You can use any Live Scan service as long as the vendor has a contract with the California DOJ to submit your fingerprints and can provide you with an ATI number.

An alias is not required. Please see the Live Scan Form Check List.

Almost all active attorneys will need to be re-fingerprinted. The only exceptions are:

(1) attorneys for whom the State Bar has hard copy fingerprint cards. (Due to the State Bar’s previous retention policy of destroying fingerprint cards after 3 years, this applies only to a limited number of attorneys who applied from admission from outside California on or after July 1, 2014.)

and;

(2) attorneys who applied to the State Bar after July 1, 2017.

Your My State Bar Profile will indicate if you are required to be fingerprinted.

The State Bar is not in possession of the majority of attorney fingerprints. As part of the moral character review process, applicants provide the State Bar with fingerprint cards or fingerprints are submitted electronically directly to the DOJ. A contract with the DOJ is required in order for the State Bar to receive subsequent notification of arrests and conviction information from the DOJ for attorneys admitted to the State Bar or multijurisdictional practitioners. The State Bar entered into this contract on July 1, 2017. As a result, the vast majority of attorneys will need to be re-fingerprinted.

A Subsequent Arrest Notification (SAN) services contract between the State Bar and the DOJ was finalized on June 28, 2017, effective July 1, 2017, to address the error of not securing SAN services on all persons admitted to the State Bar. Due to DOJ policies, the SAN services cannot be applied retroactively. Accordingly, the Supreme Court of California is requiring the resubmission of attorney fingerprints to the DOJ.

Attorneys working for a qualified legal services provider and under the supervision of a California attorney working for the same provider (rule 9.45); attorneys working as in-house counsel for a qualifying institution (rule 9.46); attorneys practicing law temporarily in California as part of litigation (rule 9.47); and non-litigating attorneys temporarily in California to provide legal services (rule 9.48).

The accused attorney must file an answer, or risk a default judgment and involuntary enrollment as an inactive Bar member pending the outcome of the case. The clerks in State Bar Court schedule a status conference (a meeting of all parties), to be held within 45 days after the complaint is filed. The next step depends on the individual case. There could be additional status conferences, settlement conferences, or simply the trial date.

No problem. These are two separate options and you can change your option at any time. It is understandable that some attorneys, such as in-house counsel or government attorneys, may want to expand their profile, but would not want to be included in randomized attorney search results (which are generally geared towards members of the public seeking representation).

Yes, if the attorney whose results you are viewing has voluntarily posted a photo. Attorneys are not required to include a photo.

Not necessarily. The standard law corporation guarantee ensures payment by the corporation of all claims established against it by its clients for errors or omissions arising out of the practice of law by the corporation of a certain dollar amount which is proportionate to the number of persons practicing law on behalf of the corporation. It is not required that the law corporation send us proof of malpractice insurance.

Members were chosen at random so you did not do anything to influence your being selected for the audit. All recipients selected for the audit are required to respond as directed in the Audit Notice in order to be found in compliance.

You may only submit unaltered certificates from the official approved provider bearing your name and bar number.  

Section 1282.4 of the California Code of Civil Procedure details the prerequisites of an OSAAC appearance. Generally, an out-of state attorney may apply to become an OSAAC if he/she is not a resident of the State of California and is a member in good standing in the jurisdiction to which he/she has been admitted. The out-of-state attorney must provide the name and address of the California attorney of record and to disclose the title of the court in which the out-of-state attorney has applied to appear pro hac vice and OSAAC within the preceding two years. The out-of-state must file a Certificate with the arbitral panel and serve a copy on the State Bar of California. The State Bar is considered the custodian of records for OSAAC applications and does not approve or disapprove the OSAAC certificates. Approval of the certificate is determined by the arbitrator or arbitral panel to which the application is being made.

No. You may provide legal services only to your employer. You are not permitted to provide personal or individual representation to any customers, shareholders, owners, partners, officers, employees, servants, or agents of your employer.

The following activities count only for self-study credit:

• Self-assessment tests
• Writing a legal article accepted for publication 

Special Masters are volunteer attorneys who accompany peace officers in searches for documentary evidence in the possession of or under the control of attorneys, physicians, psychotherapists and clergy.

One of the first things the arbitrator will look at is whether there is a written fee agreement. If there is, the parties should submit a copy of the agreement to the arbitrator. In most instances, lawyers are required to use written fee agreements. If they do not, however, they are still entitled to a reasonable fee. The arbitrator will also consider the testimony of the parties, the billing statements, and other relevant evidence presented.

You may want to consider submitting any letter or documents that may support your claim. These include but are not limited to the lawyer’s billing statement, evidence of payments to the lawyer (e.g., copies of void checks), and any written fee agreements. Any other letters or documents that support your claim. You should have your documents organized in the order in which you plan to present them. Putting them in order by date is one common way to do this. You should also plan to have additional copies of the documents you intend to present so that you can give the copies to the arbitrator and the attorney whose fees you are disputing.

The award is the decision of the arbitrator and specifies whether you owe money to the lawyer, whether the lawyer owes money to you or whether neither of you owes any money.

No. E-learning courses can be completed on your schedule, at your own pace. Leave the course at any time and your progress will be saved until you return. Depending on the type of screen you are on when you exit, the course will resume at that point or at the beginning of the same section. Once you complete the course, you will be given access to a certificate that can be saved or printed to document course completion.

IMPORTANT: Upon returning to the course, you must answer “Yes” to the introductory question “Would you like to resume where you left off?” If you answer “No” to the introductory question, the course will be reset to the beginning and any record of your prior progress will be lost.