If you have already completed your CTAPP reporting for the current period and you want to change an answer before the reporting deadline, you can access the CTAPP reporting page by logging in to My State Bar Profile. On your Client Trust Reporting page (third blue tab at the top), click the CTAPP Annual Reporting tile. You can click through the pop-up warning that says you have already submitted your CTAPP Annual Reporting declaration and that you will have to resubmit your declaration, or you will be out of compliance. NOTE: Even if you make no changes, be sure to click all the way through and resubmit your declaration.

A lawyer must report any changes to their client trust account to the State Bar within 30 days. A lawyer may add or close an account using the 30-day reporting window in My State Bar Profile, and a firm administrator may add or close an account or add or remove an attorney from an account through the 30-day reporting window in the Agency Billing platform. When a firm administrator adds a new attorney or removes an attorney from a trust account, they provide the effective date and reason for the disassociation as part of the reporting.

The trust account reporting system does not allow changes to routing numbers or account numbers of previously registered trust accounts. To report this change, please close the registration of the existing account by clicking the “Update Account Information” link and then entering, in the “Edit Close Date” tab, the date the account was changed to the new routing and account number. You will also need to enter the balance on that date. 

You can then register the account with the new routing number and account number. In the open date field, please enter the date the account was changed to the new routing and account number. Please be sure to enter the bank balance of the new account as of December 31.

Unless exempt (see FAQ 2.3, above), California licensees, regardless of where they practice, must still comply with the CTAPP reporting requirements. A licensee who was responsible for client funds and funds entrusted by others under the provisions of rule 1.15 of the California Rules of Professional Conduct must, annually, register each and every trust account in which the licensee held such funds at any time during the reportable time period by identifying account numbers and financial institutions in a manner prescribed by the State Bar for such reporting. There is no exception for out-of-state accounts.

Under Business and Professions Code section 6073.1(c), pro bono legal services means “providing or enabling the direct delivery of legal services without expectation of compensation from the client other than reimbursement of expenses to any of the following:

• An indigent person, as defined in subdivision (d) of section 6213.
• A charitable, religious, civil, community, governmental, or educational organization in matters that are designed primarily to address the needs of persons of limited means.
• A charitable, religious, civil, community, governmental, or educational organization in matters in furtherance of its organizational purposes.”

Generally, pro bono work performed through any State Bar legal aid grantee organization or through “a nonprofit organization that provides civil legal services for the poor without charge” qualifies as pro bono legal services and should be reported. See Business and Professions Code section 6159.51. 

Attorneys are asked to use their best good-faith judgment when determining what qualifies.

You must submit a Registration Application in addition to the Application for the Law Office Study Program, the required documentation, and the applicable fees in the Applicant Portal at least 30 days prior to beginning your legal studies in a law office or judge’s chamber. You will not receive credit for any study completed if the State Bar does not approve your applications.

Please do not submit the LOS application before you have found a qualified supervising attorney or judge.

To resume study after you have been terminated from the LOS Program, you must submit a new Application for the Law Office Study Program, the required documentation, and the fee in the Applicant Portal 30 days prior to the date you plan on resuming your legal studies.

Announcements are messages from the site administrator. Announcements can be viewed by clicking the announcement tab on the top menu. They provide updates and notices for all e-learning portal users.

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 this e-learning portal. 

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

Payments will be made through a third-party vendor, Wells Fargo, using their E-Bill Express platform.

No. You must contact the federal court clerk to ascertain if the filing must be served on a specific custodial record keeper. 

You must file an application with the court to appear on behalf of the client in the related case. Please refer to rule 9.40(c) of the California Rules of Court. The filing submitted to the court must include a copy of a proof of service showing that all parties and the State Bar of California have been served. You must also remit the fee to the State Bar of California with a copy of the application.

The application must state:

• The applicant's residence and office address;
• The courts to which the applicant has been admitted to practice and the dates of admission;
• That the applicant is a licensee in good standing in those courts;
• That the applicant is not currently suspended or disbarred in any court;
• The title of each court and cause in which the applicant has filed an application to appear as counsel pro hac vice in California in the preceding two years, the date of each application, and whether or not it was granted; and
• The name, address, and telephone number of the active licensee of the State Bar of California who is the attorney of record.

A PLL must: 

• Expressly refer to themselves orally and in writing as a Provisionally Licensed Lawyer and/or participant in the State Bar’s Provisional Licensure Program and not describe themselves as a fully licensed lawyer or imply in any way orally or in writing that they are a fully licensed lawyer.
• Follow the same professional conduct rules as all fully licensed lawyers.
• Agree to be subject to the disciplinary authority of the Supreme Court of California and the State Bar with respect to the laws and rules governing the conduct of lawyers.
• Attest that they will not practice California law other than under the supervision of an approved Supervising Lawyer during the time they are provisionally licensed.
• Be employed by or volunteering at the firm (as defined in rule 9.49) where the Supervising Lawyer works, which must have an office located in California.
• Immediately report the termination of supervision by their Supervising Lawyer to the State Bar.  

“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.