The State Bar of California
  • Log in
  • News
  • Forms
  • Contact
About Us:
  • Our Mission
  • |
  • Who We Are
  • |
  • News
  • |
  • Careers
  • |
  • Business Opportunities
  • Public
    • Need Legal Help
      • Look Up a Lawyer
      • Using a Certified Lawyer Referral Service
        • Certified Lawyer Referral Services Directory
          • LRS FAQs for Consumers
          • File a Complaint about an LRS
          • How to Become a Certified LRS
      • Free Legal Help
    • Complaints & Claims
      • How to File a Complaint
        • Before You File
        • Why File a Complaint
        • Attorney Complaint
        • After You File
        • Después de presentar una queja
        • Nonattorney Complaint
        • Discipline Referral
      • Unauthorized Practice of Law Complaint
        • After You File
        • Después de presentar una queja por práctica no autorizada
      • Fee Disputes
        • FAQ
      • Client Security Fund
        • Client Security Fund Application Process
        • Application Instructions
      • Lawyer Referral Service Complaints
        • Certified Lawyer Referral Service Complaints
        • Uncertified Lawyer Referral Service Complaints
      • FAQ
    • Free Legal Information
      • Before Selecting an Attorney
        • Finding the Right Lawyer
        • What a Certified Lawyer Referral Service Can Do for You
        • Your Initial Consultation
      • Working with an Attorney
        • What to Expect from Your Attorney
        • How to Work with Your Lawyer
        • What to Expect Regarding Fees and Billing
        • How to Avoid Problems
      • Resolving Problems
        • Problem with a Lawyer
        • Lawyer Fee Dispute
          • Lawyer Fee Dispute FAQ
        • Client Security Fund
      • Unauthorized Practice of Law
        • Avoiding Fraud by Immigration Consultants
        • Práctica no autorizada de la abogacía
        • Evite el fraude por parte de los consultores de inmigración
      • For Immigrants
        • Buscando ayuda con asuntos de inmigración
        • Immigration Legal Services Providers
        • Proveedores de servicios legales de inmigración
      • Legal Help After a Disaster
      • For Veterans & Service Members
      • Legal Services Fraud Alert for Homeowners
        • Alerta a Propietarios Referente al Fraude de Servicios Legales
      • Legal Services Fraud Alert for Renters
        • Alerta a Arrendatarios Referente al Fraude de Servicios Legales
      • Legal Guide Pamphlets
      • FAQ
    • Discipline
      • Attorney Discipline
      • Nonattorney Actions
      • Discipline Statistics
      • Look Up a Lawyer
    • En español
  • About Us
    • Our Mission
      • Protecting the Public
        • Regulation Overview
        • Public Comment
          • Public Comment Guidelines
          • Public Comment Archives
            • 2022 Public Comment
            • 2021 Public Comment
            • 2020 Public Comment
            • 2019 Public Comment
            • 2018 Public Comment
            • 2017 Public Comment
              • 2017-12
            • 2016 Public Comment
            • 2015 Public Comment
            • 2014 Public Comment
            • 2013 Public Comment
            • 2012 Public Comment
            • 2011 Public Comment
            • 2010 Public Comment
        • Reports
        • Public Records
      • Promoting Justice in California
      • Promoting Diversity and Inclusion
    • Who We Are
      • Board of Trustees
        • Roster
        • Meetings
        • Audit Commitee
          • Roster
        • Board Executive Committee
          • Roster
        • Finance Committee
          • Roster
        • Regulation and Discipline Committee
          • Roster
        • Public Comment Guidelines
        • Supreme Court Appointments
        • Board Task Forces
      • Committees
        • Meetings
        • Ad Hoc Commission on the Discipline System
          • Roster
        • Blue Ribbon Commission
          • Resources
          • Roster
        • California Board of Legal Specialization
        • California Paraprofessional Program Working Group
          • Roster
          • FAQ
        • Client Security Fund Commission
          • Roster
        • Closing the Justice Gap Working Group
          • Roster
        • Committee of Bar Examiners
          • Committee of State Bar Accredited and Registered Schools
            • Roster
          • Law School Council
            • Roster
        • Committee on Professional Responsibility and Conduct
        • Committee on Special Discipline Case Audit
          • Roster
        • Council on Access and Fairness
          • Roster
        • Judicial Nominees Evaluation
          • Background
          • Appointments
          • Review Committee of the Commission on Judicial Nominees Evaluation
          • Roster
          • FAQ
          • JNE Demographics Reports
        • Lawyer Assistance Program Oversight Committee
          • Roster
        • Legal Services Trust Fund Commission
          • Roster
        • Privacy Law Group
      • Archived Committees
      • Staff
      • State Bar Holidays
    • News
      • Fact Sheets
      • Reports
      • Multimedia
      • Public Meetings Calendar
      • California Bar Journal Archive
    • Careers
      • Job Listings
      • Benefits
      • Salary
    • Business Opportunities
      • Previous Opportunities
  • Attorneys
    • For Attorneys
      • About Your State Bar Profile
        • Fees & Payment
          • Agency Billing
          • Annual Fees FAQs
          • Voluntary Contributions
          • Fees and Charges
        • Status Changes
        • Address Change
        • Reporting Requirements
        • Certificate of Standing
      • Fingerprinting Rule Requirements
        • For In-State Attorneys
        • For Out-of-State Attorneys
        • For Out-of-Country Attorneys
          • Out-of-Country Deadline Extension Request
        • Multijurisdictional Practitioner
        • FAQ
        • Penalty Schedule
        • Limited Accommodations
        • Glossary
      • Lawyer Assistance Program
        • Voluntary LAP for Attorneys
        • Voluntary LAP for Law Students and Applicants
        • Monitored LAP
        • LAP Resources
        • LAP FAQ
      • Mandatory Fee Arbitration
        • Approved Programs
        • Forms & Resources
        • Arbitration Advisories
      • Opening and Managing Law Office
        • Insurance Programs
        • Limited Liability Partnerships
          • Forms
          • Rules
        • Law Corporations Program
          • Forms
          • Rules
        • Revoking Law Corporation
      • For Judges
      • FAQ
    • MCLE & CLE
      • Requirements
        • Types of MCLE Credit
        • Proportional Requirement
        • MCLE Recordkeeping
        • Attorney Exemptions
        • Attorney Exemptions FAQ
        • Approved Jurisdictions
        • Education Approval
          • Evaluate Credit
          • MCLE Credit Request
        • New Admittees
        • Inactive or Not Eligible Status
        • Out-of-State Residents
        • Good Cause Modification
      • Compliance
        • Who Must Report Compliance
        • Compliance Groups
        • Audit FAQ
      • New Attorney Training Program
      • E-Learning Portal
      • MCLE Providers
        • Provider Search
        • Single Activity Providers
        • Multiple Activity Providers
        • Provider Record Keeping
        • Qualifying Activities
        • ADA
      • MCLE Self-Study
        • MCLE Self-Study FAQs
      • CLE
        • Online CLE
        • CLE Self-Study
      • Rules
        • Rules Specific MCLE Credits
      • FAQ
    • Conduct & Discipline
      • Lawyer Regulation
      • Self-Reporting FAQ
      • State Bar Court
      • Client Trust Accounting & IOLTA
        • Guidelines
        • Client Trust Accounting Handbook
        • Client Trust Accounting Resources
        • Update Form
        • IOLTA-Eligible Banks
        • Interest Rates
        • FAQ
      • Rules
        • Rules of the State Bar
          • Title 1 Global Provisions
          • Title 2 Rights and Responsibilities of Licensees
          • Title 3 Programs and Services
          • Title 4 Admissions and Educational Standards
          • Title 5 Discipline
          • Title 6 Governance
          • Title 7 Miscellaneous
          • Appendixes
          • New and Amended Rules
        • Rules of Professional Conduct
          • Current Rules
            • Chapter 1. Lawyer-Client Relationship
            • Chapter 2. Counselor
            • Chapter 3. Advocate
            • Chapter 4. Transactions with Persons Other than Clients
            • Chapter 5. Law Firms and Associations
            • Chapter 6. Public Service
            • Chapter 7. Information About Legal Services
            • Chapter 8. Maintaining the Integrity of the Profession
          • Previous Rules
        • Selected Legal Authority
          • Constitution Excerpts
          • The State Bar Act
          • California Rules of Court
          • Statutes
      • Ethics
        • Hotline
        • Opinions
          • 2009-176 to Present
          • 1998-152 to 2008-175
          • 1992-126 to 1997-151
          • 1988-96 to 1991-125
          • 1984-76 to 1987-95
          • 1979-48 to 1983-75
          • 1971-24 to 1977-47
          • 1965-1 to 1970-23
        • Rules Spotlight Videos
        • Ethics Schools
          • Class Schedule
          • Ethics School FAQ
        • Ethics & Technology Resources
          • Ethics Opinions Related to Technology
          • Ethics Articles on Technology
          • Online Participatory MCLE Programs
          • Online Communication
          • Electronic Files
          • Law Firm Websites
          • Social Media
          • Internet/Email Scams
          • Miscellaneous
        • Senior Lawyers Resources
          • Rules
          • Opinions
          • Publications
            • Wellness Guide
          • Articles
          • MCLE
          • Links
          • Closing a Law Practice
          • Contact Us
          • Attorney Surrogacy
        • ADA Claims Information
        • Judicial Ethics
        • Attorney Civility and Professionalism
        • Publications
          • Ethics News
          • Hotliner Articles
            • Archives
          • Pub 250
          • Compendium on Professional Responsibility Index
        • Committees
          • COPRAC
            • Education
              • Ethics Symposium
            • Opinion Requests
            • Rules
            • Roster
          • Rules Revision
            • Rules Commission 2017
              • Summaries
              • Proposed Rules
              • Roster
            • Rules Commission 2014
              • Action Summaries
              • Meetings
              • Roster
    • Ethics
    • Legal Specialization
      • About Certified Specialization
      • Becoming a Certified Specialist
        • Exam Information
          • Exam Preparation Information
          • Laptop Computers
          • Testing Accommodations
      • Current Certified Specialists
      • Legal Specialty Areas
      • Specialist Search
      • MCLE Requirements for Certified Specialists
      • Education Providers
      • Governance
        • Board of Legal Specialization
          • Roster
      • Rules & Standards
        • Advertising
      • FAQ
    • Volunteer
      • Special Master
        • FAQ
        • Rules
        • List
  • Admissions
    • Requirements
      • Registration
      • Education
        • Pre-Legal Education
          • College Equivalency Education
        • Legal Education
          • Fixed Facility
          • Correspondence or Distance Learning
          • Law Office or Judge's Chamber
          • Foreign Education
            • Foreign Law Degree
      • Social Security Exemption
      • Attorney Applicants
    • Examinations
      • Dates and Deadlines
      • Safelisting Tips for Email
      • California Bar Examination
        • July 2022 California Bar Exam
        • Laptops for Bar Exam
        • July 2022 Bar Exam FAQs
        • Instructions for Essay Questions and Performance Test
        • July 2022 Admittance Ticket Bulletin
        • Testing Centers
        • Hotel Information
        • California Bar Examination Scope
        • Exam Results
          • Bar Exam Pass List
        • Past Exams
        • Grading
        • Scaling
        • Refund of Fees Policy
        • Virtual Oath Packet
        • Attorney's Oath
      • First-Year Law Students' Examination
        • June 2022 First-Year Exam
        • Laptops for First-Year Exam
        • Exam Results
        • First-Year Exam Grading and Scope
      • Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination
      • Requesting Testing Accommodations
      • Exam Administration
        • Becoming a Grader
        • Becoming a Proctor
    • Moral Character
      • Moral Character Statement
      • Governing Law
      • Process
      • Factors and Conduct
      • Further Investigation and Informal Conferences
      • Guidelines
    • Special Admissions
      • Multijurisdictional Practice (MJP) Program
        • MJP Program Requirements and Process
        • MJP Program Types
      • Pro Hac Vice
      • Out-of-State Attorney Arbitration Counsel (OSAAC)
      • Foreign Legal Consultants (FLC)
        • FAQ
        • Foreign Legal Consultants List
      • Practical Training of Law Students
      • Provisionally Licensed Lawyers
        • Search
    • Law School Regulation
      • Law Schools
      • Committee of Bar Examiners Meetings
        • Minutes
        • Minutes Archive
        • Roster
      • Exam Statistics
  • Access to Justice
    • Initiatives
      • California Justice Gap Study
        • Justice Gap Study Survey Data
        • California Law Student Survey Data
      • Publications
      • Leadership Banks
    • Pro Bono
      • Pro Bono Directory
        • Central Coast and Eastern Sierra
        • Central Valley Area
        • Los Angeles Area
        • Sacramento and Northern California
        • San Diego and Imperial Valley
        • San Francisco Area
        • Statewide
      • Pro Bono Practice Program
      • Volunteer After a Disaster
      • Volunteer Opportunities to Assist Veterans and Service Members
      • FAQ
    • Grants
      • Legal Aid Funding
      • 2022 Grant Recipients
    • Diversity & Inclusion
    • Lawyer Referral Services
    • Financial Institutions
      • IOLTA-Eligible Financial Institutions
  • News
  • Fact Sheets
  • Reports
  • Multimedia
  • Public Meetings Calendar
  • California Bar Journal Archive
Seal of The State Bar of California The State Bar of California

News Releases



Media Contact

Office of Communications | 213-765-1388 | barcomm@calbar.ca.gov

Board of Trustees Accepts Final Report from Legal Tech Task Force; Approves Access and Diversity Initiatives

Share on Facebook
Share on Twitter
Share on LinkedIn
Share with Email
Friday, March 13, 2020
   Categories: News Releases

At its March 12 meeting, the State Bar Board of Trustees engaged in a robust discussion on the final report of the Task Force on Access Through Innovation of Legal Services (ATILS). The Board approved several of the Task Force’s recommendations, including a recommendation to circulate for public comment changes to two Rules of Professional Conduct. The Board deferred until May action on proposals related to the establishment of a working group to explore a regulatory sandbox. The Board also approved other measures furthering the State Bar’s access goal.

“All of us on the task force were driven by the knowledge that the people of California need and deserve better access to legal services,” said Justice Lee Edmon, ATILS Task Force Chair. “I am proud of the work we’ve done and the dialog that this work has generated. We probed tough questions, considered thousands of public comments, and arrived at a pathway to continue moving the policy process forward. We are thankful for the careful consideration the Board has given to this important work and join the Board in their goal of balancing the considerations of access and public protection.”

The Board approved circulating two ATILS proposals for additional public comment:

  • An amended rule 5.4 to expand an existing exception for fee-sharing arrangements with a nonprofit organization. This rule change is intended to enhance the ability of nonprofit legal services organizations to expand activities through sharing in legal fees achieved through a settlement.
  • An amended comment to rule 1.1 that would provide that a lawyer’s duty of competence encompasses a duty to keep abreast of changes in the law and law practice, including the benefits and risks associated with relevant technology.

Presented along with the ATILS final report were the results of a related study on Californians’ readiness for and attitudes toward online legal services. The State Bar engaged NORC at the University of Chicago to investigate the rate at which Californians have access to the Internet and what barriers might exist to Californians’ use of online legal services. Among the findings:

  • At least 88 percent of California adults across demographic groups have Internet access, either through broadband at home or via smartphone.
  • Three-quarters of Californians have searched for some form of online help with legal issues. The most common activities are looking for legal forms or how to complete them, and researching laws related to an issue they are experiencing.
  • Californians’ personal confidence using the Internet, as well as their attitudes about the reliability of legal services online, are barriers to increasing their use of legal websites.
  • Data security, privacy, and the involvement of a lawyer are of significant importance to Californians when accessing legal information online. Law firm ownership is less important: While 65 percent of Californians say that a law firm being owned by lawyers is extremely or very important to them when deciding to use it, just 46 percent say the same about using a legal advice website.

Other actions taken by the Board of Trustees:

  • Approved a charter and initial members of the Paraprofessional Program Working Group. By July 2021, the working group is tasked with developing specific recommendations for a new category of legal paraprofessionals in California, such as limited license legal technicians or limited legal advocates. Recommendations will include eligibility requirements, pathways for licensure, practice areas to be included, types of tasks that paraprofessionals will be permitted to perform, financial responsibility requirements, and the development of a licensing/certification and regulatory model to implement the program. The Board approved 10 initial members and appointed Chris Iglesias, member of the Board of Trustees and CEO of The Unity Council, as chair.
  • Adopted access-related strategic plan objectives arising from the California Justice Gap Study, directing that the State Bar:
    • Support public education about key problems not recognized as legal issues
    • Support efforts to attract and retain lawyers in legal aid organizations
  • Approved circulating for public comment an increase to two hours every three years for training in elimination of bias as part of California attorneys’ Minimum Continuing Legal Education requirements.

###

Follow the State Bar online
Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram

The State Bar of California's mission is to protect the public and includes the primary functions of licensing, regulation and discipline of attorneys; the advancement of the ethical and competent practice of law; and support of efforts for greater access to, and inclusion in, the legal system.

Previous Article
Next Article
Bar Seal
Protecting the public & enhancing the administration of justice.
  • Public
  • About Us
  • Attorneys
  • Admissions
  • Access to Justice
  • News
  • Forms
  • Careers
  • Staff Log in
  • San Francisco (Main Office)
    180 Howard St.
    San Francisco, CA 94105
    415-538-2000
  • Los Angeles
    845 S. Figueroa St.
    Los Angeles, CA 90017
    213-765-1000
Copyright © 2022 The State Bar of California
  • FAQ
  • User Policies
  • Contact
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on LinkedIn