Inactive status is for those members who are eligible for active status but are not currently practicing law in Wisconsin and have filed a written request for inactive status. There are no continuing legal education requirements during the time you are on the inactive status.
State Bar dues and Supreme Court assessments are one-half of the full active rate. Inactive members are exempt from the Wisconsin Lawyers' Fund for Client Protection and Public Interest Legal Services Fund assessments. Inactive members still receive member benefits. If you are an active member and claim the exemption on the continuing legal education form, this does not change your membership status to inactive. Likewise, checking the box on your annual dues statement that indicates you are not practicing law does not change you to inactive status. Making a written request to the State Bar is the only way to make a change to inactive status. A written request can include modifying your annual dues statement by crossing out your current member type and writing "inactive" on the form.
To become an active member, you'll need to receive authorization from the Board of Bar Examiners. You must contact the Board of Bar Examiners to determine if you have any
make-up CLE requirements you'll be required to complete to receive your authorization. If you've been inactive for more than ten consecutive years, you'll also be required to show proof of an active license from another state within the last ten years or petition the Supreme Court. Once authorized by the Board of Bar Examiners, you'll be able to activate your license with the State Bar of Wisconsin. At the time of activation, you'll need to pay additional
State Bar dues and Supreme Court assessments to bring you up to the active level of payment. Once activated, you will again be subject to the continuing legal education requirements.
If you'll be leaving Wisconsin, there are a few things you should take care of. The first thing you should do is contact the State Bar and inform us of your new mailing address (you may do this online -
click here). This will ensure delivery of important mailings such as your annual dues statement and your continuing legal education mailings. You will also want to determine whether inactive or active status is best for you. Many members retain active status to keep their option of practicing in Wisconsin available at all times. This can be done by paying the active fees each year and complying with the continuing legal education requirements.
If your membership status is "Active" in State Bar records, you must comply with Wisconsin's mandatory continuing legal education requirements. CLE requirements are set by the Wisconsin Supreme Court. The Board of Bar Examiners, an agency of the Supreme Court, monitors lawyer compliance with
SCR Chapter 31, the rules outlining the continuing legal education attendance and reporting requirements for Wisconsin-licensed lawyers. The BBE maintains a
searchable database of approved CLE courses for reference. Active members must complete 30 credits every two calendar years. Three of those 30 hours need to be in approved course work in the area of legal ethics and professional responsibility (EPR). Further information about mandatory continuing legal education requirements can be found in
SCR Chapter 31. Exceptions to the 30 hour requirement are lawyers in their first year of admission, inactive lawyers, emeritus lawyers and judicial members. Active members not currently practicing may also be eligible for an exemption (see next question below). Questions regarding the mandatory CLE program in Wisconsin should be directed to the
Board of Bar Examiners, 110 E. Main St., Room 715, Madison, WI 53703, (608) 266-9760.
If you are living outside of Wisconsin and you did not practice law in the state of Wisconsin during an entire two year reporting cycle or you are living in Wisconsin but not currently practicing, you may be eligible for an exemption from the attendance requirement for that cycle. You will still need to complete the continuing legal education form every two years. The form contains a section where you will be able to claim exemption for that cycle. Further questions on this matter should be directed to the
Board of Bar Examiners.
Yes. If you practice law in Wisconsin during a reporting period, you will need to fulfill the entire 30 hour CLE requirement. This is also true if your practice is primarily pro bono work.
There are no requirements before you can begin practicing in Wisconsin. You need to remember, however, that as soon as you begin practicing in Wisconsin, you'll again be subject to the continuing legal education requirements. You would no longer be eligible for the exemption from credit option you may have previously used. This means you should plan for your activation and allow time to take courses before your next continuing legal education report would be due.
If you are in the military full time, you may request a waiver of your annual State Bar dues, Supreme Court assessments and Wisconsin Lawyers' Fund for Client Protection payment for up to three fiscal years. This written request must be renewed each year when you receive your billing statement. Your continuing legal education requirements would not be affected by your military status. If you are serving in a legal capacity in the military, you are usually required to maintain an active license in at least one state. If you are outside of Wisconsin, the continuing legal education exemption may apply.
The State Bar does not have a retirement status. We do have the emeritus status, which is for members who are at least 70 years of age and have filed a written request with the State Bar for this status. As an emeritus member, you are allowed all of the privileges of an active license, including the right to practice law in Wisconsin. The benefits of the emeritus status include a waiver of State Bar dues, Supreme Court assessments and the Public Interest Legal Services Fund assessment. We are obligated to collect the Wisconsin Lawyers' Fund for Client Protection assessment, in years when there is such an assessment, as emeritus members are licensed to practice law. The other added benefit of emeritus status is the exemption from continuing legal education requirements. Once you are on the State Bar records as an emeritus member, you will no longer be required to take or report continuing legal education requirements. Emeritus status is for any member that has been actively practicing law in the past 2 years, who is over the age of 70.
If you don't pay the annual mandatory fees, your license in Wisconsin will be suspended and you will no longer be eligible to practice in this state without first reinstating your license by paying your back fees plus a $20 penalty. This suspension is also recorded on your permanent file and must be disclosed when applying for licenses in other states. If a member remains suspended for more than three years, their member type will change to Suspended, and reinstatement can be by Supreme Court order only. See
SCR 10.03(6) and (6m).
Attorneys who wish to receive a certificate of good standing should send a request in writing to the
Clerk of the Supreme Court and enclose a check (made out to "Wisconsin Supreme Court") for $3.00 for each certificate requested. The address is:
Clerk of the Supreme Court
110 East Main Street, Suite 215
P.O. Box 1688
Madison, WI 53701-1688
Please include your name, attorney number, and approximate date of admission.
The Supreme Court requires all members to pay State Bar annual dues and Supreme Court assessments each July 1st. Members should plan for this yearly payment to avoid the possibility of suspension for nonpayment of dues and assessments. We also accept credit card payments. If you are still unable to pay the amounts required, you should submit a completed
hardship waiver request form to the State Bar well before July 1 to request a possible hardship waiver. The Executive Director, with the President, will review any hardship cases and may make provisions where there are extreme circumstances. If you have questions about how to submit a hardship request, contact us at (608) 257-3838 or (800) 728-7788 or by email.
If you've considered all of the options available, such as inactive or emeritus status and you still feel that you would like to give up your Wisconsin license, the proper method is to voluntarily resign. This requires completing the voluntary resignation petition linked below and returning it to the State Bar. The Supreme Court must approve all voluntary resignation petitions from members. Voluntary resignation allows you to relinquish your Wisconsin license without the suspension that would occur if you simply chose not to pay your mandatory dues and assessments.
For further information on membership topics, please contact the State Bar by calling (608) 257-3838 or (800) 728-7788 or by email.
For more information on CLE credits and reporting, please contact the Board of Bar Examiners, 110 E. Main St., Room 715, Madison, WI 53703, (608) 266-9760.
In U.S. Supreme Court case
Keller v. State Bar of California, 496 U.S. 1 (1990), and subsequent rulings, mandatory bar associations can use compulsory dues to fund activities “necessarily or reasonably related to the purposes of regulating the legal profession or improving the quality of legal services.” Procedures which implement
Keller are found in Wisconsin SCR 10.03(5)(b)1.
Under
Keller, the State Bar is permitted to fund lobbying and other activities related to these purposes with mandatory dues. But lobbying and other activities not germane to those purposes cannot be funded with the compulsory dues of objecting members.
In February 2018, the State Bar of Wisconsin Board of Governors unanimously adopted a policy to include voluntarily
all direct lobbying activity on policy matters before the Wisconsin State Legislature or the United States Congress within the
Keller rebate calculation, even lobbying activity deemed germane to regulating the legal profession and improving the quality of legal services.
The State Bar of Wisconsin annually calculates the
Keller dues rebate amount – the amount used for activities that cannot be funded with mandatory dues – and objecting members can choose to withhold the rebate amount on their annual dues statements.
To find more detailed information for members,
visit the Maintaining Your Membership page under the
forMembers section (login required).
