Florida Bar fee season underway; online payment encouraged
Fees remain unchanged as members are urged to use the Member Portal for fastest processing
The Florida Bar annual fee season is underway with the traditional early option of paying online by signing into the Member Portal at member.floridabar.org and clicking the “Pay My Fees” button.
This may be paid via credit card or e-check. It is the quickest and easiest way to pay your annual fees, elect voluntary section memberships, and stay in compliance with Bar rules for trust accounting and pro bono reporting.
Fees remain at $265 for active members and $175 for inactive members.
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.
The Bar will begin mailing pre-printed statements near the end of May to any member who has not paid electronically by early May. Using the pre-printed form and mailing in checks is the slowest option and requires extra processing time, so members should not expect to see their payments posted in their portal account for up to four weeks after submission.
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 reinstatement 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 option (3), 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 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.
As members complete the annual fee payment process, incoming Bar President Michael Fox Orr is also outlining a broader focus on member services, professionalism, and support for the practice of law in the year ahead.
Michael Fox Orr
Orr said he is “humbled to have the opportunity to serve you and represent our Bar,” which he says is a national leader in professionalism, innovation, and access to justice.
Michael Fox Orr: ‘During my term, we will continue to focus on investing in you, our members, to help you with the daily practice of law and your ethical duties, which all serve to effectuate our core mission of protecting the public and supporting our independent court system.’
“During my term, we will continue to focus on investing in you, our members, to help you with the daily practice of law and your ethical duties, which all serve to effectuate our core mission of protecting the public and supporting our independent court system,” Orr said. “Our mission will be furthered when we work together to better our system of justice.”
During his term, Orr says he will focus on providing the resources and services members need to be productive and successful as they meet the challenges of profession.
“The Florida Bar has been working for years, and will continue this year, to add value to your membership by providing you with free tools and resources,” said Orr, adding members should take a few minutes to visit FloridaBar.org to browse the member benefits and discounts including free legal research through Fastcase, and other valuable and practical information designed specifically for Florida Bar members. In addition, LegalFuel.com provides practice management and technology tools with 188.5 hours of free CLE (including 89.5 technology hours and 48 hours of ethics).
“I would encourage you to also join or renew your membership in one of the many sections of The Florida Bar,” Orr said. “Section membership and involvement is a wonderful way to access current information and education on specific practice areas and to develop a network of legal leaders across the state.”
Section involvement is voluntary and Orr said it provides great opportunities for leadership experience that can help members grow personally and professionally while working collaboratively to improve the practice of law.
“I hope this next year will be a healthy and happy one for you and your family and that you’ll take advantage of everything The Florida Bar offers to help and support you,” Orr said.