The State Bar collects information on attorneys’ pro bono and reduced fee hours to better understand how these services are being provided across the profession. The data will be analyzed to identify trends, support efforts to expand access to legal services, and help address the justice gap. All reported data will be aggregated and not linked to individual attorneys.

The State Bar’s Pro Bono Practice Program (PBPP) allows attorneys who would otherwise be inactive to maintain an active license, free of fees, to exclusively provide pro bono legal services in partnership with a pro bono legal services provider. To qualify for the PBPP, an attorney must maintain an active license, submit an application annually for the program, be certified as a pro bono practice attorney, and exclusively provide pro bono legal services through an approved or qualified pro bono services provider. For more information, see the Pro Bono Practice Program webpage.

You may request to study under a different attorney or judge by submitting a new LOS application, the required documentation, and the fee in the Applicant Portal at least 15 days prior to beginning study with the new supervisor. The new application must include a completed declaration signed by the new supervising attorney or judge and a new law study outline.

If you change the attorney or judge under whom you are studying during a six-month study period, you must submit a report from your previous attorney or judge that indicates all study completed with that person, along with the semi-annual report fee in the Applicant Portal, within 30 days of beginning study with the new attorney or judge. Within 30 days of completion of the six-month study period, you will also have to submit a semi-annual report reflecting the study conducted under the new attorney or judge that covers the remainder of the six-month study period.

The LMS does not update completion progress in real time. Course completion will likely appear in your account the day following completion.

Your device may be referring to an earlier memory cache (version) of the course and may not be refreshing correctly. Try carrying out each of these options until you resolve the issue: 

1. Clear your browser’s memory cache/history.
2. Try using a different Internet browser. The following are optimal:
   Windows 7/10: Google Chrome, Internet Explorer 11 or above
   iOS: Safari
3. Try launching the course on a different device.

The plan allows attorneys to spread their total fee into smaller, manageable payments while ensuring compliance with their financial obligations.

Missed payments should be made up immediately. Failure to do so may result in your removal from the payment plan, and your outstanding balance becoming immediately due.

No. However, you may submit Certificates of Admission or Certificates of Good Standing for each court to which you are admitted in lieu of listing each court and your standing in that court.  

No. You must have a Supervising Lawyer who is committed to supervising you by May 31, 2026. However, you are still permitted to change supervisors, if the need arises, and in compliance with rules 9.49(e)(7)-(8), by submitting a PLP Employment Update application in the Applicant Portal with a declaration from each new Supervising Lawyer. You may not work at any organization unless you have submitted a declaration from a Supervising Lawyer with that organization, and the State Bar has approved your PLP Employment Update. 

Pursuant to the California Rules of Court, rule 9.49(d)(1)(C), you must complete the legal ethics courses of the New Attorney Training Program within 30 days of the date of approval of your PLP application if you did not have a passing MPRE score on file when you submit your PLP application.  

If you take the MPRE in August 2025, you may wish to apply for the PLP once your passing MPRE score has been uploaded to your Applicant Portal. We anticipate that scores from the August 2025 administration of the MPRE will be uploaded by the end of September. Please note that you must have designated California to receive your MPRE score and have your accurate NCBE number and Social Security Number in the Applicant Portal for the State Bar of California to upload your MPRE score.  

Client Trust Accounting (CTA) School provides an overview of the California Rules of Professional Conduct and relevant provisions of the State Bar Act and Rules of the State Bar relating to client trust accounting. The course is designed to help attorneys understand their fiduciary responsibilities, avoid common trust accounting violations, and maintain compliance. It is self-paced and available 24/7 on the State Bar’s E-Learning Portal. It replaces the previously offered live sessions.

The general requirement is that the report must be made within 30 days of the time you have knowledge of the triggering event.[1] Exceptions:

• If you have been newly licensed in another state or federal jurisdiction, or if your license in another jurisdiction has been terminated, you must report it on or before February 1 of each year.[2]
• If you employ a person who is disbarred, resigned, involuntarily inactive, or suspended, you must report it to the State Bar prior to or at the time the employment commences.[3]

Reporting duties are not stayed while a sanction order is on appeal.[4]

Use the search bar or filter by subject to browse relevant courses. 

Please contact our support team via email at elearning@calbar.ca.gov. Please note, response times may take up to 48 hours. 

No. Your completion status will be captured and reported to the State Bar automatically and display on your online My State Bar Profile. However, if you are audited for compliance, you will need to provide copies of your MCLE certificates of completion as verification.

Complaints typically take up to six months, sometimes more, for an investigation to be completed. In particularly complex cases, the investigation could take as long as a year. Many complaints are diverted out of the process along the way by, for example, a referral to mandatory mediation, an agreement requiring the attorney to meet certain conditions or the attorney's participation in other programs.

Attorneys are asked to provide their best, good faith effort at reporting the amount of pro bono and/or reduced fee legal services hours provided to low-income individuals, nonprofit organizations, or public law libraries during the past year to meet the requirement of Business and Professions Code section 6073.2. Per section 6073.2(g), failure to comply with any of the provisions of this section is not grounds for disciplinary or administrative recourse.

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.