Article III - Membership Fees and PenaltiesSection 1. Annual Dues.(a)Active Members. The annual membership fee for an active member is the amount approved by the Board, $10.00 of which is allocated to the Lawyers' Fund for Client Protection. The annual membership fee for an active member, who is 70 years of age or more and who has practiced law in Alaska for a total of 25 years or more, is one half of the total amount assessed to each active member, $10.00 of which is allocated to the Lawyers' Fund for Client Protection. No annual membership fee shall be assessed to an active member who has been admitted to the Association for a total of 60 years or more. Active members who provide 400 hours or more of pro bono services in a calendar year (January through December) as confirmed by the Alaska Pro Bono Program, or as approved by the Alaska Bar Association Pro Bono Service Committee, may pay 30% of the annual active fee for the membership year immediately following the year these services were provided subject to the following limitations:
1) the request for 30% active dues must be made in writing no later than February 1st; and 2) confirmation by the Alaska Pro Bono Program, or approval by the Alaska Bar Association Pro Bono Service Committee, must be provided to the Bar Association no later than February 1st. (b)Inactive Members. The annual membership fee for an inactive member is one third of the total amount assessed to each active member. (c)Retired and Honorary Members. There is no membership fee for a retired or honorary member. (d)Notice. Failure to receive notice of the annual membership fees does not relieve any active or inactive member of the duty to timely comply with the requirements of this Article. (e)Waiver. The Board of Governors may waive the payment of a member's annual membership fee upon a sufficient showing of hardship, as defined in paragraph (f). (f)Hardship. For the purposes of this section, "hardship" means an economic inability to pay dues as the result of a medical condition, mental condition, or an involuntary change in economic status. (g)Proof of Hardship. Unless waived by the Board, a member requesting a waiver of dues must submit the following information to the Board: (1) an affidavit by the member detailing the nature of the hardship and the reasons the member is unable to pay membership dues, (2) a copy of the member's last two federal tax returns with supporting schedules, and (3) a detailed listing, including estimated values, of all real property and personal property of the member and a detailed listing of all outstanding debts. Section 2. Payment of Fees; Due Dates.Annual membership fees are due and payable on or before February 1 of each year; however, an active member, who does not qualify for reduced dues under section 1(a), may pay his or her annual membership fees in two installments. The first installment is due and payable on or before February 1 and the second installment is due and payable on or before July 1. A $25.00 charge shall be assessed against the active member for the installment service and shall be included in the amount of the first payment.
Section 3. Delinquent and Suspended Members.(a)Delinquent Payment Penalties. Any member failing to pay his or her membership fees when due shall, during the period of time in which the fees remain unpaid, be subject to a penalty of $10.00 per week of delinquency. For purposes of determining the appropriate penalty assessment, each fraction of a week shall be considered a whole week. In no instance may the penalty assessed for delinquent payment exceed $160.00. (b)Suspension for Nonpayment. Thirty days after the due date of the membership fees, the delinquent member shall be notified in writing, by certified or registered mail, that the Executive Director will, in 30 additional days, petition the Alaska Supreme Court for an order suspending the delinquent member from membership in the Alaska Bar for nonpayment of the appropriate membership fees and any late payment penalties due and owing. The notice is sufficient if mailed to the address last furnished to the Association by the delinquent member. Following notice by the Bar to the delinquent member of his or her suspension by the Supreme Court, the Executive Director shall immediately notify the clerks of court of the member's name and the date of his or her suspension for nonpayment of the appropriate membership fees and penalties. Members suspended for nonpayment may not engage in the practice of law while suspended, nor are they entitled to any of the privileges and benefits otherwise accorded to active or inactive members of the Alaska Bar in good standing. Suspended members who engage in the practice of law are subject to appropriate discipline under Part II of the Bar Rules. (c)Reinstatement. Any suspended member whose suspension for nonpayment has been in effect for less than one year, upon payment of all accrued fees and late payment penalties, shall be reinstated as a member of the Alaska Bar upon certification by the Executive Director to the Alaska Supreme Court and the clerks of court that the fees and penalties have been paid. Any member who has been suspended for one year or more, upon a determination of character and fitness to practice law as provided in Alaska Bar Rule 2, Section 1(d) by the Board, in accordance with Board Policy, and upon payment of all accrued membership fees, in addition to a penalty of $160.00, shall be reinstated as a member of the Alaska Bar upon certification by the Executive Director to the Alaska Supreme Court and the clerks of court that the member has the character and fitness to practice law as provided in Alaska Bar Rule 2, Section 1(d) and that the requisite dues and penalties have been paid. Section 4. Required Fee for Other Attorneys.The required fee for other attorneys under Civil Rule 81(a)(2) is the amount required for active members under Section 1 of the Bylaws per case per year until the attorney notifies the Alaska Bar Association that the case in which the attorney is participating is closed or the attorney has withdrawn from the case.
Section 5. Dues Expenditure Policy; Objection(s) to Expenditure(s).(a)Board Policy Concerning Expenditure of Dues. It is the general policy of the Board to restrict the disbursement of dues to expenditures necessarily or reasonably incurred for the purpose of regulating the legal profession in Alaska or improving the quality of legal services available to the people of Alaska. These expenditures are considered "chargeable" within the meaning of Keller v. State Bar of California, 496 U.S. 1, 110 L.Ed.2d 1, 110 S.Ct. 2228 (1990). To the extent that any member objects to the disbursement of dues for reason that the member believes the expenditure to be "nonchargeable," the member must file an objection as provided in subparagraphs (d) and (e). However, the Board, upon a vote of three quarters of the members of the full Board, may approve the disbursement of dues for expenditures which are considered "nonchargeable" within the meaning of Keller v. State Bar of California. If the Board disburses funds for "nonchargeable" expenditures, notice of the expenditure(s) shall be given in the official publication of the Bar and a member may request, in writing to the Executive Director, an appropriate dues refund within sixty (60) days of such notice. The dues refund, which shall be determined by the Board, shall be limited to that pro-rata amount of a member's dues reasonably related to any costs actually incurred with regard to the "nonchargeable" activity. To the extent that any member objects to the determination of the amount of the expenditure, the member must proceed under subparagraph (e).
(b)Publication of Annual Budget. Following approval by the Board, the annual budget of the Bar shall be published in the official publication of the Bar, and shall otherwise be distributed to ensure notice to all dues-paying members. In addition, copies of the approved annual budget shall be available to members upon request. (c)Information in Dues Notices. Dues notices sent to members shall reference: (1) the publication of the annual budget of the Bar in the official publication of the Bar and advise members that they may obtain a copy of the budget upon request, and (2) that members may review the approved minutes of the Board at the Bar office and obtain a copy of the approved minutes upon request. (d)Time for Filing Objection(s). A member's objection to the expenditure of dues by the Board must be received by the Executive Director or postmarked within sixty (60) days of the publication of the Board action in the official publication of the Bar. (e)Arbitration of Objection(s) to Expenditure(s). Upon receipt of a timely objection to an expenditure, the President of the Board shall appoint a hearing master to consider the objection, utilizing the procedures provided in Bar Rule 7. All objections to expenditure(s) shall be consolidated in a single proceeding, where possible. The Bar shall have the burden of proving by a preponderance of the evidence that the expenditure(s) objected to are "chargeable." In addition, the President shall direct the Executive Director to determine the amount of the expenditure(s) reasonably in dispute involving the objecting member(s) and shall order that amount to be held in an interest-bearing escrow account pending final determination by the Board, or if appealed, by the Alaska Supreme Court.
If the hearing master determines that an objection to an expenditure has been frivolously made, the hearing master may assess costs associated with the proceeding against the member(s) filing the frivolous objection(s).
Alaska Bylaws. Bar. Asso., art. III