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.

The State Bar also accredits the following organizations, which certify attorneys in eleven additional practice areas: 

 American Board of Certification

• Business Bankruptcy Law
• Consumer Bankruptcy Law
• Creditors' Rights Law

National Board of Trial Advocacy

• Civil Trial Advocacy
• Criminal Trial Advocacy 
• Family Law Trial Advocacy
• Social Security Disability Law

National Elder Law Foundation

• Elder Law

American Board of Professional Liability Attorneys

• Legal Malpractice
• Medical Malpractice

National Association of Counsel for Children

• Juvenile Law (Child Welfare)

Retired attorneys or attorneys taking a break from the active practice of law can participate in a wide range of pro bono activities including mentoring, participation in a legal clinic or full representation. The State Bar waives the annual fee for those who practice solely for the purpose of providing pro bono legal assistance through pro bono legal services providers. For more information and an application see the Pro Bono Practice Program.

The State Bar sponsors professional liability insurance through CalBar Connect.

Most legal aid and pro bono programs provide malpractice insurance for attorneys and other advocates volunteering through their organizations. You should always check with your pro bono provider for more specific information about coverage.

Go to your MCLE summary log. Look for the course you’d like to edit and click the red “Edit” button on the right side of the log. Make your changes and save each one. Remember to hit “Submit” when you are done. Whenever you update your online log, please complete the Licensee Records and Compliance Inquiry form.

See Title 3, Division 3, Chapter 4 of the Rules of the State Bar. 

The evidence of security for claims may be a certificate of insurance, a letter of credit, a written guarantee, or a written agreement executed by the applicant. It must be provided in a form acceptable to the State Bar and must be computed in U.S. dollars.

Yes, you must submit an annual renewal application in the Applicant Portal along with:

• the required fee;
• current certificate(s) of good standing; and
• proof of security for claims.

Attorneys who meet the exempt criteria must report compliance by claiming their exemption every compliance period. They should do so online by logging on to "My State Bar Profile." Without a statement of compliance, the State Bar has no way of determining whether or not an attorney was exempt for any particular compliance period.

Because the amount the program collects varies depending on interest rates, grant distribution has ranged from a high accumulation of over $22 million in 2008 to a low distribution of grants of slightly more than $6 million in 2016.

More than 95 percent of the funds received are distributed in grants to legal services programs. All administrative costs are paid out of the funds received; no attorney fees or other State Bar income is used. Over the course of its 25-year history, the State Bar has used less than 5 percent of the funds received to administer the program.

California is the only state with an independent professional court dedicated to ruling on attorney discipline cases. The State Bar Court impartially adjudicates matters filed by the Office of Chief Trial Counsel and has the power to recommend that the California Supreme Court suspend or disbar attorneys found to have committed acts of professional misconduct or convicted of serious crimes. For lesser offenses, the State Bar Court may issue public or private reprovals. The court also adjudicates other regulatory matters, including attorney reinstatements, matters where applicants for admission are challenging an adverse moral character determination, and challenges to the denial of certification for a lawyer referral service.

The State Bar's operations are primarily funded by licensing fees, but the agency also manages a variety of specialized funds. Finance is responsible for financial reporting and analysis, budget development and oversight, accounts payable, accounts receivable, general ledger, investments, payroll, processing licensee and other fee payments for the agency, and certain mandated financial audits.

Go to Payment Summary, enter your Tester ID, then click the Next button. Your payment summary (receipt) will display.

Under the statute, Special Masters are selected from a list of qualified attorneys maintained by the State Bar. The State Bar provides this list to courts and prosecutors who contact attorneys on the list to serve as Special Masters.

You may request a refund within 60 days of your purchase as long as the course has not been accessed. Refunds for courses with technical issues will be prioritized. Processing may take up to 90 days. Credit card fees are nonrefundable. To request a refund, email elearning@calbar.ca.gov. Please provide your name, your bar number, the name of the course you are requesting a refund for, the reason for the refund request, the date of purchase, and a copy of the transaction receipt.

There is no set time for Support LAP. It is completely voluntary. Participants can enroll, withdraw, and re-enroll whenever they want to.

The program is generally designed for a client to be able to require their attorney to participate in fee arbitration. However, an attorney may require the client to participate if the client and attorney have a signed agreement to submit fee disputes to a mandatory fee arbitration program. In general, binding arbitration agreements are not enforceable if they were entered into before the dispute arose.

If an attorney claims you owe an outstanding balance of fees or costs, they must provide to you a “Notice of Client’s Right to Fee Arbitration” form approved by the State Bar before or at the time of filing a lawsuit, or other proceeding to collect the amount. You will then have the option of asking for mandatory fee arbitration with the appropriate local bar association program within 30 days of receiving that notice, or with the State Bar if the appropriate local bar association does not offer mandatory fee arbitration. If you fail to request mandatory fee arbitration within 30 days, you will have waived your right to arbitration, and the attorney may take legal action to collect the fees or costs.

After you submit a request for arbitration form and filing fee to the appropriate program, the attorney can respond to your request. A neutral arbitrator, or a panel of three arbitrators, depending on the amount in dispute, will be assigned to listen to both you and the attorney, and decide the appropriate fees. The arbitrator may decide that you paid the attorney more than is appropriate, and you may be awarded a refund of attorney’s fees or costs already paid.

The arbitrator may also decide that you must pay the attorney unpaid fees, or that neither of you owe anything further. In no event will an arbitrator order you to pay more than what you agreed to in your fee agreement.

Under California Rule of Court 9.9.5, all inactive licensed attorneys must be in compliance with fingerprinting requirements prior to being placed on active status. A status change to active will be effective upon the State Bar’s receipt of the Request to Transfer to Active Status form and compliance with the fingerprinting requirement. Additionally, if applicable, once the annual fees have been adjusted, payment will be expected promptly. 

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.

No. Superior Court attorney employees are “Employees of the State of California” who are exempt from MCLE.