Renewal packets are available by calling the Office of Admissions at 213-765-1519 or by sending an e-mail to mjp@calbar.ca.gov.

Increased visibility as a partner in access to justice: The State Bar will prominently highlight Leadership Banks on its website, including their names first on the list of financial institutions eligible to hold IOLTA accounts, and including hyperlinks to their institution’s website. The State Bar will draw attention the Leadership Bank program in its communications and publications seen by attorneys around the state, emphasizing how selecting a Leadership Bank for IOLTA funds will increase funding for civil legal aid to vulnerable low-income Californians.

Marketing edge: Financial institutions will have permission to advertise their Leadership Bank designation and branding as evidence of their support for their communities and for civil legal aid.

Ability to obtain Community Reinvestment Act credit: Being a Leadership Bank will help financial institutions fulfill their obligations under the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) by generating funds that will go directly towards assisting those most in need. Civil legal aid helps prevent homelessness, protect families, and stop wage theft, among many other areas that align with CRA development goals. Becoming a Leadership Bank is an investment in the community that contributes to its overall economic strength and stability

Demonstrated social responsibility: Financial institutions care about their customers and their communities. This is another way to support veterans, seniors, and low-income Californians struggling with disability benefits, medical care, and their financial health. The California Justice Gap Study estimates that 33 percent of the problems that low-income Californians seek help for will not be resolved due to insufficient resources. In fact, in the past year only 27 percent of low-income Californians received some legal help for issues that matter the most to them; less significant issues received even less support. The Leadership Bank program is an immediate and critical means to start filling the gap by providing additional interest on IOLTA accounts that in turn will fund more services to these clients.

Source: State Bar of California, The California Justice Gap Study: Measuring the Unmet Civil Legal Needs of Californians (2019).

Compliance pending status means the active attorney will not be penalized because the State Bar received evidence the attorney attempted to comply with the Fingerprinting Rule Requirements. However, the fingerprints have not been successfully processed by both the DOJ and FBI. The attorney may be asked to re-submit fingerprints if the State Bar does not receive confirmation the fingerprints were processed successfully by the DOJ/FBI.

No. You must use a California Live Scan vendor that is contracted to submit your fingerprint to the California DOJ. For more information, please go to Fingerprinting Rule Requirements for Out-of-State Attorneys.

Providing a social security number is not legally required; however, DOJ procedures recommend providing the social security number on the Live Scan form. Further, many Live Scan vendors will refuse to submit your information without a social security number.

If you are uncomfortable with a Live Scan vendor retaining your social security number, we recommend redacting the number from the Live Scan form after the Live Scan vendor enters your information into the Live Scan software for transmission to the DOJ. The Live Scan vendor will then retain the redacted Live Scan form for their records. If a social security number is not provided, processing can be delayed.

No. Attorneys who live out-of-state can request hard copy fingerprint cards from the State Bar to be mailed to their preferred location. The cards can be completed at any fingerprint processing location within the jurisdiction in which they are located. For more information go to Fingerprinting Rule Requirements.

The State Bar will receive criminal record information from both the DOJ and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). This information specifically includes a summary of arrests, pretrial proceedings, the nature and disposition of criminal charges, sentencing, incarceration, court-ordered rehabilitation conditions, and release. The DOJ will send the State Bar notification of subsequent California arrests and the disposition of those arrests. At this time, the FBI will not send notification of out-of-state arrests to the State Bar.

State Bar investigations and inquiries are, by statute, confidential. The complaint becomes public when disciplinary charges are filed against an attorney in State Bar Court. By law, however, any other pending investigations involving the same attorney must remain confidential at that point. If it is determined that public protection is seriously at stake in a particular case, the Chief Trial Counsel does have the authority to publicly reveal a pending investigation.

Under limited circumstances, the Board of Trustees, or the Chief Trial Counsel and Chair of the Board of Trustees, may waive confidentiality, but any public disclosure will remain limited to confirming the fact of a complaint or investigation; a brief factual summary to identify the subject matter of the complaint or investigation; and the status of the complaint or investigation.

If criminal conduct is suspected, the State Bar may also refer the matter to a law enforcement agency for investigation and potential prosecution.

An attorney's compliance group never changes, even if a last name is changed. Attorneys always remain in the compliance group to which they originally were assigned. See Compliance Groups for more information.

For Trial Court: Two or more commissioners, at least one of whom is an attorney member; for Supreme and Appellate Courts: Three or more commissioners, at least one of whom is a public member.