I had an odd question that made me question my thought process and wanted to see if others thought the same way I do. We have a state Bar association wanting to open an account and questions were asked if we needed to get any beneficial ownership information. My first inclination is that they are a 501c3 organization and therefore we would only need to get the control person for the B.O. information. But I am getting questions about them being a government entity, therefor not requiring any B.O. information and I don't believe that to be correct. Am I thinking correctly, and need to get the control person?

i am not aware that any state bar association is a government entity.

It depends on the state. Some states establish a state bar (or state bar association) that licenses and regulates attorneys. If your state is one of those states, you have to see if the bar association fits one of the exemptions in the Beneficial Ownership regulations. If it's a state "agency," then it's completely exempt. If it's a public corporation, but not a state agency, I believe it's not exempt and is subject to the control prong.

Go to the bar association's website - the "about" section should tell you what it is and hopefully even the applicable state statutes, which you can check to verify.

I am also not aware of any state bar that is a government entity (I could easily be wrong). This would create an issue I think. They are funded by memberships that are governed by rules set by a ruling body. For example. I live in MI. The Bar Association is governed by Michigan Supreme Court Rules but funded strictly by membership fees and not any governmental appropriations.

I agree with the above. Find your jurisdiction and check to be sure. I got curious and looked at a few states and it seems close enough as far as the above goes. It should be easy enough to reach out to the Bar association directly and ask them.

Not that you asked but I am excited for the Uniform Bar Examination. Michigan is switching to this in Feb of 2023. It certainly makes things more uniform but it seems each jurisdiction still manages themselves separately.

600.901 State bar; membership; public body corporate.
Sec. 901.

The state bar of Michigan is a public body corporate, the membership of which consists of all persons who are now and hereafter licensed to practice law in this state. The members of the state bar of Michigan are officers of the courts of this state, and have the exclusive right to designate themselves as "attorneys and counselors," or "attorneys at law," or "lawyers." No person is authorized to practice law in this state unless he complies with the requirements of the supreme court with regard thereto.

FWIW, the statutes establishing the Washington State Bar Association actually provide that the WSBA is an "agency of the state."

Thank you guys for all your help!