The State Bar's Office of Governmental Affairs

The State Bar's Office of Governmental Affairs (OGA) is responsible for advancing and maintaining positive and effective relations between the State Bar, the Legislature, and the Executive branch of government. The office also spearheads the Bar's legislative efforts to ensure the protection of the public in matters relating to the practice of law, to increase access to and improve the delivery of legal services to the people of California, and to improve the administration of justice in the state.

Operating under the oversight of the Board Committee on Stakeholder Relations (BCSR), the Office of Governmental Affairs engages in many projects and activities designed to help achieve these objectives. These include:

• Advocating on behalf of legislation sponsored or supported by the Board of Governors, and against legislation that would work against the goals and mission of the State Bar;
• Coordinating outreach programs;
• Providing members of the Legislature with consumer education and protection materials developed by the State Bar.
• Coordinating the Bar's efforts to make the legal experience and expertise embodied in its voluntarily-funded sections and standing committees available and accessible to the Legislature and Administration as an informational resource.

Toward these ends, the OGA works cooperatively with lawmakers and staff, the Governor's office, the Judicial Council's Office of Governmental Affairs, the Bench/Bar Coalition, and representatives of organizations representing various elements of the legal pantheon in California.

The activities of the Office of Governmental Affairs are funded entirely through voluntary sources. The principal source of funding is the Legislative Activities Fund, which is funded through a checkoff on the annual dues invoice sent to Bar members, and which also supports the legislative activities of the standing committees of the State Bar. The office also tracks legislation and advocates on behalf of the voluntarily-funded sections of the State Bar, which pay for these activities through the Sections Fund.

For more information, contact:

Anthony C. Williams, State Bar Legislative Representative, 916-442-8018
Saul Bercovitch , Legislative Counsel, Office of Governmental Affairs, 415-538-2306