Who finances the Lawyers’ Fund for Client Protection?
New Jersey's judges and lawyers, as well as pro hac vice attorneys, multijurisdictional attorneys, in-house counsel, and foreign legal consultants, pay for the Fund. Each of these has an annual obligation to fulfill. That obligation is to:
- maintain a current address with the Fund;
- complete and return the original annual billing form; and,
- pay the prescribed fee or, if qualified, request an exemption under Rule 1:28-2.
A portion of the annual assessment paid to the Lawyers’ Fund by judges and by those New Jersey attorneys who hold plenary licenses is based on the calendar year of admission. For the first and second calendar years of admission, there is no fee. The fee is $25 for the third and fourth years, and $46 for the fifth through forty-ninth years. Lawyers admitted fifty years or more are exempt from the fee. The amount of the fee for pro hac vice attorneys, multijurisdictional attorneys, in-house counsel, and foreign legal consultants is the same as the fee for attorneys in the fifth through forty-ninth years. These fees provide the resources necessary to operate the Fund and pay claims. The monies collected are invested in interest-bearing accounts and government backed securities to provide additional revenue. The Fund also seeks to recover money paid on claims, as described below.
There is another, larger, component of the annual assessment collected by the Fund which pays for the disciplinary system and a smaller portion that supports the Lawyers Assistance Program and the Board of Bar Examiners. New Jersey attorneys begin paying this component in the second calendar year of admission. There is no delay in payments for pro hac vice attorneys, multijurisdictional attorneys, in-house counsel, and foreign legal consultants.