News Releases

State Bar Board of Trustees Appoints Members to New Discipline Commission

At its meeting on January 22, 2021, the State Bar Board of Trustees named the members of the new Ad Hoc Commission on the Discipline System. The 21-member commission is charged with taking a comprehensive look at California’s attorney discipline system and recommending ways to improve it.

“The efficacy and fairness of the attorney discipline system are core to the State Bar’s public protection mission,” said Board Chair Sean SeLegue. “During my four years on the Board, the State Bar has been working diligently to improve the discipline system. However, we on the Board believe it’s time for a systematic and strategic review of how the discipline system can be made more effective, fair, and responsive to the public. We’re excited to get this effort started.”

The commission is charged with evaluating:

• Procedural justice and the experiences and perceptions of the system by complaining witnesses and respondents;
• Workload and operational efficiency of case processing;
• Case prioritization and differentiated case-flow management; and
• The efficacy of the system for preventing future attorney misconduct.

The commission will review the numerous reforms recently implemented by the Office of Chief Trial Counsel to reduce racial disparities and improve the discipline system’s effectiveness. After identifying focus areas within the discipline system’s processes and policies, the commission will evaluate those focus areas and will then recommend additional or revised reforms.

The 21-member commission will be chaired by Ruben Duran, vice-chair of the State Bar Board of Trustees. Board Chair Sean SeLegue will serve as vice-chair of the commission, and Trustee Brandon Stallings, who chairs the Board’s Regulation and Discipline Committee, will also serve on the commission. The commission includes members who represent affinity bar associations for lawyers of color, representatives from the Association of Discipline Defense Counsel and the National Organization of Bar Counsel, four members who practice as defense counsel and prosecutors in the criminal justice system, two members who represent the California Lawyers Association, a representative from the Council on Access and Fairness, and representatives from the California Department of Consumer Affairs and the Medical Board of California. Two judges from the State Bar Court and leaders of the Office of Chief Trial Counsel round out the commission.

The commission will begin its work this quarter with a goal of presenting its findings and recommendations no later than June 30, 2022, with periodic status updates to be provided to the Board prior to that time.

Deferred to the Legislature on proposals restricting campaign contributions to district attorneys

The Board held a robust discussion and heard extensive public comment on the proposal initiated by four California district attorneys for a new Rule of Professional Conduct or ethics opinion that would ban DAs and candidates for the office from accepting campaign contributions or endorsements from police unions. The State Bar’s Committee on Professional Responsibility and Conduct evaluated the proposal and gathered extensive public comment. The Legislature has recently enacted changes to the laws governing financial contributions to candidates seeking election as well as the recusal of prosecutors in certain use-of-force cases. A further legislative proposal under consideration for introduction during this legislative session would prohibit elected prosecutors from investigating police misconduct if they have accepted campaign contributions from police unions representing the accused officer. As shared with the State Bar, the legislative proposal would have the Attorney General investigate the alleged misconduct in these instances. The Board voted to direct staff to monitor legislation and reach out to the Legislature to offer technical assistance on proposed legislation dealing with this subject, deferring further action until the impact of recently enacted, or proposed, legislation can be assessed.

Approved 2021 budget

Among other actions taken at this meeting, the Board approved a 2021 budget that projects $204.4 million in revenues and $193.7 in expenses. General Fund expenses, pared 4 percent from 2020, are projected to exceed revenues by approximately $100,000. The State Bar’s operating reserves, recharged somewhat last year by the Legislature’s 2019 approval of the first licensing fee increase in more than 20 years, will backfill this small operating deficit and remain within the Board’s target range.

The 2019 and 2020 fee bills funded building improvements and IT projects over a multiyear period, making sufficient funds for needed projects out of reach for several years. Accordingly, the Board approved a proposal to obtain a bank loan to finance building improvements and IT projects and refinance the existing San Francisco tenant improvements loan.

The budget also reflects the continued impact of the economic downturn brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic on legal services funding. Revenue collected in Interest on Lawyers’ Trust Accounts (IOLTA) plunged in 2020 due to drastic interest rate cuts. IOLTA revenue is projected to further decline in 2021, from $40.4 million budgeted in 2020 to $18.0 million in 2021. Last year, the Legal Services Trust Fund Commission approved use of reserves to backfill the lost revenue and stave off a precipitous decline in funding for legal services grantees. Meanwhile, State Bar staff have pursued strategic efforts, such as the Leadership Bank program, to shore up legal aid funding at a time when the need is greater than ever.

The final budget will be submitted to the Legislature by February 28, 2021.

Lowered fees for Legal Specialist Exam

California attorneys can receive State Bar legal specialist certification in eleven areas of law. The first step toward certification is to pass the Legal Specialist Examination, administered every two years in October. Fees for the exam, last administered in 2019, are typically $350 for timely registration, plus a $150 laptop fee, with penalties for late registration. Because of the healthy condition of the Legal Specialization Fund, the Board approved reducing the registration fee to $100, with the laptop fee fully waived, along with a lower penalty for late registration. Similar reductions were implemented for the 2017 exams.

Executive director search

The Board assigned Trustees Ruben Duran and Arnie Sowell to develop and implement a plan for the immediate recruitment of an executive director and the presentation of proposed candidates to the Board for consideration.