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bars, such as Virginia and Louisiana, do not have a legislative program and do not

engage in lobbying, and therefore have never had to set up a refund procedure.

D. Louisiana: Staying within the Confines of Keller

The LSBA has remained conscious of Keller parameters and limitations

since (and even before) the decision was rendered in 1990. The State Bar does not

engage in political activity or lobbying, nor does it take positions on controversial

issues unrelated to the practice of law. In this writer’s experience, members of the

LSBA Board of Governors and House of Delegates have been careful in their

deliberations not to "cross the line" drawn by the Supreme Court in Keller.

Perhaps as a result, the LSBA has never experienced a legal challenge alleging the

expenditure of bar dues for any impermissible purpose.

It is interesting to note that in years past the LSBA did engage in legislative

lobbying. The House of Delegates had a Committee on Law Reform which

debated and took positions on various matters pending before the state legislature.

This Committee was disbanded during the 1980's, in large part due to pre-Keller

case law casting doubt on whether such activities were constitutional.

More recently, the LSBA established a Committee on Legislation whose

mission is to revisit the Keller restrictions and consider whether some limited form

of legislative activity by the State Bar may be constitutionally pursued.

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