We got an interesting response from a recent grad on our post about the Minnesota Supreme Court raising attorney registration fees by $100 to help fund Legal Aid and Public Defense.
This is exactly what those of us who cannot find jobs need: more fees on top of our useless law degrees. Thanks.
Leaving aside the controversial question of whether or not a law degree is in fact “useless” to someone who can’t find a job, the comment does bring up a point to ponder — the cost of maintaining a law license. First of all, it’s worth pointing out that the added $100 does not hit with full force for lawyers, such as the commenter, with less than three years of practice under their belt. The less-than-three years rate increased a mere 22 percent — from $100 to $122. For most lawyers (who want to keep their licenses active, anyway) the annual fee went from $217 to $317 (a 46 percent increase). There are discounts available for those in the military full time or making less than $25,000. Other options include putting your license on inactive status ($260 a year rather than $317) or permanently retiring (free). The added $100 is only supposed to last two years (i.e. for the current budget cycle.)
Everyone in the bar knows that the real money invested in keeping your law license active in Minnesota is in paying for continuing legal education classes. Attorneys are required to log 45 credits in CLE hours each three-year reporting period. An average price of those CLEs would be somewhere around $60 a credit for many programs (i.e. $180 for a three-credit CLE). At that rate, an attorney would expend $2,700 a reporting period (or $900 a year) on CLE courses alone. It’s worth mentioning there are some excellent lower cost CLE alternatives, such as the Hennepin County Bar Association’s One Card program.
Then there are dues to bar associations if you opt to join one. To join the Minnesota State Bar Association, you also have to join your local district bar association. If you live in Hennepin County, you would pay the HCBA and MSBA dues, which combined come to more than $400 for more experienced members of the bar (assuming one of the groups’ various discounts does not apply).
The state Supreme Court wants you to aspire to do 50 pro bono hours a year, which does not generally put you out-of-pocket, but does carry with it the potential for some lost opportunity costs. (Even at a modest $150/ hour, that’s $7,500).
Then of course there are additional fees to be a member of the bar of a federal court or of another jurisdiction.
I could go on (I haven’t even mentioned costs of doing business like maintaining IOLTA records, purchasing malpractice insurance, etc.), but you get my drift. Being an attorney in Minnesota has become a rather pricey proposition.
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I agree with the sentiment re “useless degree.” Did you see how little of a discount you receive for the “low income” (under $25,000)? About $20! Yeah, that helps sooo awfully much!
Hey, $20 is good for a pizza or two (just in time for the holidays!)
Seriously though, you have put your finger on a good point. I could never figure out how those “low income” discounts (being so small) were supposed to help. You are still requiring someone to pay nearly $300 when he/she might be better off burning his/her law license for heat.
The only real discount worth having is the one for newer lawyers, but even that one is no doubt quickly eaten up by student loan interest …
As for CLE expenses, I don’t know about the other law schools, but if you are a Hamline grad you get free CLE credits for auditing any law school class. I earned a ton of free credits auditing Fred Grittner’s Jurisprudence class, with auditing simply meaning doing the reading, showing up, and participating to the degree one desires.
Really? You’re really griping about this? I’m not a lawyer, but I’ve had to pay a lawyer on several occasions. From the rates I’ve been charged, an afternoon of writing letters should cover all your fees and education costs for the year.
FYI: Mitchell instituted the same policy as Hamline this year. You just have to wait until the students register & perchance the class is still open…you can take it. It is a pain to drive over for a two hour course, but the CLE Board told me I get an hour of CLE credit for each hour I spend in the classroom.
Good ol’ doc review! Sad thing is the “going rate” was $25 in 2001…and now it is…$25. Lovely, especially when you come across billing records that show you are billed to the client at over $250.
And, no…I am not a moron & incapable of real legal work, just a poor solo parent who slipped into the “sweat shop” and was unable to catch a break to get out.
BTW HeyMikey…shut the f up. what are you doing on this website, anyway? it is a lawyer blog.
@poorlawyergoddess:
I agree that the fees for lawyers should be better apportioned by income versus years of practice, along with bar membership fees.
Many of my fellow graduates (2007) have hung shingles, and have found that with hustle and perseverence, they can make a decent “second income’ from practice. Very few are raking it in, and only some can go full time. However, even very modest numbers of clients can support making a couple thousand a month in gross income. The fees become then a much smaller part of the equation. What I’m saying is this; Consider practicing part time for a few years while growing your own practice, you’ll be rewarded in many ways.
@HeyMikey, while I doubt you’ll be back to this log, I wonder why you feel jaded about your experience. I suggest to you that lawyer fees vary considerably. There are $100 per hour attorneys, and $500 per hour attorneys. I have tried in my own practice to keep fees very reasonable, flat fee for clients where possible, and bill in 6 minute increments to reduce hourly billings where necessary. I take credit cards, and do my best to only charge necessary time, to help private clients afford my bills.
However, this is how attorneys make a living. All we have to sell is experience and time is one way to bill that experience. We have at least seven years of expensive post-high school education, which must be paid somehow.
I prefer working with clients for fixed fees where possible, and good lawyers are in it for the long run with clients. I invest in my future clients by reducing the fees I bid if I know they are seeking a counsellor, not just a lawyer. Do research and find the right lawyer for you, and you won’t feel ripped off.