Annual Attorney/Firm Compliance Checklist

ANNUAL ATTORNEY AND FIRM COMPLIANCE CHECKLIST

COMPLIANCE INFORMATION

CONTROL LEGEND AND AUTHORITY MATRIX

Classify every retained task before assigning a deadline:

• L — Law/rule: Binding statute, regulation, court rule, adopted professional-conduct rule, licensing condition, or order.
• C — Contractual: Client, insurer, lender, landlord, vendor, or plan-document obligation.
• P — Policy/control: Voluntary internal control or risk-management practice.
• N/A — Not applicable: Record the reason and reviewer.

The ABA Model Rules are models for jurisdictions; they are not themselves the governing ethics rules unless adopted. Do not copy a deadline or trust-account procedure from one jurisdiction into another.

SECTION 1: STATE BAR REQUIREMENTS

Complete this section separately for every licensing jurisdiction. Verify whether registration is annual or on another cycle and whether inactive, retired, pro hac vice, in-house, or multijurisdictional status changes the task.

1.1 Bar Membership and Registration

Primary State Bar Portal: [________________________________]

Bar Number: [________________________________]

Login Credentials Location: [________________________________]

1.2 Additional Bar Jurisdictions

Jurisdiction 1: [________________________________]

Jurisdiction 2: [________________________________]

SECTION 2: CONTINUING LEGAL EDUCATION (CLE/MCLE)

Use the licensing authority's current reporting-period, credit-category, format, carryover, exemption, and self-reporting rules. The rows below do not supply those rules.

2.1 CLE Requirements Summary

2.2 CLE Hours Tracking

Current Reporting Period: [__/__/____] to [__/__/____]

2.3 CLE Summary

2.4 CLE Compliance Tasks

☐ CLE certificates collected and filed

☐ Hours reported to state bar (if self-reporting required)

☐ CLE affidavit/certification filed

☐ Carryover hours calculated (if applicable)

☐ Next period CLE plan developed

SECTION 3: IOLTA AND TRUST ACCOUNT COMPLIANCE

Use the adopted trust-account and IOLTA rules for each jurisdiction in which client or third-party funds are held. Monthly and three-way reconciliation are strong controls and may be required in some jurisdictions, but this universal template does not declare a uniform frequency or retention period.

3.1 IOLTA Account Information

3.2 Annual IOLTA Reporting

3.3 Trust Account Compliance Tasks

Monthly Reconciliation:

Annual Trust Account Tasks:

☐ Three-way reconciliation performed

☐ Client ledger cards reviewed

☐ Stale checks identified and addressed

☐ Dormant funds review completed

☐ Unclaimed funds reported (if applicable)

☐ Bank signatory cards updated

☐ Trust account records organized for required retention

SECTION 4: PROFESSIONAL LIABILITY INSURANCE

Insurance purchase, minimum limits, disclosure, and reporting requirements are jurisdiction- and policy-specific. Treat renewal and coverage review as contractual or policy controls unless an official source makes them regulatory duties.

4.1 Malpractice Insurance

4.2 Insurance Compliance Tasks

Notes on Coverage:

[________________________________]

SECTION 5: PRO BONO REPORTING

Distinguish aspirational service goals from mandatory reporting or contribution rules. Record the adopted rule or bar instruction before treating a pro bono row as required.

5.1 Pro Bono Hours Tracking

Annual Pro Bono Summary:

5.2 Pro Bono Reporting

SECTION 6: BUSINESS AND TAX COMPLIANCE

6.1 Business Entity Compliance

6.2 Tax Compliance

Determine deadlines from current-year official instructions for the firm's entity and each form. Do not assume one April 15, January 31, or calendar-quarter date applies to every entity, return, filing method, weekend/holiday adjustment, extension, or state obligation.

SECTION 7: EMPLOYMENT AND HR COMPLIANCE

7.1 Employment Law Compliance

7.2 Benefits Compliance

SECTION 8: TECHNOLOGY AND CYBERSECURITY COMPLIANCE

The frequencies below are planning defaults, not universal legal mandates. Replace them with the shortest applicable period from binding law, adopted ethics duties, client contracts, cyber-insurance terms, security frameworks the firm committed to follow, and the firm's risk assessment.

8.1 Cybersecurity Requirements

8.2 Data Privacy Compliance

SECTION 9: CLIENT PROTECTION AND ETHICS

9.1 Client Protection Fund

9.2 Ethics and Professional Responsibility

SECTION 10: SPECIALTY CERTIFICATIONS AND MEMBERSHIPS

10.1 Specialty Certifications

10.2 Professional Memberships

SECTION 11: COURT ADMISSIONS AND REGISTRATIONS

11.1 Court Admissions

11.2 E-Filing Registrations

SECTION 12: ANNUAL COMPLIANCE CALENDAR

Quarter 1 (January - March)

Quarter 2 (April - June)

Quarter 3 (July - September)

Quarter 4 (October - December)

SECTION 13: COMPLIANCE NOTES AND REMINDERS

Important Dates for Next Year

Compliance Issues/Concerns

[________________________________]

[________________________________]

[________________________________]

Action Items

☐ [________________________________] - Due: [__/__/____]

☐ [________________________________] - Due: [__/__/____]

☐ [________________________________] - Due: [__/__/____]

OFFICIAL SOURCES AND CURRENT-INSTRUCTION GATES

• ABA — Model Rules of Professional Conduct (model status and jurisdiction implementation)
• OSHA — 29 C.F.R. § 1904.32 annual summary and posting rule
• IRS — General Instructions for Forms W-2 and W-3 (select the compliance year's instructions)
• IRS — General Instructions for Certain Information Returns (select the applicable year and form)
• IRS — Information-return filing requirement overview

Record the firm's actual state bars, courts, tax agencies, labor agencies, privacy regulators, entity registries, local licensing authorities, benefit-plan sources, insurance policy, and client obligations in the Authority Matrix. A generic source list cannot establish compliance for a universal firm.

CERTIFICATION

I certify only that I reviewed the retained tasks against the official sources identified in the Authority Matrix and that the records listed below support each item marked complete for compliance year [________]. This certification is internal and does not replace any filing, sworn statement, bar certification, tax return, or regulator-specific attestation.

Evidence repository or index: [________________________________]

Attorney/Compliance Officer Signature: [________________________________]

Name (Print): [________________________________]

Date: [__/__/____]

This checklist should be reviewed and updated annually. Requirements vary by state and practice type. Consult your state bar and professional advisors for specific requirements.