R.I. Sup. Ct. R. Art. IV, R. 1

(a) Every person who has been admitted to the bar of Rhode Island and who

maintains active status in this State shall every year between April first and July first,

or within three (3) months of taking the oath of attorney, pay a registration fee of

$200 and file a completed annual attorney registration statement prescribed by the

Clerk of the Supreme Court.

(b) The annual attorney registration statement will contain a provision whereby

the attorneys must certify that they have read and are complying with Article V, Rule

1.15 of the Rules of Professional Conduct (Safekeeping property) and whether they

are currently covered by professional liability insurance. Each attorney shall be

responsible to notify the Clerk of the Supreme Court of any change in the

information previously submitted on the annual attorney registration statement

within thirty (30) days of such change.

(c) Each registration period, every attorney is asked to voluntarily complete an

anonymous demographic data collection survey approved by the Supreme Court.

The purpose of the survey is to determine the demographic composition of the Rhode

Island Bar, help identify areas of need for the attorneys, enhance the Rhode Island

Bar’s effectiveness, professionalism, and ability to serve the community, and

increase awareness of important issues that affect the practice of law. Survey

responses shall not be attributable to individual attorneys. All demographic data

collected from attorneys through the registration process shall be confidential and

not accessible to the public.

(d) Any attorney who discontinues the practice of law in this State may elect to

change the attorney’s status to inactive. Inactive attorneys shall pay an annual

registration fee of $50. Inactive attorneys will no longer be eligible to practice law

in this State but shall continue to register annually with the Court for as long as the

attorney remains inactive.

Inactive attorneys who are seventy (70) years of age or older are exempt from the

annual attorney registration but must notify the Clerk within thirty (30) days of any

change to their registration information.

Upon assuming inactive status, an attorney shall be removed from the rolls of

those classified as active until and unless the attorney is granted reinstatement to the

active rolls and pays the reinstatement fee required by these rules and complies with

any outstanding continuing legal education requirements.

(e) The name of any person who has not on or before July first filed the current

annual registration statement and paid the annual attorney registration fee shall be

assessed a $125 late fee and shall be removed from the Master Roll of Attorneys.

Any person whose name is not on the Master Roll and who practices law or who

holds himself or herself out in any manner to the public or to another person as being

competent, qualified, authorized or entitled to practice law in this State is engaged

in the unauthorized practice of law and may be subject to the disciplinary procedures

of this Court.

(f) Any attorney whose name has been removed from the Master Roll for failure

to comply with this rule, and/or who has been suspended from the practice of law

for non-payment of Bar Association dues, has been removed from the Master Roll

for failure to comply with Rule 3 (Mandatory Continuing Legal Education), or who

has been on inactive status and wants to return to active status, shall file an

application with this Court seeking reinstatement.

If an applicant seeking reinstatement was removed from the Master Roll for

failure to register or comply with Rule 3 (Mandatory Continuing Legal Education),

suspended for non-payment of Bar Association dues, or inactive, for a period of six

(6) months or more, the applicant for reinstatement shall submit an affidavit attesting

that the applicant has not been disciplined in this or any other jurisdiction, that the

applicant is not the subject of any pending disciplinary charges, and that the

applicant is not aware of any reason why the application should not be granted.

Disciplinary Counsel and the Mandatory Continuing Legal Education Office

shall provide this Court with a Report and Recommendation on the application

within thirty (30) days.

Reinstatement to active status from inactive status requires payment of a $200

fee.

Applications for reinstatement to the Master Roll after having been removed from

active status for failing to register for a period of less than six (6) months requires

payment of a $325 fee; and, applications for reinstatement to the Master Roll after

having been removed from inactive status for failing to register for a period of less

than six (6) months requires payment of a $175 fee.

Applications for reinstatement to active or inactive status after having been

removed from the Master Roll for failing to register or comply with Rule 3

(Mandatory Continuing Legal Education) or suspended for non-payment of Rhode

Island Bar Association dues for a period of six (6) months to three (3) years requires

payment of a $375 fee; and, applications for reinstatement to active or inactive status

after having been removed from the Master Roll for failing to register or comply

with Rule 3 (Mandatory Continuing Legal Education) or suspended for non-payment

of Bar Association dues for a period in excess of three (3) years requires payment of

a $525 fee.

Applications for reinstatement within six (6) months of suspension for non-payment of bar dues, taking inactive status, or removal may be granted by rule of

court. All other applications for reinstatement shall be forwarded to the Court for

consideration.

(g) An attorney who wishes to resign from the practice of law in this State shall

follow the procedures set forth in Article III, Rule 23 (Resignation). An attorney

who resigns or who has been subject to disciplinary action shall continue to update

the attorney’s registration information with the Court for five (5) years thereafter in

order that the attorney can be located in the event complaints are made about the

attorney’s conduct while the attorney was engaged in practice in this State. Any

attorney who has been subject to disciplinary action who seeks reinstatement shall

proceed under Article III, Rule 16 (Reinstatement).

(h) An attorney in the practice of law in another jurisdiction and who is removed

from the Master Roll for a period in excess of six (6) months shall, in addition to any

other prerequisite contained in these rules before being returned to the Master Roll,

first provide to this court a certificate from the appropriate disciplinary tribunal of

the jurisdiction in which the attorney has been practicing law that (a) the attorney is

a member in good standing of the bar in such jurisdiction, and (b) that no disciplinary

action is pending against the attorney in the other jurisdiction.

(i) Members of the State and Federal judiciary are exempt from compliance with

this rule.

(j) The annual attorney registration statements, registration fees, and changes to

attorney registration information that must be submitted to the Court pursuant to this

rule shall be submitted via the Rhode Island Supreme Court Attorney Portal, except

that a single payment from an employer for five (5) attorneys or more may be

submitted manually to the Court with confirmation, on the form prescribed by the

Clerk of the Supreme Court, that each attorney for which payment is being submitted

has updated the attorney’s registration information on the Attorney Portal.

(k) Any attorney who is unable to comply with these requirements due to illness,

financial, or personal difficulties, may petition the Court, with proper

documentation, for an exemption to this rule. For an exemption to the electronic

filing requirements in subsection (i) of this rule, an attorney may petition the Court

in accordance with the waiver process as set forth in Article X, Rule 3(c).

(l) All funds collected pursuant to this rule shall be deposited in a separate

account entitled “Supreme Court Disciplinary Account” and shall be disbursed by

the State Court Administrator upon the order of the Chief Justice.