The State Bar of Michigan’s Representative Assembly this month will consider recommending to the Michigan Supreme Court an increase to the SBM portion of the licensing fee set by the court.
The RA has exclusive authority on behalf of the State Bar to recommend such a change. The vote is scheduled during the RA meeting on Saturday, April 24.
The proposed increase of $80 would take effect with the bar year beginning Oct. 1, 2022.
Michigan’s current attorney license fee of $315 falls below the $362 national average, the State Bar noted, and has not increased in 18 years.
With the proposed increase, Michigan would be in the middle tier or lower nationally for the eight-year period that the fee cycle is expected to
last, according to the SBM.
Recognizing the extreme financial stress that COVID-19 has placed on many attorneys, the SBM said it has undertaken extraordinary measures to extend its operations under the current license fee for yet another bar year.
Without an increase, however, the State Bar said it will not be able to sustain its current level of service to the public and members, both of which it said are crucial to fulfilling the goals of the organization’s strategic plan.
The State Bar explained on its website the various steps taken to cut costs, among them automation of its manual transaction processes and member interactions such as license renewal and new member applications.
In addition, paper, printing, and mailing costs have been reduced by not mailing license fee statements, no longer printing the alphabetical directory, providing a voluntary opt-out of bar cards and the printed Bar Journal, and using more electronic communication.
At the same time, staffing levels and benefits have been carefully controlled. The downsizing and restructuring of the SBM annual meeting are the most recent examples of cost-saving changes, it added.
While SBM collects the entire license fee on behalf of the court, only a portion of it remains with the State Bar.
That portion funds the operation of the State Bar to assist in the regulation of the legal profession and improve the quality of legal services available to Michiganders.
The rest of the license fee is used to fund the Attorney Discipline System and the Client Protection Fund.
“It is only because of SBM’s careful financial management that we did not reach this inevitability years ago,” said RA Chair Chelsea Rebeck said.
Rebeck said that when the current license fee was set in 2003, “today’s 1Ls were in kindergarten.
“ No one expected it to last as long as it has.”
Additional information on the proposed license fee can be obtained by visiting www.michbar.org/generalinfo/licensefeeFAQs.
Those wishing to offer feedback to the full RA ahead of the vote can do so at www.surveymonkey.com/r/HPSSM29.
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