(a) The client security fund committee shall send a notice to each attorney who has not paid the client security fund fee pursuant to Section 2-70 of these rules that the attorney’s license to practice law in this state may be administratively suspended unless within sixty days from the date of such notice the client security fund committee receives from such attorney proof that he or she has either paid the fee or is exempt from such payment. If the client security fund committee does not receive such proof within the time required, it shall cause a second notice to be sent to the attorney advising the attorney that he or she will be referred to the Superior Court for an administrative suspension of the attorney’s license to practice law in this state unless within thirty days from the date of the notice proof of the payment of the fee or exemption is received. The client security fund committee shall submit to the clerk of the Superior Court for the Hartford Judicial District a list of attorneys who did not provide proof of payment or exemption, within thirty days after the date of the second notice. Upon order of the court, the attorneys so listed and referred to the clerk shall be deemed administratively suspended from the practice of law in this state until such time as payment of the fee and the reinstatement fee assessed pursuant to Section 2-70 is made, which suspension shall be effective upon publication of the list in the Connecticut Law Journal. An administrative suspension of an attorney for failure to pay the client security fund fee shall not be considered discipline, but an attorney who is placed on administrative suspension for such failure shall be ineligible to practice law as an attorney admitted to practice in this state, and shall not be considered in good standing pursuant to Section 2-65 of these rules until such time as the fee and reinstatement fee are paid. An attorney aggrieved by an order placing the attorney on administrative suspension for failing to pay the client security fund fee may make an application to the Superior Court to have the order vacated, by filing the application with the Superior Court for the Hartford Judicial District within thirty days of the date that the order is published, and mailing a copy of the same by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the office of the client security fund committee. The application shall set forth the reasons why the application should be granted. The court shall schedule a hearing on the application, which shall be limited to whether good cause exists to vacate the suspension order.
Section 2-79.—Enforcement of Payment of Fee
Current through August 12, 2025 (2026 Practice Book edition) · Last verified July 9, 2026
In one sentenceSets out the notice-and-suspension process the client security fund committee uses when an attorney fails to pay the annual fund fee, ending in administrative suspension until the fee and a reinstatement fee are paid.
Full Text of Section 2-79
(b) If a judge, judge trial referee, state referee, family support magistrate or administrative law judge has not paid the client security fund fee, the Office of the Chief Court Administrator shall send a notice to such person that he or she will be referred to the Judicial Review Council unless within sixty days from the date of such notice the Office of the Chief Court Administrator receives from such person proof that he or she has either paid the fee or is exempt from such payment. If the Office of the Chief Court Administrator does not receive such proof within the time required, it shall refer such person to the Judicial Review Council.
(c) Family support referees shall be subject to the provisions of subsection (a) herein until such time as they come within the jurisdiction of the Judicial Review Council, when they will be subject to the provisions of subsection (b).
(d) The notices required by this section shall be mailed to the last address registered by the attorney and sent by email to the last email address registered by the attorney pursuant to Section 2-26 and Section 2-27 (d), and mailed to the home address of the judge, judge trial referee, state referee, family support magistrate, family support referee or administrative law judge.
Amendment History
(Adopted June 29, 1998, to take effect Jan. 1, 1999; amended June 20, 2005, to take effect Jan. 1, 2006; amended June 15, 2012, to take effect Jan. 1, 2013; amended June 9, 2023, to take effect Jan. 1, 2024.)
Plain-English Summary
Section 2-79 spells out what happens when an attorney doesn’t pay the client security fund fee required under Section 2-70. The committee first sends a notice warning that the attorney’s license may be administratively suspended unless, within sixty days, the attorney proves the fee was paid or that he or she is exempt. If that proof doesn’t arrive, the committee sends a second notice giving the attorney thirty more days before referral to the Superior Court for suspension.
If the attorney still hasn’t paid within thirty days of that second notice, the committee submits the attorney’s name to the clerk of the Superior Court for the Hartford Judicial District. The suspension takes effect once the list of names is published in the Connecticut Law Journal. The rule is explicit that this administrative suspension isn’t discipline — but it does make the attorney ineligible to practice and no longer “in good standing” until the fee and a reinstatement fee are paid. An attorney who disputes the suspension can apply to the Superior Court within thirty days of publication to have it vacated, and the court will hold a hearing limited to whether good cause exists to do so. Judges, judge trial referees, and similar officials who miss the fee are instead referred to the Judicial Review Council, and notices under this section go out by mail and email to the addresses the attorney has on file.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happens if an attorney doesn’t pay the Connecticut client security fund fee?
The committee sends two notices over roughly ninety days total, and if the fee still isn’t paid, the attorney’s name goes to the Superior Court clerk in Hartford and the attorney is administratively suspended once that list is published in the Connecticut Law Journal.
Is administrative suspension for nonpayment considered discipline?
No. Section 2-79 states directly that this kind of suspension is not discipline, though it does make the attorney ineligible to practice and not in good standing until the fee and reinstatement fee are paid.
Can an attorney challenge an administrative suspension for nonpayment?
Yes. The attorney can apply to the Superior Court for the Hartford Judicial District within thirty days of the suspension order’s publication, and the court will hold a hearing limited to whether good cause exists to vacate it.
Does this section apply to judges as well as attorneys?
Judges, judge trial referees, state referees, family support magistrates, and administrative law judges who miss the fee are handled differently — they are referred to the Judicial Review Council rather than administratively suspended.
Source & verification. The section text is reproduced verbatim from the
official Connecticut Practice Book (Conn. Practice Book § 2-79). Prescribed by the Judges of the Superior Court of Connecticut (Conn. Gen. Stat. Section 51-14). The plain-English summary is original and written by us. Last verified July 9, 2026. ·
Official source
Also known as: unpaid client security fund fee Connecticutattorney administrative suspension for nonpaymentvacate suspension order client security fundreinstatement fee after fund fee suspensionConnecticut Law Journal suspension notice