By an order dated April 16, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court enacted amendments to the Rules of Disciplinary Enforcement affecting the commonwealth’s roughly 27,000 inactive attorneys. The court’s April 16 order includes three major changes, all of which became effective May 1: First, the court created a new category of “administrative suspension” for attorneys who fail to pay their annual fees or submit their annual registration forms or meet their CLE requirements; second, the court formalized and streamlined the reinstatement process for attorneys who wish to return to practice after less than three years of being on inactive status; and, third, the court instituted a new, $70 annual fee for attorneys who wish to assume or remain on voluntary inactive status.
Rule 219 of the Pennsylvania Rules of Disciplinary Enforcement states that every active attorney admitted to practice law in the commonwealth must submit an annual registration form and pay an annual fee of $140 to the Attorney Registration Office. Before the rule change, there was no distinction between being voluntarily inactive and being forced into inactivity by court order for failure to comply with the rule. Under the new version of the rule, an attorney licensed to practice in the commonwealth who wishes to be placed on voluntary inactive status must file a notice of intent to assume inactive status with the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts. However, an attorney who fails to submit the registration form or pay the annual fee, will be deemed to have requested to be placed on administrative suspension. In the event of continued nonpayment, “the name of the attorney will be certified to the Supreme Court, which will enter an order administratively suspending the attorney,” as noted in Pa. R.D.E. 219(f)(1).
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