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Case 2:19-cv-11962-LMA-JVM Document 106 Filed 08/08/22 Page 27 of 33

notice, the Fifth Circuit noted that the Texas Bar’s procedures were insufficient,

insofar as they “place[d] the onus on objecting attorneys to parse the Bar’s proposed

budget—which only details expenses at the line-item level, often without significant

explanation—to determine which activities might be objectionable.” Id. Additionally,

the Bar did not provide members with “any breakdown of where their fees go.” Id.

The Court concluded that this approach was “a far cry from a Hudson notice, which

estimates the breakdown between chargeable and non-chargeable activities and

explains how those amounts were determined.” Id. (citing Hudson, 475 U.S. at

307 & n.18).

When considering whether the LSBA’s procedures comply with Hudson, as

explained in Boudreaux and McDonald, the Court notes its confusion at the outset.

It is difficult to reconcile the Fifth Circuit’s adoption of Hudson procedures with its

holding in McDonald as to freedom of association. After all, Hudson, as it arose in the

context of public-sector labor unions, and as it has been approvingly referenced or
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adopted in the context of bar associations, is premised on the notion that such

organizations can intentionally and affirmatively engage in non-germane activities,

so long as they provide sufficient procedural protections for individuals who wish to

83 Hudson arose “in the context of a union that affirmatively planned to engage in
activities unrelated to collective bargaining for which it could only charge its
members.” Crowe v. Oregon State Bar, 989 F.3d 714, 726 (9th Cir. 2021) (citing
Hudson, 475 U.S. at 298). While nonmembers could be compelled to finance collective
bargaining, they could not be compelled to finance, for instance, the union’s political
activities. Accordingly, Hudson required unions “to provide a detailed statement of
fees in advance so that nonmembers could object before being charged for
impermissible activities.” Id. (citing Hudson, 475 U.S. at 305–07).

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