Petition Sent to Arizona Supreme Court to Dismantle Arizona’s State Bar Association as Regulator of Arizona’s Attorneys
On January 2, 2025, Senate President Warren Petersen and House Speaker Ben Toma petitioned the Arizona Supreme Court to dismantle Arizona’s State Bar Association as the regulator of Arizona’s attorneys. The petition contends that the Arizona Supreme Court should follow the growing national trend and regulate attorneys itself through the Arizona Office of the Courts.
The ABA National Lawyer Population Survey data from 2023–24 suggests that most active attorneys live in states that do not regulate attorneys through an exclusively mandatory bar association. Instead, courts and their administrative offices, including within large legal markets like New York City, Chicago, and Boston, are increasingly regulating attorneys without a mandatory bar association.
According to the petition, the Arizona Supreme Court already performs most attorney regulatory processes. It also argues that the State Bar currently forces attorneys to front the cost for ideological trainings, social events, and lobbying initiatives through bar dues and request retroactive refunds—a practice that likely violates the First Amendment and would be eliminated through the transparency and accountability provided by the Arizona Supreme Court.
The petition was drafted by Holtzman Vogel attorneys, Andrew W. Gould and Emily Gould.
