, full payment, and a $150 reinstatement fee to regain eligibility to practice.

There are also several other fee payment options in place:

• If you want to pay by phone, call 850-561-5831, option 4.

• Law firms wishing to make a single payment for multiple attorney members should email [email protected] to receive instructions on the Bar’s firm batch procedure. Critical to that process is the requirement that each member must go on the portal, answer the required questions, and then print the completed form to mail in.

• Members can log into their portal account and answer the required questions and print out the form and then mail in a check.  This process is preferrable as it lets the Bar know a payment is being transmitted.

• Lastly, members can still return the pre-printed statements that were mailed near the end of May. Using the pre-printed form and mailing in checks is the least desirable option at this late date.  This option is likely to result in a late fee assessment being applied, which could require a second payment or potential delinquency resolution.

Before you start the payment process, you should gather the information you will need to successfully complete the required trust account certificate and the pro bono reporting sections. These two mandatory sections are located on the front of the hard-copy fee statement and incorporated into the online version as well. All members must complete those two sections to avoid being considered not in compliance with existing rules. If you are paying online, you cannot complete the payment process without answering the questions.

To provide clarification, the Supreme Court added subdivision (a)(7) to Rule 1‑3.6 (Delinquent Members), establishing that a Florida lawyer who fails to file the annual trust account certificate required by Chapter 5 will be considered delinquent and ineligible to practice law. Once a member has been delinquent for five years, they must request readmission through the Florida Board of Bar Examiners and be approved by the Supreme Court of Florida. To eliminate confusion, the trust account question responses have been revised to include a response that allows members who do not receive or hold funds to select so that those individuals are considered to be compliant with the rules. See the three responses available for selection:

• I am required to maintain a trust account and I am in compliance with the trust account and property safekeeping rules.

• I am not required to maintain a trust account because I do not receive or hold funds or property from clients or third parties in connection with legal representation in Florida.

• I am not in compliance with the trust account and property safekeeping rules.

If you mark the third option, you must email the Bar’s Lawyer Regulation Division at [email protected] with information explaining the way in which you failed to comply with the trust account and/or the safekeeping property rules.

Thousands of Bar members fail to complete the trust accounting certificate each year and are, thus, deemed delinquent and ineligible to practice. Returning to an eligible status requires members to submit additional paperwork and fees and may result in the rejection of court filings.

Members with questions on how to answer the trust accounting certification may call the Ethics Hotline at 800-235-8619 or read the trust account certificate instructions.