Hardship and Service Waivers

As amended through June 11, 2024
Hardship and Service Waivers
(a) In case of proven extreme hardship, which must entail both physical or mental disability and extreme financial hardship, the Chief Executive Officer may exempt or waive payment of annual membership fees and assessments of an active or inactive member. Hardship exemptions are for a one-year period only, and requests must be resubmitted annually on or before January 31 of the year for which the exemption is requested. "Extreme financial hardship" means that the member is unemployed and has no source of income other than governmental or private disability payments. Requests for exemption under this bylaw must be accompanied by a physician's statement or other evidence of disability and documentation regarding income.
(b) The Chief Executive Officer, may, each year, waive or exempt annual membership fees and assessments for members in active military service, the Peace Corps, VISTA or other volunteer programs serving the national interest or the legal profession, and for which the member receives only a subsistence income, stipend or expense reimbursement that is the member's principal source of income. Requests for waivers must be received on 15 days before the date that membership fees and assessments are due each year. Waivers will not be granted unless the lawyer's service encompasses the majority of a year except in the case of military waivers, which may be granted for less than a year under special circumstances such as a war of unknown duration.
Adopted effective 4/14/2023.