Office of Communications | 213-765-1388 | barcomm@calbar.ca.gov
An online learning program designed to help applicants navigate the challenges they face when preparing for the California Bar Exam is showing promising results, measurably increasing the likelihood of passing the exam, a two-year analysis indicates. The State Bar is again offering the free program to October 2020 bar exam applicants.
The State Bar’s “First Annual Report Card on the Diversity of California’s Legal Profession,” published today, provides baseline data on the diversity and workplace satisfaction of California’s attorney population across multiple demographic groups and employment sectors. The report brings into stark reality that despite significant growth in the proportion of attorneys who are women and people of color over the past 30 years, California’s attorney population remains far from reflective of the state’s diversity.
At its July 16 meeting, the State Bar Board of Trustees approved an action plan designed to improve equity in the attorney discipline system, following up on the agency’s first-ever study on racial disparities in the disciplinary system. The first group of reforms aim to expand representation by counsel when an attorney faces a disciplinary investigation.
The State Bar of California has seized the unauthorized law practice of a South El Monte woman who victimized immigrants by claiming that she could help them with their immigration matters.
On June 16, the State Bar of California issued an open letter to the legal community about equality and inclusion.
At its May 14 meeting, the State Bar Board of Trustees approved establishment of a joint Blue Ribbon Commission on the Future of the California Bar Exam, in partnership with the California Supreme Court.
Today the State Bar released results of the February 2020 California Bar Exam and announced that 1,128 people (26.8 percent of applicants) passed the General Bar Exam. If those who passed satisfy all other requirements for admission, they will be eligible to be licensed by the State Bar to practice law in California.
The State Bar of California has seized the unauthorized law practice of a San Francisco woman who victimized immigrants from Russia and Mongolia, claiming she could help them with their immigration matters.
As interest rates drop to historically low rates amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the State Bar of California continues to work with banks to maintain and maximize the interest income that supports free legal services for vulnerable Californians through the Interest on Lawyers’ Trust Accounts (IOLTA) program. This week, the State Bar announced that eight more financial institutions have agreed to become Leadership Banks, using their financial wherewithal to support access to justice for low-income Californians.
A newly established State Bar working group charged with developing recommendations for the creation of a paraprofessional licensure/certification program to increase access to legal services holds its first meeting on April 21. Meeting Agenda.