Section 502. Pennsylvania Lawyers Fund for Client Security

(a) General rule. The Supreme Court shall establish a separate fund to be known as the ‘‘Pennsylvania Lawyers Fund for Client Security.’’ The Fund shall consist of such amounts as shall be transferred to the Fund pursuant to this subchapter. The Fund is created by contributions of the members of the Bar to aid in ameliorating the losses caused to clients and others by defalcating members of the Bar acting as attorney or fiduciary. No Claimant or other person shall have any legal interest in such Fund or right to receive any portion thereof, except for discretionary disbursements therefrom directed by the Board or the Supreme Court, all payments from the Fund being a matter of grace and not of right. There shall be no appeal from a decision of the Board. A decision of the Board to grant or deny payment to a Claimant shall not be subject to judicial review by any court. The Supreme Court reserves the right to amend or repeal this subchapter.

(b) Additional fee. Every attorney who is required to pay an active annual fee under Rule 219 (relating to annual registration of attorneys) shall pay an additional annual fee of $45.00 for use by the Fund. Such additional fee shall be added to, and collected with and in the same manner as, the basic annual fee. All amounts received pursuant to this subdivision shall be credited to the Fund.

(c) Transfers to Fund. The Administrative Office and Attorney Registration Office shall transfer to the Fund all bequests and gifts hereafter made for use by the Fund. All monies or other assets of the Fund shall constitute a trust and shall be held in the name of the Fund, subject to the direction of the Board.

(d) Audit. The Board shall annually obtain an independent audit of the Fund by a certified public accountant, and shall file a copy of such audit with the Supreme Court.

The provisions of this Rule 502(b) adopted April 30, 1982, effective July 1, 1982, 12 Pa.B. 1534; amended April 29, 1983, effective July 1, 1983, 13 Pa.B. 1433; amended December 18, 1987, effective July 1, 1988, 18 Pa.B. 180; amended March 11, 1993, effective May 22, 1993, 23 Pa.B. 2440; amended March 27, 1995, effective immediately, 25 Pa.B. 1404; amended April 25, 1997, effective immediately, 27 Pa.B. 2413; corrected March 31, 2006, 36 Pa.B. 1490; amended June 29, 2007, effective September 14, 2007, 37 Pa.B. 3218; amended April 1, 2008, effective for the 2008-2009 assessment, 38 Pa.B. 1701; amended April 16, 2009, effective May 1, 2009, 39 Pa.B. 2193; amended April 8, 2011, effective immediately, 41 Pa.B. 2119; amended April 9, 2012 for the 2012-13 assessment and thereafter shall revert to the provisions effective for the 2011-12 assessment, effective immediately, 42 Pa.B. 2186; amended June 4, 2012, effective in 30 days, 42 Pa.B. 3431; under the order of February 12, 2013, the order of April 9, 2012 amending subsection (b) shall remain in effect for the 2013-14 annual attorney assessment and in one year shall revert to the provisions effective on April 8, 2012, effective immediately, 43 Pa.B. 1173; amended February 9, 2015, effective immediately, 45 Pa.B. 953. Immediately preceding text appears at serial pages (366080) to (366081).