The Ethics Hotline:

• Cannot offer legal advice. Staff cannot tell you what to do, review documents, or recommend a specific course of action; they can only provide references to applicable rules and authorities.
• Cannot assist with administrative or compliance issues, such as:
  • Client Trust Account Protection Program (CTAPP)
  • Law Corporations or Limited Liability Partnerships
  • Agency billing
  • Admissions
  • MCLE compliance
  • Mandatory pro bono reporting

For these types of questions, please use the Licensee Records and Compliance Inquiry Form.

The operative date has not yet been set; it depends on completion of the public comment and Board approval processes.

Applicants enrolled in both programs, along with their respective supervisors, are expected to take proactive steps to avoid or address any actual or potential conflicts of interest or ethical issues. This includes exercising good judgment in situations where their dual roles may overlap. For example, an applicant who studies in the Law Office Study Program under the supervision of a judge should avoid appearing before that same judge when representing a client in the Certified Law Student Program.

Yes. To remain in the program, you must take your first eligible administration of the California Bar Exam, and your certification in the program will continue only until the State Bar releases results for that examination.

You can participate in the program if you are currently enrolled in or have graduated from:

• A Juris Doctor (JD) program: Have successfully completed one full year of studies and have passed or established exemption from the First-Year Law Students’ Examination, and be enrolled and in good academic standing in the second, third, or fourth year of law school.
• A Master of Laws (LLM) program: Have a degree from a law school in a foreign jurisdiction that authorizes the applicant to practice law in that jurisdiction and is acceptable to the State Bar of California under the State Bar’s Guidelines for Applicants with a Foreign Language Degree; have successfully completed one semester or two quarters in an LLM program; be enrolled and in good academic standing in a second or subsequent semester or third or subsequent quarter of an LLM program; and have not failed to take or received results for the first California Bar Examination for which eligible, since first registering with the State Bar of California.
• The Law Office Study (LOS) Program: Have successfully completed one full year in the Law Office Study Program, have passed the First-Year Law Students’ Examination, and be actively continuing the study of law in a law office through the Law Office Study Program.

Some of the most frequent compliance issues include:

• Not performing monthly three-way reconciliations of the trust accounts
• Errors in distribution calculations to both the law firms and clients
• Designated licensee failing to supervise trust account recordkeeping performed by staff, bookkeepers, or outside vendors
• Commingling personal and client funds, often through overpayment or underpayment of withdrawals from the trust account
• Delayed or missing written notice to clients when funds are received on their behalf
• Lack of documentation for deposits and disbursements, or incorrect amounts recorded
• Failure to promptly distribute undisputed funds to the client or third party within 45 days
• Missing or incomplete account journals that do not contain all required fields:

1. Date of each transaction
2. Client related to each transaction
3. Amount of each deposit and disbursement
4. Running balance

• Failure to maintain client ledgers that contain all required fields:

1. Date of each transaction
2. Source of funds (payor) or payee of each transaction
3. Amount of each deposit and disbursement
4. Purpose of each transaction
5. Running balance

All documents must be uploaded through the State Bar’s secure online portal. This system ensures encrypted, confidential transmission and complies with data privacy and privilege protections.

Initially, attorneys selected for compliance review will represent a cross-section of the legal community. In the future, the State Bar may select attorneys using a risk-based and random selection criteria. Factors may include prior trust account activity, self-reported information through CTAPP registration, or other factors driven by State Bar data and oversight priorities. Being selected for a compliance review is not, by itself, an indication of misconduct.

If, after investigation, the evidence does not establish a serious violation, the State Bar may:

• Issue a warning to the attorney;
• Place the attorney on diversion, under which the attorney agrees to take corrective action; or
• Issue an Agreement in Lieu of Discipline (ALD), under which the attorney agrees to take corrective action. 

A warning, diversion, or an ALD is not considered discipline.

No. Although certain federal or state employees may be exempt from the general MCLE requirement, there are no exemptions from the NAT requirement for new licensees. (Rule 2.143.) You must complete NAT by your one-year admission anniversary deadline.

Are you licensed with the State Bar of California? Have you practiced in your specialty area for at least 25 percent of the time for each of the last three years?

If the answer is yes to each question, then you are ready to begin the process. Once open, you can register for the exam, which will be held every other year. Please visit the information on Becoming a Certified Specialist and the specific requirements for each specialty area.

No. County employees are not exempt. Employees of California Superior Courts are exempt from MCLE requirements.

You may apply the MCLE credit from courses approved by many states and a few overseas jurisdictions if you were physically outside California when you completed them. This is by rule, so no special forms or requests are needed. Check the approved jurisdictions list on the State Bar website. 

The data is used to conduct demographic analyses of the legal profession. Demographic and employment information provided by attorneys assists the State Bar in complying with California Rule of Court rule 9.9 and California Business and Professions Code sections 6002.1 and 6009.5. 

Current analyses are listed here. 

Most legal aid and pro bono organizations track the number of pro bono hours by their volunteers and law firms track the number of pro bono hours contributed by their firm members.  In September 2024, the California legislature passed a law requiring active licensees to report hours provided for pro bono and reduced fee legal services annually. Through My State Bar Profile, attorneys may report this information optionally in 2025 and will be required to report this information in 2026. 

The State Bar Board of Trustees defines pro bono as providing or enabling “the direct delivery of legal services, without expectation of compensation other than reimbursement of expenses, to indigent individuals, or to not-for-profit organizations with a primary purpose of providing services to the poor or on behalf of the poor or disadvantaged, not-for-profit organizations with a purpose of improving the law and the legal system, or increasing access to justice.” See the Pro Bono Resolution on the State Bar’s website.

Legal work for clients referred from a legal aid program generally qualifies, but waiving fees for clients unable to pay does not count as pro bono if payment was initially expected. For the work perfrmed to fall within the meaning of pro bono, the lawyer providing the legal services must intend to do so for free, and the recipient must be indient. Pro bono opportunities vary depending on the needs of the client community. Examples might include:

• Representation (full or limited scope)
• Negotiation and settlement
• Screening and intake
• Brief service by phone or in person
• Legal informationor "Know Your Rights" workshops
• Document preparation and review
• Mentoring and training less experienced staff and volunteer attorneys
• Legal research and writing
• Consumer/public education
• Litigation support
• Legislative research and legal analysis

Requests for duplicate audit notices and general questions regarding the MCLE Audit should be submitted to the State Bar’s MCLE Audit Team by completing a Licensee Records and Compliance Inquiry form online.  You may also call Attorney Regulation at 888-800-3400.

Pursuant to rule 9.44 of the California Rules of Court, you cannot:

• appear for a person other than yourself as attorney in any court, or before any magistrate or other judicial officer, in this state or prepare pleadings or any other papers or issue subpoenas in any action or proceeding brought in any court or before any judicial officer;
• prepare any deed, mortgage, assignment, discharge, lease or any other instrument affecting title to real estate located in the United States;
• prepare any will or trust instrument affecting the disposition on death of any property located in the United States and owned by a resident or any instrument relating to the administration of a decedent’s estate in the United States;
• prepare any instrument in the respect of the marital relations, rights or duties of a resident of the United States or the custody or care of the children of a resident; or
• otherwise render professional legal advice on the law of the State of California, any other state of the United States, the District of Columbia, the United States or any country other than the country in which you are admitted to practice law, whether rendered incident to preparation of legal instruments or otherwise.

Pursuant Title 3, Division 3, Chapter 4 of the Rules of the State Bar, you cannot claim in any way to be a licensee of the State Bar of California.

You must notify the State Bar of any changes in your status in any jurisdiction where you are admitted to practice or of discipline with respect to such admission within 30 days. Please do not wait to inform the State Bar of any changes until your annual renewal application is due.

Pursuant to rule 3.605 of the Rules of the State Bar, the State Bar does not intervene in disputes between a provider and an attendee or potential attendee. However, complaints that the State Bar receives regarding a provider are considered in assessing the provider’s compliance with State Bar certification rules. Please email your concerns to providers@calbar.ca.gov.