(1) Registration Statement Required. Every attorney admitted to, or engaging in, the practice of law in this Commonwealth, within three months of becoming subject to this chapter and annually thereafter, shall file with the Board a registration statement setting forth his or her current residence and office addresses, and such other information as this court may from time to time direct, including the date of his or her admission to the bar of this court and of each admission to practice in each other jurisdiction, including each Federal court and each administrative body. The statement shall disclose whether the attorney is in good standing in each such jurisdiction, and, if not in good standing in any jurisdiction, it shall contain an explanation of the circumstances. The Board may adopt rules and regulations establishing a system of staggered annual registrations, and in order to implement such a system may provide for a transition period during which different attorneys may be required to file registration statements at different times and with different expiration dates, so that thereafter all annual registrations will not expire on the same date. In addition to such registration statement, every attorney shall file a supplemental statement of any change in the information previously submitted within thirty days of such change. Within twenty days of the receipt of a registration statement or supplement thereto filed by an attorney, the Board shall acknowledge receipt thereof in order to enable the attorney on request to demonstrate compliance with the requirement of this rule.
 
(1A) Foreign Legal Consultants. Every person licensed to practice in this Commonwealth as a foreign legal consultant pursuant to Rule 3:05, within three months of becoming subject to this chapter and annually thereafter, shall file with the Board a registration statement setting forth his or her current residence and office addresses, and such other information as this court may from time to time direct, including the date of his or her license to practice as a foreign legal consultant and of each admission to practice in each other jurisdiction including each foreign court. The original statement and each annual statement shall provide a document establishing that the foreign legal consultant is in good standing in each such jurisdiction, and, if not in good standing in any jurisdiction, it shall contain an explanation of the circumstances. In addition to such registration statement, every foreign legal consultant shall file a supplemental statement of any change in the information previously submitted within thirty days of such change. Foreign legal consultants shall be subject to the provisions of Rule 4:03 and subsections (2), (3), (4), and (5) of this Rule.

(2) Designation of IOLTA Account. Each attorney shall, as part of the annual filing required by subsection (1) of this rule and on forms provided by the Board for this purpose, specify the name, account number and depository of his or her IOLTA account. The Board shall transmit information regarding attorneys' IOLTA accounts to the Supreme Judicial Court and to the IOLTA Committee established by the Court.

(2A) Professional Liability Insurance Disclosure (a) Each attorney shall, as part of the annual filing required by subsection (1) of this rule and on forms provided by the Board for this purpose, certify whether he or she is currently covered by professional liability insurance. Each attorney currently registered as active in the practice of law in this Commonwealth who reports being covered by professional liability insurance shall notify the Board in writing within thirty days if the insurance policy providing coverage lapses or terminates for any reason without immediate renewal or replacement with substitute coverage.

(b) The foregoing shall be certified by each attorney in such form as may be prescribed by the Board. The information submitted pursuant to this subsection will be made available to the public by such means as may be designated by the Board.

(c) Any attorney who fails to comply with this subsection may, upon petition filed by the bar counsel or the Board, be suspended from the practice of law until such time as the attorney complies. Supplying false information or failure to notify the Board of lapse or termination of insurance coverage as required by this subsection shall subject the attorney to appropriate disciplinary action.

(3) Failure to File. Any attorney who fails to file the statement or any supplement thereto in accordance with the requirements of subsections (1), (1A), (2), and (2A) above shall be subject to suspension in accordance with the procedures set forth in Rule 4:03.

(4) Inactive Status.(a) Any attorney may advise the Board in writing that he or she desires to assume inactive status and to discontinue the practice of law in this Commonwealth.  Upon the filing of such notice, the attorney shall continue to file annual registration statements for as long as he or she remains on inactive status, but shall no longer be eligible to practice law in this Commonwealth, except to provide pro bono publico legal services in accordance with Rule 4:02(8)(a).  Any inactive attorney shall pay the fee imposed pursuant to Rule 4:03 for inactive attorneys.
(b) Upon the filing of a notice that he or she wishes to assume inactive status, an attorney shall be removed from the rolls of those classified as active until and unless he or she requests reinstatement to the active rolls and pays for the year of reinstatement the fee imposed pursuant to Rule 4:03 for active attorneys.

(5) Retirement.(a) Any attorney may advise the Board in writing that he or she desires to retire from the bar and to discontinue the practice of law in this Commonwealth. Upon the filing of such notice, the attorney shall no longer be eligible to practice law in this Commonwealth but shall continue to file registration statements for three years thereafter in order that he or she can be located in the event complaints are made about his or her conduct while he or she was engaged in practice in this Commonwealth.  A retired attorney may provide pro bono publico legal services in accordance with Rule 4:02(8)(b).  A retired attorney providing such services shall file annual registration statements as provided in that Rule.  Any retired attorney will be relieved from the payment of the fees imposed pursuant to Rule 4:03.

(b) Upon the filing of a notice that he or she wishes to retire from the bar, an attorney shall be removed from the rolls of those classified as active until and unless he or she requests reinstatement to the active rolls and pays the fee imposed pursuant to Rule 4:03 for active attorneys for each of the years during which he or she was retired from the bar.

(6) Judicial Status.(a) Any attorney who sits as a judge of any state or Federal court may advise the Board in writing that he or she is a sitting judge and desires to discontinue the practice of law in this Commonwealth. Upon the filing of such a notice, the attorney will be placed on judicial status and will be relieved from the payment of the fees imposed pursuant to Rule 4:03.
(b) Upon the filing of a notice that he or she has left the bench and wishes to be reinstated to the active rolls and upon payment for the year of reinstatement of the fee imposed pursuant to Rule 4:03 for active attorneys, an attorney on judicial status shall be so reinstated.

(7) Clerk Status.(a) Any "clerk-magistrate," as defined in Canon 1 of Supreme Judicial Court Rule 3:12, and any Federal clerk of court, chief deputy clerk and deputy clerk may advise the Board in writing that he or she is a clerk. Upon the filing of such a notice, the attorney will be placed on clerk status and will be relieved from the payment of the fees imposed pursuant to Rule 4:03.
(b) Upon the filing of a notice that he or she is no longer a clerk and wishes to be reinstated to the active rolls and upon payment for the year of reinstatement of the fee imposed pursuant to Rule 4:03 for active attorneys, an attorney on clerk status shall be so reinstated.

(8) Pro Bono Status.(a) Any attorney admitted to the practice of law in the Commonwealth who has assumed inactive status in accordance with Rule 4:02(4) but who wishes to provide pro bono publico legal services without compensation or expectation of compensation as described in Rule 6.1 of the Massachusetts Rules of Professional Conduct (S.J.C. Rule 3:07) may advise the Board by filing an appropriate annual registration statement that he or she will limit his or her legal practice to providing pro bono publico legal services under the auspices of an approved legal services organization, as defined below.  The annual registration statement shall indicate whether the attorney is, or was at the time he or she assumed inactive status, the subject of any pending grievance or disciplinary charge and shall be signed by an authorized representative of the approved legal services organization under whose auspices the attorney will provide services. Unless the Board of Bar Overseers objects, the attorney may begin providing pro bono services after filing such a statement.

(b) Any attorney admitted to the practice of law in the Commonwealth who has retired from the bar and discontinued the practice of law in this Commonwealth in accordance with Rule 4:02(5) may advise the Board by filing an appropriate annual registration statement that he or she will limit his or her legal practice to providing pro bono publico legal services without compensation or expectation of compensation as described in Rule 6.1 of the Massachusetts Rules of Professional Conduct (S.J.C. Rule 3:07) under the auspices of an approved legal services organization, as defined below.  The annual registration statement shall indicate whether the attorney is, or was at the time he or she retired, the subject of any pending grievance or disciplinary charge and shall be signed by an authorized representative of an approved legal services organization under whose auspices the attorney will provide services.  Unless the Board of Bar Overseers objects, the attorney may begin providing pro bono services after filing such a statement.

(c) For purposes of this Rule, an approved legal services organization shall include a pro bono publico legal services program sponsored by a court-annexed program, a bar association, a Massachusetts law school, or a not-for-profit organization that provides legal services to persons of limited means and that receives funding from the federal Legal Services Corporation, the Massachusetts Legal Assistance Corporation, the Massachusetts Bar Foundation, the Boston Bar Foundation, or the Women's Bar Foundation, and in addition, shall include any not-for-profit legal services organization designated as an approved legal services organization after petition to the Supreme Judicial Court.
 

Adopted June, 1974, effective Sept. 1, 1974; amended July 28, 1976, effective Sept. 1, 1976; Aug. 10, 1978, effective Sept. 1, 1978; amended effective July 18, 1979; amended Sept. 26, 1989, effective Jan. 1, 1990; May 25, 1993, effective Sept. 1, 1993; December 3, 1993, effective September 1, 1993, July 21,2004, effective January 1, 2005

(1) Every attorney required to register in accordance with Rule 4:02, other than a retired attorney, sitting judge, clerk-magistrate as defined in Canon 1 of Supreme Judicial Court Rule 3:12, Federal clerk of court, chief deputy clerk and deputy clerk, or suspended attorney, shall pay an annual fee as established by the court from time to time, which shall be paid to the Board with the registration statement required under Rule 4:02. The fee so paid subject to any applicable orders of this court shall be used to defray the costs of attorney registration and disciplinary enforcement, to provide funds for the operation of the Clients’ Security Board and Fund established under Rule 4:04, to provide funds for the operation of the Massachusetts lawyers assistance programs provided by Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers, Inc. (LCL), and for such other purposes as the Board, with the approval of the court, from time to time shall determine.

(2) To any attorney who, without permission from the Board, fails to pay the fee required under subsection (1) above within thirty days, the Board shall mail a letter by first-class mail to the addresses furnished on the last registration statement filed as required by Rule 4:02, notifying the attorney of his or her failure to pay the required fee and that, if within fifteen days from the date of the mailing of the letter the attorney shall fails to pay the fee, there shall be added to the fee a late assessment of fifty dollars. If within forty-five days from the date of the mailing of the letter, he or she shall fails to pay the fee, the Board shall mails a certified or registered letter to the last known business address and a letter by first-class mail to the last known residential address, notifying the attorney of his or her failure to pay, and shall file a petition for the attorney’s suspension with the Clerk of this court for Suffolk County.

(3) Any attorney suspended under the provisions of subsection (2) above shall become subject to the provisions of Rule 4:01, Section 17(4), upon entry of the suspension order, and if not reinstated within thirty days after entry shall become subject to the other provision of said Section 17. As a condition precedent to reinstatement, such attorney shall file with the Board an affidavit stating the extent to which he or she has complied with applicable provisions of Rule 4:01, Section 17, and shall pay all arrears due from the date of the last payment to the date of his or her request for reinstatement, including the late assessment of fifty dollars required under subsection (2) above, and shall also pay to the Board a penalty of one hundred dollars.

Adopted June 3, 1974, effective Sept. 1, 1974; amended Sept. 17, 1975, effective Jan. 1, 1976; July 28, 1976, effective Sept. 1, 1976; Sept. 23, 1977, effective Sept. 1, 1977, Aug. 10, 1978, effective Sept. 1, 1978; July 29, 1980, effective Sept. 1, 1980; amended effective Feb. 1, 1993; amended May 25, 1993, effective Sept. 1, 1993; December 3, 1993, effective September 1, 1993; amended effective Oct 2, 1995.

Order Regarding Annual Fees

ORDERED: Effective September 1, 2006, the annual fee provided for in Rule 4:03 is established at the following rates for attorneys engaging in the practice of law in the Commonwealth: $220.00 for those admitted to the bar for five or fewer years as of September 1, 2006; $20.00 for those admitted to the bar for more than fifty years as of such date, and $300.00 for all other active attorneys. For each attorney who chooses inactive status, the annual fee shall be one-half of the fee he or she would pay if active. There shall be no fee for attorneys who retire from the practice of law, sitting judges, clerk-magistrates, as defined in Canon 1 of Supreme Judicial court Rule 3:12, and Federal clerks of court, chief deputy clerks and deputy clerks.

ORDERED: ORDERED: Effective September 2006, the annual fee provided in Rule 4:03 for persons licensed to practice in this Commonwealth as foreign legal consultants shall be $300.00.