You don’t ‘give up’ a law license because of the yearly maintenance costs...
You ‘give up’ your law license as a last resort before it is taken from you.
It is something that I believe SHOULD NOT BE ALLOWED.
You must not be a lawyer. I am a lawyer who did exactly that. Up until a couple of years ago I was admitted to practice in two states. I did absolutely no legal work in one of those states and had to spend $500 per year for fees and attend twenty-four hours of continuing education each year at a cost of nearly $1,000 to keep my license there. There was no reason for me to go through that if I had no use for the license. I can reinstate it at any time simply by notifying the bar and paying a reinstatement fee. Lawyers giving up their licenses without any compulsion to do so is routine.