If any person shall, without having become duly licensed to practice, or whose license to practice shall have expired either by disbarment, failure to pay his license fee within 30 days after the day it becomes due, or otherwise, practice or assume to act or hold himself out to the public as a person qualified to practice or carry on the calling of a lawyer, he shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and fined not to exceed $500.00, or be imprisoned for a period not to exceed six months, or both.

Any register or clerk of circuit court, who practices law in the court of which he is clerk or register, or any partner of such register or clerk, who practices in such court, must, on conviction, be fined not less than $100.00 nor more than $500.00.

The Legislature hereby finds and declares that it is necessary and desirable, in the best interests of the state, that the Alabama State Bar have a building or buildings with space available for its administrative offices, for its Board of Commissioners, for the Board of Examiners on Admission to the State Bar, for the storage of library and other educational materials relating to the improvement of the administration of justice, for its standing and other committees and the staffs of its professional journals, for continuing legal education activities and for other related purposes. It is the intention of the Legislature by the passage of this article to authorize the incorporation of the president, the first vice-president and the secretary of the Alabama State Bar as a public corporation for the purpose of constructing, erecting, owning, operating and maintaining such a building or buildings and to vest such corporation with all powers, authority, rights and privileges necessary to accomplish such purpose. This article shall be liberally construed in conformity with said purpose.

The president, the first vice-president and the secretary of the Alabama State Bar may become a corporation by presenting to the Secretary of the State of Alabama an application signed by them setting forth:

(1) The name and official designation of each of the applicants;

(2) The dates of beginning and ending of the term of office of each of the applicants;

(3) The name of the proposed corporation, which shall be Alabama State Bar Foundation if such name is available for such use by the corporation, but if such name is not available then the applicants shall designate some other similar name that is available;

(4) The location of the principal office of the proposed corporation; and

(5) Any other matter relating to the incorporation which the applicants may choose to insert and which is not inconsistent with this article or the laws of Alabama.

The application shall be subscribed and sworn to by each of the applicants before an officer authorized by the laws of Alabama to take acknowledgments to deeds.

There shall be attached to the application:

(1) A certificate made by the secretary of the Alabama State Bar, under its seal, stating that the persons signing the application as president and first vice-president of the Alabama State Bar are known to him as president and first vice-president, respectively, of the Alabama State Bar; and

(2) A certificate made by the president of the Alabama State Bar, under its seal, stating that the person signing the application as secretary of the Alabama State Bar is known to him as the secretary of the Alabama State Bar.

The Secretary of State shall examine the application and, if he finds that it substantially complies with the requirements of this section, he shall receive, file and record it in an appropriate book of record in his office.

When the application has been made, filed and recorded as herein provided, the applicants shall constitute a corporation under the name proposed in the application, and the Secretary of State shall make and issue to the applicants a certificate of incorporation, under the Great Seal of the State, and shall record the certificate with the application. No fees shall be paid to the Secretary of State for any work in connection with the incorporation of the corporation, which is hereinafter sometimes called 'the foundation.'

The foundation shall be governed by a board of trustees consisting of the president, the first vice-president and the members of the Board of Commissioners of the Alabama State Bar, each of whom shall be a voting member of such board of trustees and shall hold office as such concurrently with his term of office as president, first vice-president or member of the Board of Commissioners of the Alabama State Bar, as the case may be. The board of trustees may adopt such bylaws for the conduct and regulation of its meetings and the affairs of the foundation as such board may desire and as are not inconsistent with this article or the laws of Alabama.

The president, first vice-president and secretary of the Alabama State Bar shall serve as ex officio president, vice-president and secretary of the foundation. The board of trustees of the foundation may appoint such other officers as it shall deem appropriate. No officer or member of the board of trustees of the foundation shall be entitled to any compensation for acting as such, but each thereof shall be entitled to be reimbursed for the reasonable and necessary expenses incurred by him in the discharge of his official duties.

The foundation shall have the following powers:

(1) To have succession by its corporate name in perpetuity;

(2) To sue and be sued and to prosecute and defend in any court having jurisdiction of the subject matter and of the parties thereto;

(3) To adopt and use a corporate seal and to alter the same at pleasure;

(4) To acquire by gift, grant, purchase, condemnation or otherwise, and to hold title to, real or personal property, or both, together with all rights incidental thereto;

(5) To construct, erect, operate and maintain one or more buildings for use by the Alabama State Bar;

(6) To lease and make available to the Alabama State Bar all or any part of the space in any of its buildings, with or without the payment of rental and on such other terms and conditions as the board of trustees of the foundation may prescribe;

(7) To lease, as either lessor or lessee and on such terms and conditions as its board of trustees may prescribe, any real or personal property;

(8) To employ such employees and agents as the business of the foundation may require;

(9) To accept devises, bequests and donations; and

(10) To have all other powers necessary or desirable to accomplish its corporate purposes.

All properties of the foundation, the income therefrom and all other income of the foundation shall forever be exempt from any form of taxation in the State of Alabama. All deeds, lease agreements and other recordable documents to which the foundation is a party shall be exempt from the payment of any deed, mortgage and other tax in the State of Alabama.

As promptly as practicable after the incorporation of the foundation, the Governor shall execute and deliver to the foundation an appropriate deed conveying to the foundation that certain lot or parcel of land owned by the state and situated adjacent to the judicial building in the City and County of Montgomery, Alabama, upon the condition that if said land shall ever cease being used for any of the purposes described in Section 34-3-100, title thereto shall revert to the state. The said deed shall be so executed and delivered without the payment of any pecuniary consideration by the foundation, but upon the undertaking by the foundation to construct thereon a building or buildings suitable for the uses described in Section 34-3-100.

To enable the foundation to construct a building or buildings suitable for the uses described in Section 34-3-100, the Board of Commissioners of the Alabama State Bar is authorized to disburse and pay to the foundation all or any part of the moneys appropriated to the Alabama State Bar for the construction and erection of buildings, such disbursements and payments to be made in the manner provided by Section 34-3-44. Any moneys so disbursed and paid to the foundation shall be expended by it for the purpose of paying the costs of constructing and erecting such a building or buildings in the manner provided by its board of trustees.

It is the intention of this article that the foundation be a nonprofit public corporation. No part of the net earnings of the foundation shall inure to the benefit of any private individual, firm or corporation.

Any judge of a court of record in this state who practices law in any of the courts of this state, or of the United States, or who renders any professional services or gives any legal advice, must on conviction be fined in such sum as the jury or court trying the same may assess, not less than $100.00 nor more than $1,000.00.

Any attorney-at-law who is the law partner of any district attorney in this state, who defends a criminal case of any kind, character or description in any court in this state in which such district attorney is the prosecuting officer, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction shall be fined not less than $100.00 nor more than $500.00.

Any officer who has the power or authority to take complaints and issue warrants of arrest, and who acts as an attorney in any such case in which he took the complaint or issued the warrant, or heard the examination or tried the case in any court on preliminary examination or appeal or trial before a jury, must, on conviction, be fined not less than $50.00 nor more than $500.00.

The judge of any court of record, the sheriff or deputy of the sheriff must not practice law; the clerk of the circuit court or the deputy of the clerk must not practice in the county of which he is clerk or deputy; the register or his partner or the deputy of the register must not practice in the court of which he is register or deputy; the clerk of the judge of probate must not practice in the court of which his principal is the judge.

Every attorney-at-law before being permitted to practice shall take the following oath or affirmation before an officer authorized to administer oaths:

I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will demean myself as an attorney, according to the best of my learning and ability, and with all good fidelity, as well to the court as to the client; that I will use no falsehood or delay any person's cause for lucre or malice and that I will support the Constitution of the State of Alabama and of the United States, so long as I continue a citizen thereof, so help me God.'

If any attorney commences practice before taking the oath as prescribed by this section, he forfeits the sum of $200.00, one half to the use of the person suing for the same and the other to the state.

(a) Annual meeting. There shall be an annual meeting of the lawyers of Alabama, open to all members of the State Bar in good standing, to be held at such place and time as the Board of Commissioners shall designate. At the same place, and immediately following the adjournment of the annual meeting of the State Bar, the Board of Commissioners shall hold its annual meeting.

(b) Officers; their election and succession.

(1) The officers of the Alabama State Bar shall be the president, president-elect, vice-president and secretary. At the time of nomination and election and during incumbency, the president, president-elect and vice-president each shall be a member in good standing of the Alabama State Bar.

(2) The office of president shall be filled annually by succession at the end of the annual meeting, at which time the president-elect, who has served as president-elect during the preceding year, shall succeed to the presidency. The president shall not be eligible to serve successive terms.

(3) A president-elect shall be elected annually as hereinafter provided, and shall take office as president-elect at the end of the annual meeting held during the year of such election. Such president-elect shall succeed to the presidency at the end of the annual meeting held during the next succeeding year, at which time the term of the preceding president shall expire. The president-elect shall be elected by the members of the State Bar in good standing, who shall vote by secret ballot delivered or mailed to State Bar headquarters by the date designated by the Board of Commissioners.

(4) To qualify for election as president-elect, a candidate shall file at State Bar headquarters a nominating petition signed by at least 25 members in good standing by the date established by the Board of Commissioners, provided, however, that the deadline for filing nominating petitions shall be at least 90 days prior to the election.

(5) At its annual meeting, the Board of Commissioners shall elect a vice-president, who shall be a current member of the Board of Commissioners. It also shall elect a secretary, who need not be a member of the board, and such other officers of the board and agents as the board may deem appropriate, all of whom shall hold office at the pleasure of the board and shall be subject to removal without cause by the board at any time.

(6) The secretary and president shall be the only paid officers of the board. The secretary shall be paid a salary to be fixed by the board, and the president may be paid an additional allowance to be fixed by the board.

(7) The Board of Commissioners may prescribe rules and regulations for the administration of said elections not in conflict with the provisions of this chapter.

(c) The president, president-elect, and immediate past president, respectively, shall serve ex officio as president, president-elect, and immediate past president, respectively, of the Board of Commissioners, and shall discharge the duties imposed in this chapter on the president, president-elect, and immediate past president, respectively; they shall be reimbursed for their expense as are elected members of the board, and may attend all meetings of the board, including executive sessions thereof; but shall not vote as members of the board, unless they are members by election thereto under the provisions of Section 34-3-41, except that the president, the president-elect, or the vice-president, if presiding, may vote in case of a tie.

(d) The vice-president shall assume office upon his election and shall hold office until his successor is elected by the Board of Commissioners at the next annual meeting of the Board of Commissioners.

(e) The president shall preside at all meetings of the board and of the State Bar. In the absence or disqualification of the president at any meeting of the board or the State Bar, his duties shall be discharged by the vice-president.

(f) In the event a vacancy in the office of the president, the vice-president shall succeed to the presidency, and shall serve out the unexpired term. In the event the vice-president shall succeed to the presidency, the Board of Commissioners shall elect a new vice-president for the unexpired term in the manner provided for herein. In the event of a vacancy in the office of president-elect, a president also shall be elected at the same time and in the same manner as the president-elect.

(g) The president and president-elect of the State Bar who shall hold office on January 1, 1987 shall remain in office until the end of the next annual meeting, at which time said president-elect shall assume the office of president.

All lawyers who are qualified to practice law in Alabama and who are not engaged in active practice because they are holding a state or federal office that precludes them from practicing law may become members of the Alabama Bar Association by paying directly to the secretary of such association an annual sum equal to 50 percent of the money collected by the State of Alabama from a lawyer as a privilege license tax to engage in the practice of law. Upon payment of said sum as prescribed in the preceding sentence, such persons shall be entitled to all the privileges and benefits common to other members of such association.

All lawyers who are qualified to practice law in Alabama and who are not engaged in active practice may become members of the Alabama Bar Association by paying directly to the secretary of such association an annual sum equal to 50 percent of the money collected by the State of Alabama from a lawyer as a privilege license tax to engage in the practice of law. Upon the payment of said sum as prescribed in this section, such person shall be entitled to all the privileges and benefits common to the other members of such association.

The provisions of this article shall not be construed to prevent any person from conducting or managing his own case in any court in this state.

So long as the Birmingham School of Law, Miles College School of Law and Jones School of Law maintain a four-year curriculum of law courses for resident law students each consisting of 30 weeks of classes or of one year more than the full-time program at the state university law school, namely the University of Alabama Law School, and with said curriculum covering basic law courses, covering all bar exam courses, and other elective courses sufficient for a four-year program, which courses are taught by licensed attorneys or judges, then, upon satisfactory completion of the courses, the graduates certified by the deans of said institutions shall be deemed to have sufficient legal training to take the bar exam offered by the State of Alabama or any of its agents as prescribed by law.

If they have other qualifying criteria, they have full rights to sit for the bar exam as any other applicant from any other schools.

This approval is given for as long as the schools operate and without reservation of powers to act further unless this section is anyway abrogated.

The Board of Commissioners of the State Bar shall have the following powers and authority in addition to the powers and authority heretofore conferred upon or vested in the board:

The board shall provide for a Board of Examiners on Admission to the State Bar and may prescribe rules and regulations governing the selection of examiners, their number, tenure, compensation, and authority, the subjects upon which candidates for admission shall be examined, the conduct of examiners, the time and place of meetings, and the certification of persons found to be qualified. The board shall prescribe necessary rules and regulations to ensure that the membership of the Board of Examiners on Admission to the State Bar is inclusive and reflects the racial, gender, geographic, urban/rural, and economic diversity of the state.

It is the duty of attorneys:

(1) To support the Constitution and laws of this state and of the United States.

(2) To maintain the respect due to courts of justice and judicial officers.

(3) To employ for the purpose of maintaining the causes confided to them such means only as are consistent with truth and never to seek to mislead the judges by any artifice or false statement of the law.

(4) To maintain inviolate the confidence and at every peril to themselves to preserve the secrets of their clients.

(5) To abstain from all offensive personalities and to advance no fact prejudicial to the honor or reputation of a party or a witness, unless required by the justice of the cause with which they are charged.

(6) To encourage neither the commencement nor continuance of any action or proceeding from any motive of passion or interest.

(7) Never to reject for any consideration personal to themselves the cause of the defenseless or oppressed.

An attorney has authority to bind his client, in any action or proceeding, by any agreement in relation to such case, made in writing, or by an entry to be made on the minutes of the court.

If it is alleged by a party for whom an attorney appears that he does so without authority, the court may at any stage of the proceedings, upon proof of the allegation, relieve the party for whom the attorney has assumed to appear from the consequences of his acts.

Any attorney appearing for a person without being employed must, on conviction, be fined not less than $500.00 and shall be incompetent to practice in any court of this state.

The court or judge may, on motion of either party and on being shown reasonable grounds therefor, require the attorney for the adverse party, or for one of the several adverse parties, to produce or prove the authority under which he appears and, until he does so, may stay all proceedings by him on behalf of the party for whom he assumes to appear; but the oath of the attorney is presumptive evidence of his authority.

Any attorney-at-law, either before or after action brought, who gives, offers or promises to give a valuable consideration to another person as an inducement to placing in the hands of such attorney or in the hands of any partnership of attorneys, or in the hands of any other attorney, a demand of any kind for the purpose of bringing an action or making claim against another person, corporation or partnership, or who gives or offers or promises a valuable consideration to any person in consideration of such person having so placed in his hands as an attorney, or of any other attorney, partnership or firm of attorneys, a demand of any kind for the purpose of bringing an action or making claim against another; or who employs or offers to employ any person to search for or procure clients to be brought to such attorney or any other attorney, or partnership or firm of attorneys; or who employs or offers to employ a person to solicit, search for or procure business for himself as attorney or for any other attorney, firm or partnership of attorneys shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, on conviction, shall be fined in a sum not exceeding $1,000.00 and also be removed and disbarred from practicing as an attorney-at-law in this state, and may be imprisoned in the county jail or sentenced to hard labor for the county for a term not exceeding six months, at the discretion of the court trying the case.

Any person who shall, before or after an action is brought, receive or agree to receive from any attorney-at-law, firm or partnership of attorneys compensation for services in seeking out, procuring or placing in the hands of an attorney, firm or partnership of attorneys a demand of any kind for an action or compromise shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be fined in a sum not exceeding $1,000.00 and, in addition, may be punished by imprisonment in the county jail or by hard labor for the county for a term not exceeding six months, at the discretion of the court trying the case.

Applicants for admission to the bar not required by law to take an examination shall pay a fee to be set by the Board of Commissioners, but not to exceed $500.00; applicants for admission who are bona fide residents of the State of Alabama who are required to be examined by the Board of Bar Examiners shall pay a fee to be determined by the Board of Commissioners not to exceed $400.00, and applicants for admission who are not bona fide residents of the State of Alabama who are required to be examined by the Board of Bar Examiners shall pay the same fee set for residence examinees, plus an additional sum to be determined by the Board of Commissioners not to exceed $500.00. The Board of Commissioners shall not have the authority to increase the fee provided for in this paragraph for applicants who are bona fide residents of the State of Alabama or the additional fee for applicants who are not bona fide residents of the State of Alabama by more than $25.00 in any one calendar year. Said fees shall become a part of the separate fund provided for in Section 34-3-4. Such fees shall be paid to the Treasurer, and the Treasurer's receipt therefor shall be filed with the application.

All fees and licenses paid by applicants for admission as provided in this chapter and attorneys' annual license fee levied by the revenue law shall be deposited in the State Treasury to the credit of the Alabama State Bar and constitute a separate fund to be disbursed as provided in Section 34-3-44.

THIS SECTION WAS AMENDED IN THE 2004 REGULAR SESSION EFFECTIVE JANUARY 1, 2005. TO SEE VERSION AS AMENDED, SEE PENDING VERSION.

(a) The governing body of Alabama State Bar shall be the Board of Commissioners composed of at least one member from each judicial circuit; provided that, for this purpose, that part of the Tenth Judicial Circuit, known as the 'Bessemer Cut-off' electoral district, for electing its circuit judge shall be considered and construed as a separate judicial circuit. Each commissioner, at the time of nomination and election and during incumbency, shall be a member in good standing of the Alabama State Bar whose principal office is maintained in the circuit he represents.

(b) The membership of the Board of Commissioners of the State Bar shall be constituted as follows:

(1) One member from each judicial circuit;

(2) One member from the electoral district of the Tenth Judicial Circuit, known as the 'Bessemer Cut-off' electoral district, for electing its circuit judge; and

(3) One additional commissioner for each 300 members of the State Bar in a circuit who maintain their principal office in the circuit as of March 1 of each year, each such commissioner to be an additional representative for his circuit; provided, however, that no circuit and no county shall be entitled to more than 10 commissioners.

(c) Each commissioner shall be elected in the manner hereinafter provided and shall hold office for three years, except that the initial terms for additional commissioners under subdivision (b)(3) of this section may be limited pursuant to Section 34-3-41(b)(2).

(a) The members of the Board of Commissioners for each judicial circuit shall be elected by the members of the State Bar who maintain their principal office in such circuit; provided, however, that for the Tenth Circuit, each commissioner shall be elected by the lawyers who maintain their principal office in the portion of the circuit outside the Bessemer Cut-off electoral district and each commissioner for the Bessemer Cut-off electoral district shall be elected by the lawyers who maintain their principal office in that portion of the circuit inside the Bessemer Cut-off electoral district. Such election shall be by secret ballot, mailed or delivered to the State Bar headquarters by a date established by the Board of Commissioners. Nothing contained in this article shall prohibit the election of the president of the State Bar as provided in this chapter, who shall be a bona fide resident of any judicial circuit of this state and who shall be ex officio president of the Board of Commissioners in case he or she is not already a member of said board. If hereafter additional judicial circuits are constituted, each such additional circuit shall be entitled to a commissioner or commissioners on said board, as provided by Section 34-3-40. There shall be an annual election for the purpose of selecting successors to the commissioners whose terms expire.

The board shall prescribe rules and regulations in regard to such annual elections and establishment of additional commissioner positions as required, not in conflict with the provisions of this article. The board shall, in accordance with its rules, give at least 60 days' notice of the time for holding the election each year. Such annual election shall be held on the first Tuesday in June of each year and continue for one week. The term of each commissioner shall be three years from July first following his or her election, except initial terms prescribed by the Board of Commissioners pursuant to subdivision (b)(2) of this section.

(b)(1) The Board of Commissioners shall identify annually the circuits entitled to more than one commissioner based upon the principal location of bar members' offices as of March 1. In such circuits the original commissioner shall be identified as 'Commissioner No. 1' and each additional commissioner shall be designated in sequential numbers.

(2) The Board of Commissioners shall establish initial terms for new commissioners so that, to the extent possible, the terms of the commissioners for a particular circuit will not expire simultaneously. To accomplish this the Board of Commissioners may designate the initial term of any new commissioner position for one year, two years, or three years. Regardless of the length of the initial term, subsequent terms of that commissioner's position shall be three years.

(3) No person shall serve more than three consecutive terms as a commissioner.

(4) The number of lawyers per circuit shall be determined by the number of members whose principal office is within a circuit. In determining the number of commissioners for the Tenth Judicial Circuit, members maintaining their principal office in the electoral district known as the 'Bessemer Cut-off' district shall not be included in this district for determining additional commissioners for the Tenth Circuit.

(5) In order to ensure that, to the extent possible, the membership of the Board of Commissioners reflects the racial, ethnic, gender, and age diversity, as well as the geographical diversity, of the membership of the Alabama State Bar, there shall be, in addition to the election of members of the Board of Commissioners as provided in subsection (a), nine at-large members of the Board of Commissioners who shall be selected by a majority vote of the members of the board from nominations submitted to the board by members of the Alabama State Bar, by associations of lawyers, or by sections of the Alabama State Bar, pursuant to such rules and procedures as may be prescribed by the Board of Commissioners. In selecting the nine at-large members of the board, the Board of Commissioners shall seek to ensure, to the extent possible, that the Board of Commissioners reflects the racial, ethnic, gender, and age diversity, as well as the geographic diversity, of the membership of the Alabama State Bar. The term of office of each at-large commissioner shall be the same as that provided in subdivisions (2) and (3) of this subsection, provided that, for the year 2005, three at-large members shall be selected for terms of one year each, three at-large members shall be selected for terms of two years each, and three at-large members shall be selected for terms of three years each. All subsequent terms of the at-large members of the Board of Commissioners shall be for terms of three years.

Nomination to the office of commissioner shall be by written petition of any five or more members of the bar in good standing who maintain their principal office in the circuit where such nominee maintains his or her principal office. Any number of candidates may be nominated on a single petition. Such nominating petitions shall be mailed to the secretary of the Board of Commissioners within a period to be fixed by the rules made by the Board of Commissioners. Any attorney may become a candidate for membership on said board from the circuit of his or her principal office by filing a written declaration in the same manner as the nominations are required to be filed.

(a) The Board of Commissioners shall have power:

(1) To determine, by rules, the qualifications and requirements for admission to the practice of law;

(2) To conduct through a Board of Examiners the examination of applicants; and such board of examiners shall certify to the Supreme Court the names of the applicants found to be qualified; such certifications shall entitle such persons to be enrolled in the bar of the state and to practice law; provided, that the fees required are paid;

(3) Subject to the approval of the supreme court, to formulate rules governing the conduct of all persons admitted to practice and to investigate, or cause to be investigated, and to pass upon all complaints that may be made concerning the professional conduct of any person who has been, or may hereafter be, admitted to the practice of the law;

(4) Subject to the approval of the supreme court, to formulate rules governing the reinstatement of members of the bar who have been disbarred and to pass upon all petitions for reinstatement;

(5) To appoint one or more committees from the membership of the board, or from the membership of the entire bar, or partly from one and partly from the other, to take evidence in connection with any complaint filed against any attorney and forward the same to the board. In all cases, testimony with reference to such charges shall be taken at the courthouse of the county of the residence of the party charged; provided, that the evidence of witnesses residing outside of such county may be taken in the same manner as provided by law for the taking of depositions in civil cases. The district attorney of the circuit in which such accused attorney resides shall prosecute any such charge or case, interrogate the witnesses, introduce the evidence in support of such charges and, when requested by any member of the board, argue the matter before the board. The board shall administer such discipline, by public or private reprimand, suspension from the practice of law or exclusion and disbarment therefrom, as the case shall, in its judgment, warrant. A majority of the board shall constitute a quorum, and the majority of those present (if a quorum be present) shall be empowered to act as and for the entire board. The Supreme Court may, and on petition of the party aggrieved must, in any case of suspension or disbarment from practice, review the action of the board, and may, on its own motion, and without the certification of any record, inquire into the merits of the case and take any action agreeable to its judgment. Rules regulating the manner of such review and providing for the certification of the evidence or, if the Supreme Court desires, the taking of additional evidence, shall be promulgated by said board and become effective upon approval by the Supreme Court;

(6) To make rules and bylaws not in conflict with any of the terms of this chapter concerning the selection and tenure of its officers and committees and their powers and duties, and generally for the control and regulation of the business of the board and of the State Bar;

(7) To hold and conduct educational and social meetings and activities among the members of the bar, to publish journals and generally to do such things as in its judgment may tend to improve the educational and ethical standing of bench and bar;

(8) Should any vacancies occur on said board, to fill such vacancies by appointment of a member of the State Bar from the judicial circuit in which said vacancy exists, and such appointee shall hold for the time of the unexpired term or pending the election of his successor;

(9) To establish circuit or branch associations of the State Bar, and, if circuit associations are established, the member of the board from said circuit shall be ex officio the president of such circuit association. Said circuit or branch association shall have no authority to suspend or disbar attorneys and in all matters shall be subordinate to the authority of the board.

(b) If any member of said board is a party to the preferment of charges for disbarment or suspension of any lawyer, or there exists as against any member of such board any cause provided by law for the disqualifications of judges or jurors in civil or criminal cases, such member shall be disqualified from sitting as a member of said board in the hearing of such charges.

(c) Said board shall have no authority, nor shall it in any way undertake, to regulate the fees or charges of lawyers for the rendition of their professional services.

(d) The Board of Commissioners may delegate such power as it deems appropriate to an executive council composed of the president, president-elect, vice-president, immediate past president, and three commissioners elected by the Board of Bar Commissioners.

For the purpose of carrying out the objectives of this chapter and for the exercise of the powers herein granted, the board shall have power to direct the disbursement of the fund created by Section 34-3-4, which shall be paid on warrant of the state Comptroller upon certificate or voucher of the secretary of the Board of Commissioners, approved by the president or vice-president of the Board of Commissioners.

No member of the board shall receive any compensation for his service as such board member other than actual necessary expenses incurred in the discharge of his duties.

No funds shall be withdrawn or expended except as budgeted and allotted according to the provisions of Article 4 of Chapter 4 of Title 41 of this code, and only in amounts as stipulated in the general appropriation bill.

No attorney who is in default in the payment of such annual license shall be recognized in the courts of Alabama or in the voting or transacting of business by the State Bar as being in good standing until he has paid the required annual license fee.

(a) Only such persons as are regularly licensed have authority to practice law.

(b) For the purposes of this chapter, the practice of law is defined as follows:

Whoever,

(1) In a representative capacity appears as an advocate or draws papers, pleadings or documents, or performs any act in connection with proceedings pending or prospective before a court or a body, board, committee, commission or officer constituted by law or having authority to take evidence in or settle or determine controversies in the exercise of the judicial power of the state or any subdivision thereof; or

(2) For a consideration, reward or pecuniary benefit, present or anticipated, direct or indirect, advises or counsels another as to secular law, or draws or procures or assists in the drawing of a paper, document or instrument affecting or relating to secular rights; or

(3) For a consideration, reward or pecuniary benefit, present or anticipated, direct or indirect, does any act in a representative capacity in behalf of another tending to obtain or secure for such other the prevention or the redress of a wrong or the enforcement or establishment of a right; or

(4) As a vocation, enforces, secures, settles, adjusts or compromises defaulted, controverted or disputed accounts, claims or demands between persons with neither of whom he is in privity or in the relation of employer and employee in the ordinary sense;

is practicing law.

(c) Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit any person, firm or corporation from attending to and caring for his or its own business, claims or demands, nor from preparing abstracts of title, certifying, guaranteeing or insuring titles to property, real or personal, or an interest therein, or a lien or encumbrance thereon, but any such person, firm or corporation engaged in preparing abstracts of title, certifying, guaranteeing or insuring titles to real or personal property are prohibited from preparing or drawing or procuring or assisting in the drawing or preparation of deeds, conveyances, mortgages and any paper, document or instrument affecting or relating to secular rights, which acts are hereby defined to be an act of practicing law, unless such person, firm or corporation shall have a proprietary interest in such property; however, any such person, firm or corporation so engaged in preparing abstracts of title, certifying, guaranteeing or insuring titles shall be permitted to prepare or draw or procure or assist in the drawing or preparation of simple affidavits or statements of fact to be used by such person, firm or corporation in support of its title policies, to be retained in its files and not to be recorded.

In all actions and proceedings in the probate courts and circuit courts and other courts of like jurisdiction, where there is involved the administration of a trust, or where there is involved the sale of property for distribution, or where there is a partition in kind of real or personal property between tenants in common, the court having jurisdiction of such action or proceeding may ascertain a reasonable attorney's fee, to be paid to the attorneys or solicitors representing the trust, joint or common property, or any party in the action or proceeding, and is authorized to tax as a part of the costs in such action or proceeding such reasonable attorney's fee, which is to be paid when collected as the other costs in the proceeding to such attorneys or solicitors as may be directed or ordered by the court and to be a lien on the several parts in case of partition in kind.

(a) Attorneys-at-law shall have a lien on all papers and money of their clients in their possession for services rendered to them, in reference thereto, and may retain such papers until said claims are satisfied, and may apply such money to the satisfaction of said claims.

(b) Upon actions and judgments for money, they shall have a lien superior to all liens but tax liens, and no person shall be at liberty to satisfy said action or judgment, until the lien or claim of the attorney for his fees is fully satisfied; and attorneys-at-law shall have the same right and power over action or judgment to enforce their liens as their clients had or may have for the amount due thereon to them.

(c) Upon all actions for the recovery of real or personal property, and upon all judgments for the recovery of the same, attorneys-at-law shall have a lien on the property recovered, for their fees, superior to all liens but liens for taxes, which may be enforced by said attorneys-at-law, or their lawful representatives, as liens on personal and real estate, and the property recovered shall remain subject to said liens, unless transferred to bona fide purchasers without notice.

(d) The lien in the event of an action, provided in subsections (b) and (c) of this section, shall not attach until the service upon the defendant or respondent of summons, writ or other process. However, when any claim is settled between the parties after the filing of an action but before the defendant has actual notice of the filing of the action by service of summons or otherwise, such settlement shall operate as a full discharge of the claim.

Whenever any disagreement or controversy arises between an attorney-at-law and any other person respecting the amount of the compensation to which he is entitled by contract or otherwise and his retention of the same out of any funds in his hands, such attorney may by motion in the circuit court or court of like jurisdiction, of the county of his residence, of which such other person shall have notice, obtain an order of said court that a certain amount is due under such contract or would be reasonable compensation for his services; and, when such motion is made and order obtained, such attorney shall not be subject to prosecution, suspension or removal under this chapter or other penalty therefor; but nothing herein contained shall affect or destroy any civil action to which any person would be entitled against such attorney respecting the same, or any criminal prosecution to which the accused would be otherwise liable.

Any person, firm or corporation who is not a regularly licensed attorney who does an act defined in this article to be an act of practicing law is guilty of a misdemeanor and, on conviction, must be punished as provided by law. Any person, firm or corporation who conspires with, aids and abets another person, firm or corporation in the commission of such misdemeanor must, on conviction, be punished as provided by law.

Any person who practices law in any court in which he is clerk, deputy clerk or regularly employed to perform any of the ministerial duties thereof must, on conviction, be fined not less than $100.00.

The Board of Commissioners shall establish rules governing procedure in cases involving alleged professional misconduct of members of the State Bar. The Grievance Committee of the Alabama State Bar or the Grievance Committee of a circuit, county or city association, established or approved by the Alabama State Bar or its Board of Commissioners, shall have the power and authority to investigate any alleged professional misconduct of a member of the State Bar, whether or not charge or complaint therefor is made or referred to it, and to report its findings or recommendations to the Board of Commissioners, or to prefer complaint or charge thereon against the accused attorney-at-law before the Board of Commissioners for trial thereof, and to prosecute to decision the said complaint or charge before the Board of Commissioners, and the duty is imposed upon said Board of Commissioners of considering such findings or recommendations and of hearing and determining such complaint or charge. Such grievance committee is hereby empowered to take testimony under oath in any such investigation, or the Board of Commissioners or such grievance committee may designate any person as commissioner to take testimony under oath in any such investigation whose compensation for the services so rendered may be fixed and ordered paid by the Board of Commissioners at its discretion. Such Board of Commissioners or any member thereof or such grievance committee or any member thereof shall not be required to give any security for costs and shall not be liable for any costs or damages to the accused attorney incident to such investigation, report, complaint, charge, prosecution or trial. The Board of Commissioners may appoint counsel to prosecute before it any such complaint or charge so preferred before it against an attorney and may within its discretion fix and order paid reasonable compensation for the services so rendered by such counsel. It shall be the duty of the sheriff of the state or of any lawful officer thereof to serve such writs, subpoenas or other papers in connection with the investigation, hearing and determining of such complaint or charge as may be placed in his hands by said Board of Commissioners or said grievance committee or any person designated hereunder as commissioner to take testimony in such investigation or any counsel appointed by the Board of Commissioners to prosecute before it such complaint or charge or the accused attorney or his or her attorney; such subpoenas, writs or other papers hereunder may be served by sending copies thereof to the proper parties by registered or certified mail, and the return receipts of such writs, subpoenas or other papers, signed by the party to be served, shall be construed to be as personal, sufficient and legal service of all such writs, subpoenas or other papers.

The rules and regulations adopted by the Board of Commissioners relative to disbarment shall not be effective until approved by the Supreme Court.

In the investigation of charges of professional misconduct, the board and any committee appointed by it for this purpose shall have power to summon and examine witnesses under oath and compel their attendance and the production of books, papers, documents and other writings necessary or material to the inquiry. Such summons or subpoena shall be issued under the hand of the secretary of the board or the chairman of any duly constituted subcommittee of the board and shall have the force of a subpoena issued by a court of competent jurisdiction, and any witness or other person who shall refuse or neglect to appear in obedience thereto or who shall refuse to be sworn or testify or produce books, papers, documents or other writings demanded shall be liable to attachment upon application to the Supreme Court of the state or to any judge of any court of record for the district where the investigation is conducted as in cases of contempt.

Any member of the bar complained of shall have notice and opportunity to defend by the introduction of evidence and the examination of witnesses called against him and the right to be represented by counsel. He shall also have the right to require the secretary to summon witnesses to appear and testify or produce books, papers, documents or other writings necessary or material to his defense in like manner as above provided.

Said board shall by rules provided for such purpose and out of the funds herein provided for arrange for the payment of reasonable costs for the summoning of witnesses and the payment of their fees, which costs and fees shall be the same in amount as provided by law in civil cases.

A complete record of the proceedings and evidence taken by the board, committee or commissioner shall be made and preserved by the board, but it may, where sufficient reason appears and the accused gives his consent, cause the same to be expunged.

An attorney must be removed for the following causes by the circuit court:

(1) Upon his being convicted of a felony other than manslaughter or of a misdemeanor involving moral turpitude, in either of which cases the record of his conviction is conclusive evidence.

(2) When any judgment is rendered against him for money collected by him as attorney, upon which judgment an execution has issued and been returned no property, in which case the record of the judgment and execution is conclusive evidence.

For the following causes an attorney may be removed or suspended by the circuit court:

(1) Upon its being shown, to the satisfaction of the court, that he has been guilty of any deceit or willful misconduct in his profession.

(2) For a willful disobedience or violation of the order of a court, requiring him to do or forbear an act connected with or in the course of his profession.

(3) For a willful violation of any of the provisions of Section 34-3-20 or Section 34-3-24.

The causes of removal or suspension of attorneys and methods of proceeding in reference to such removal or suspension are hereby declared to be cumulative with the right and power herein given to the Board of Commissioners to reprimand, suspend, exclude or disbar attorneys.

The proceedings to remove or suspend an attorney, as provided for in Sections 34-3-86 and 34-3-87, may be taken by the court on its own motion or upon the motion of any third party.

Any sheriff, coroner, or deputy thereof, or constable who practices law in any court of this state must, on conviction, be fined not less than $100.00.