“IOLTA” stands for Interest on Lawyers’ Trust Accounts. IOLTA is a method of raising money, primarily for providing legal services to those unable to afford them. 

The State Bar’s Legal Services Trust Fund Program collects the interest generated by IOLTA accounts and distributes the funds to more than 100 nonprofit legal aid organizations that provide civil legal aid to indigent Californians.  

You can look up the IOLTA-funded organizations, and you can learn more about IOLTA accounts on the State Bar’s website.  

Effective August 1, 2023, lawyers must comply with Rule of Professional Conduct 8.3, which requires a lawyer to report certain misconduct by another lawyer. The Rule 8.3 Reporting Requirements page provides more information about this reporting obligation.

California criminal prosecutors are required to notify the State Bar when they file criminal charges (felony or misdemeanor) against an attorney.[7]

California courts are required to notify the State Bar when an attorney is convicted of any crime;[8] when an attorney has been found in contempt;[9] when an attorney has been sanctioned $1,000 or more (except for discovery sanctions);[10] when an attorney has been found in violation of certain statutes;[11] or when a civil judgment has been entered against an attorney for fraud, misrepresentation, breach of fiduciary duty, or gross negligence committed in a professional capacity.[12]

Insurance companies are required to notify the State Bar upon receipt of a claim or action against an attorney for fraud, misrepresentation, breach of fiduciary duty, or gross negligence committed in a professional capacity.[13]

The insurance commissioner reports workers’ compensation fraud to the State Bar.[14]

Banks submit reports to the State Bar when an attorney trust account is overdrawn.[15]

The State Bar is statutorily authorized to receive Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI)[16] from the California Department of Justice for purposes of admission, discipline, and regulation of attorneys.[17]

The State Bar is statutorily authorized to receive subsequent arrest notification services[18] for attorneys.[19]

We offer a variety of online courses, the majority of which qualify for Minimum Continuing Legal Education (MCLE) credit, with a focus on required credits such as legal ethics and attorney competency. All courses are self-paced, allowing you to start, pause, and continue learning whenever it works best for you. 

Yes, payments are processed through a secure gateway, and we do not store your card details. 

No. All persons newly admitted to the State Bar of California must take the New Attorney Training Program courses produced by the State Bar and offered through the e-learning portal.

No other courses will satisfy completion of the New Attorney Training requirement for new admittees.

Make sure that you have completed all interactive elements on the screen. The “NEXT” button will only activate once all of the screen elements have been completed. In addition, please allow the screen seek bar to progress on its own. If you manually drag it to complete the course, the “NEXT” button may not activate properly.

Each case is different. But most disbarred attorneys fall into one of two categories: They committed a very serious violation, such as perjury or stealing client funds, or they have a history of misconduct.

Reproval, either public or private, usually is reserved for first-time offenders whose misconduct falls on the low end of the scale.

For example, abandoning one client might lead to a private reproval or remedial action, such as Ethics School. Abandoning 12 clients, however, would likely result in much more serious discipline.

An attorney is placed on probation so that his or her conduct in the practice of law can be monitored - much like supervised probation in the criminal justice system.

Occasionally, another practicing attorney -- serving as a probation monitor -- meets with the disciplined attorney. The disciplined attorney then files regular reports and could be required to meet special conditions during the probationary period. Most conditions of probation are monitored by the Probation Unit.

The course is approximately one and a half hours long, but you may complete it at your own pace and save your progress.

If you are taking the course as the result of being disciplined by the State Bar, CLE credit is not available. Attorneys completing the course for this purpose must submit a certificate of completion to the Office of Case Management and Supervision upon completion of the course.

If you are taking this course as a condition of an abeyance stipulation related to an Application for Determination of Moral Character, MCLE credit is not available. Individuals completing the course for this purpose must submit a certificate of completion to the Office of Admissions upon conclusion of the course.

When browsing the course catalog, select “CTA School—Client Trust Accounting Rules and Regulations.” Do not select the course that covers similar content (e.g., “Client Trust Accounting Rules and Regulations”). Taking any similar voluntary course will not satisfy your mandatory obligation to complete the course, whether mandated by an order of the California Supreme Court or the State Bar Court, or required by the Office of Admissions. To satisfy a mandatory obligation, you must take the mandatory CTA School course, which is not eligible for MCLE credit.

This service is available to all licensed attorneys so long as the question is not related to a pending disciplinary investigation or case with the State Bar.

A date has not been set. It depends on when subgroups finish their recommendations and the Working Group approves its complete tentative proposal.

Once you become ineligible for the CLS Program, you must promptly inform the State Bar by submitting a general request through your Applicant Portal, and cease any activity a Certified Law Student can perform.

Once you have been certified by the State Bar, you may engage only in the activities permitted by rule 9.42(e) of the Rules of Court under supervision.

To receive credit for a six-month study period, applicants must study law under the supervision of their approved attorney or judge for at least 72 hours per month for six consecutive months, lasting at least 24 weeks and no longer than 26 weeks, as well as submit a semi-annual report within 30 days of completion for each six-month period that conforms to the State Bar requirements.

The supervisor must supervise the applicant directly for at least 20 hours per month, either in person or remotely. At least 10 of those hours over each six-month period must be in person.

If the CPA identifies issues or discrepancies in your trust accounting practices, the State Bar will evaluate the findings, discuss with the designated licensee, and determine the appropriate next steps. Depending on the nature and severity of the issues, next steps may include education, a corrective action plan, further investigation, or a referral to the Office of Chief Trial Counsel.

The scope of a compliance review will encompass at least one year of trust account activity, which will generally be January 1 to December 31 of the prior year. If a compliance review identifies findings that require a licensee to participate in an investigative audit performed by the State Bar, the scope of the audit will encompass at least three (3) years of trust account activity but will not go beyond five (5) years; see Rules of the State Bar, rule 2.6(B) and Rules of Professional Conduct, rule 1.15(d)(5).

Yes. Business and Professions Code section 6073.2(d)(2) only applies to full-time employees or officers or elected officials of the State of California, or political subdivision thereof, or the federal government. Part-time employees are required to report either the amount of pro bono service hours provided in the past year, that they did not track their pro bono or reduced fee legal services hours, that they did not complete any pro bono or reduced fee legal services hours, or that they decline to answer.

To search for certified specialists, please visit the Attorney Search webpage, select the Certified Specialists link, and use the drop down to search by certified legal specialty.  You can further refine the results by adding geographic limitations (e.g., city or county). 

A number of legal services providers have projects specifically designed to use your skills as a transactional lawyer. In addition, there are many types of pro bono litigation matters, including some that may be of interest to you. Providers generally offer training and mentoring so you are well-supported throughout the pro bono engagement.

Submit the Application for Transfer to Inactive Status. To be eligible for the inactive fee the following year, you must submit the Transfer to Inactive Status form by December 1 and the effective date of the transfer must be on or before December 31. A Transfer to Inactive Status form submitted after December 1 or with an effective date after December 31 will not reduce the active fees owed. View detailed instructions and access the required form.

Each file is handled individually. Processing time depends on whether we receive complete information. A Foreign Legal Consultant application cannot be approved until you have received a positive moral character determination. Generally, the moral character review process can take a minimum of six months to complete.