The cost is $275 per month, which is paid to the clinician who facilitates the group. Groups fees are assessed monthly, not on a week-to-week basis. Financial assistance is available for qualified participants.

No. A broad range of pro bono activities do not require direct, full representation, and/or court appearances. Many legal services and pro bono programs have volunteer opportunities at clinics and hotlines. Your only commitment is for the time spent at the clinic or covering the hotline. California courts allow unbundled (or limited scope) services, so that you can draft pleadings only or take on just a portion of the representation without committing to full representation.

The State Bar’s Office of Chief Trial Counsel handles complaints about unethical attorney conduct from several different sources, including clients, family and friends of clients, courts, opposing counsel, members of the public or other third parties, and anonymous submissions.

An inquiry is opened for every written communication that involves a complaint about an attorney’s conduct. After the inquiry is evaluated, the accused attorney may be diverted out of the system, or the inquiry may be closed.

If it appears that the attorney may be a repeat offender or may have committed a violation where there is a serious likelihood of discipline being imposed, an investigator and a State Bar prosecutor take responsibility for the investigation.

The accused attorney is given an opportunity to respond, witnesses are contacted, and documents are reviewed. At the investigation’s conclusion, the State Bar decides whether to:

• Dismiss the complaint,
• Impose an informal confidential resolution, or
• File disciplinary charges.

The Notice of Disciplinary Charges is filed in State Bar Court, where it is assigned to a hearing judge. The accused attorney then must file an answer or risk a default judgment or involuntary enrollment as an inactive bar member.

If a settlement cannot be reached, the case goes to trial in State Bar Court. After the trial, the hearing judge issues a written decision. Either side may appeal the decision to the State Bar Court’s Review Department.

The California Supreme Court is the final arbiter in attorney discipline cases.

Fees are listed in the Schedule of Charges and Deadlines.

Applications are available in the Applicant Portal. You must create an account using your name, email address, and password to gain access to the Applicant Portal.

No. Once you have submitted your fingerprints through a Live Scan vendor and received an ATI number, you should retain a copy of the Live Scan form for your records.

Upon submission of the ATI number on the Proof of Live Scan Submission page, the fingerprinting requirements status will be updated.

For more information, please complete the LAP/OPC Support Intake Form, give us a call (877-LAP-4HELP or 877-527-4435), or send an email to LAP@calbar.ca.gov. Contacting us is confidential.

Very often, the amount of money a lawyer handles for a single client is quite small, or will be held for such a short period of time that it cannot earn net income for the client.

When these small or short-term funds belonging to clients are placed in a single, interest- or dividend-bearing trust account, the funds collectively earn interest that the financial institution forwards to the State Bar of California to support nonprofit legal aid organizations that provide civil legal aid to indigent and low-income people, seniors and persons with disabilities.

Business and Professions Code Sections 6091.2, 6211, 6212, 6213 require that financial institutions that choose to participate in the IOLTA program offer comparable bank investment products to their IOLTA customers as they do to their similarly situated customers. If a financial institution does not meet this requirement, then attorneys are not allowed to hold their IOLTA at that financial institution.  

Helps California attorneys practice law ethically. The office develops and maintains resources that facilitate compliance with duties, such as an online Client Trust Accounting Handbook. The office administers a telephone legal ethics research assistance program for attorneys called the Ethics Hotline and conducts preventative education and outreach. The office also supports key committees and working groups that provide ethics guidance and address policy and rule changes to support evolving changes in the ethics rules. It certifies Lawyer Referral Services and administers the statewide Mandatory Fee Arbitration Program, which provides avenues for alternative dispute resolution of attorney‐client fee disputes.

If your deceased attorney was part of a law firm or law partnership, that firm would maintain custody of your file.

If your deceased attorney was a sole practitioner, you will need to obtain new counsel. Generally, the executor or administrator of the attorney's estate is responsible for notifying clients and returning their files. In some instances, the local superior court may appoint a practice administrator to handle these duties.

In other instances, the deceased attorney's law practice may be sold to another member of the bar. (Such sales are governed by ethical limitations outlined in the Rules of Professional Conduct).

Finally, there are unfortunate instances in which an attorney dies leaving no responsible person in charge of the law practice. In those instances, the State Bar or local county bar associations may assist in winding down the law practice (after obtaining authorization from the Superior Court).

Your first step should be to contact the law offices of your deceased attorney to determine whether your file is available. If you are unsuccessful, you may contact the State Bar Office of Chief Trial Counsel: 800-843-9053

The Tester ID was displayed when you paid for the test, on the payment confirmation webpage. It was also emailed to the account you used when you registered with the State Bar or, for those not licensed in California, to the email address you entered when you started the Self-Study payment process. If you cannot find the email, please check your spam or junk folder.

You will use the same password that you use to log in to My State Bar Profile. If you forgot that password, select “Forgot password?” on that page to reset it.

Contracted therapists agree to provide two additional sessions at $100 per session after the two free sessions that LAP pays for. For the fifth session, individuals can make their own arrangements with the therapist/counselor if they wish to continue.

No, the ADP is the State Bar Court's Alternative Discipline Program for attorneys with substance use or mental health problems.

The LAP is a separate program for law students, State Bar applicants, current and former attorneys with substance use or mental health issues, regardless of whether they have past or pending disciplinary matters.

The ADP has a close and mutually beneficial relationship with LAP. The ADP neither duplicates the LAP processes nor usurps the treatment function. The ADP seeks to identify and refer respondents with substance use or mental health problems to LAP in order that respondents so afflicted may be treated and rehabilitated. A respondent must be accepted into LAP to be eligible for the ADP.

The State Bar Court has more information about ADP.

If you received a Notice of Client's Right to Fee Arbitration form from the attorney, you have 30 days from the date you received it to submit your arbitration request form to the program.

If you do not file the request form with the program within 30 days, you will lose your right to arbitrate your fee dispute. A telephone call or letter to the program requesting arbitration will not protect that right. You must be sure that the request form is completely filled out and that you have included any filing fee that may be required.

If the attorney has already filed a lawsuit against you for unpaid fees, you may elect either to respond to the lawsuit or request fee arbitration. If you file a response to the lawsuit, you will lose your right to arbitrate the fee dispute. If you request arbitration, the lawsuit will be stayed, but you should file the appropriate notice of automatic stay with the court. To preserve your right to arbitrate, you should file a request for arbitration promptly.

The Rules of Professional Conduct establish standards of legal ethics and professional responsibility for licensees. The State Bar also provides ethics opinions and other guidance, as well as an Ethics Hotline to ensure that attorneys adhere to their professional responsibilities.

You can call the Ethics Hotline at 1-800-238-4427 or visit the ethics webpage for more information. 

You may practice as a registered legal services attorney for no more than a total of three years.

Yes. You must notify the State Bar within 30 days.

Your registration will be canceled and will not be permitted to practice law in California as a registered in-house counsel or as a registered legal services attorney.