2007 bar fee set at $400

At its August meeting, the State Bar Board of Governors set fees for 2007 at the level approved last year by the legislature in a two-year dues bill: $400 for active lawyers and $125 for those who are inactive. The fees represent an increase of $5 for active members and $10 for inactive lawyers.

Fee statements for 2007 will be sent to all members on Nov. 15. The deadline for payment is Feb. 1, and a $100 penalty will attach to dues not postmarked by that date (see story above).

Attorneys who change their status from active to inactive must notify the bar of the change by Feb. 1 to be eligible for the inactive fee for 2007.

The largest portion of the fee — $340 — goes into the bar’s general fund, with more than 80 percent underwriting the bar’s discipline system. The Client Security Fund receives $40 and the building fund and the Lawyer Assistance Program are allotted $10 each. Lawyers also can deduct $5 for the bar’s lobbying activities and $5 for elimination of bias programs.

Members eligible to scale dues and who pay by Feb. 1 are entitled to a 25 percent reduction in their fees.

The fee statement also will offer the option of joining one or more of the bar’s sections as well as making donations to the Foundation of the State Bar, the Conference of Dele-gates of California Bar Associations and the Supreme Court Historical Society.

Members may pay their 2007 fees online with no bank charge.