A recent Supreme Court rule change opens the door for State Bar members to pay their annual court assessments and dues online.
April 19, 2017 – This spring, for the first time, fully enrolled State Bar of Wisconsin members in good standing have the option of paying their court assessments and dues online from a computer or mobile device with a credit card.
Who Can Pay Court Assessments and Dues Online?
Fully enrolled attorneys in good standing – those who have a Bar card – may pay online.
You cannot pay your dues online if:
- You are a new member who will join on or before July 1, 2017;
- You want to change your name or membership status;
- Your membership is suspended; or
- Your office would like to pay for firm members in bulk.
Why Now? A Rule Change
Members have asked for the ability to pay their dues online for some time. However, Supreme Court Rules previously required the State Bar to collect bank institution trust account numbers on the certificate included with the dues statement. The level of security needed to electronically store those bank account numbers was cost prohibitive for the State Bar, and doing so was not viewed as an industry best practice.
A newly revised Supreme Court Rule – 20:1.15, the trust account rule or e-banking rule – went into effect July 1, 2016. The change presented an opportunity for the State Bar to collect assessments and dues online. Under the revised rule, attorneys are no longer required to submit bank account numbers, only the names, addresses, and phone numbers of the institutions.
All State Bar credit card payments are processed by a PCI-compliant third-party vendor.
Look for Your Statement in the Mail in Early May
This year, all members will receive their statements via the USPS. You may choose to pay using the printed statement or logging into WisBar.org to pay online.
Look for more information about your 2017-18 assessments and dues in the May 3 issue of InsideTrack. Be sure to pay by July 1 to avoid late fees.
Questions? Contact Customer Service at service@wisbar.org, (800) 728-7788, or (608) 257-3838.