Bar dues bill goes to Senate

The State Bar fee bill, requiring that active attorneys pay annual dues of $410 next year, was expected to be considered by the full Senate late last month. It was approved by the Assembly earlier. The measure, AB 3049, also will increase dues for inactive lawyers from $115 to $125.

The $10 increase over last year’s fee comes in a five-year building assessment fee to fund bar facilities in southern California. The bar will either lease new space or purchase or build a new building when its current Los Angeles lease expires in 2014.

The base fee for active lawyers is $315. Additional assessments include $40 for the Client Security Fund, $25 for the disciplinary system, $10 for the lawyer assistance program and $10 for technology. The measure requires the bar to report to the legislature on its progress in implementing better technology.

It continues to permit lawyers to deduct $5 each from the bar’s lobbying efforts and diversity programs.

Bar dues topped out at $478 in the mid-1990s and have declined since then. Without an increase, the bar projects a deficit of approximately $3 million in 2010.