Questions should be directed to the administrator of the fee arbitration program you are using to arbitrate your dispute. Check the rules and/or forms given to you by the program for the administrator's address and telephone number or look under the Approved Programs. Unless the matter is urgent, the arbitrator assigned to hear your dispute should not be called.

The arbitrator is a neutral decision maker, who considers the evidence presented by all parties and makes a decision on the lawyer's fees. The arbitrator cannot represent either the lawyer or the client in the dispute. Nor does the arbitrator typically independently investigate or gather evidence to support either side's position. The arbitrator must make the decision based on the evidence given by the parties.

The arbitrator has the authority to decide how the arbitration hearing should proceed. You may be asked to present your case first. You will be allowed to discuss the fee agreement and the reasons why you dispute the lawyer's fees. You may also introduce relevant documents, such as written fee agreements and copies of the lawyer's bills. Your presentation should be simple, factual, and directly related to the issue of lawyer's fees. Usually, this is also the time when you would present any witnesses to help prove your case. 

After you have fully presented your case, the lawyer will have a chance to ask you questions. 

The lawyer may also make their presentation and present any witnesses. You will have an opportunity to ask relevant questions after the lawyer has fully presented their case. To avoid interrupting the lawyer's presentation, you may want to take notes so that you can remember any points with which you disagree.

Rule 8.3 requires lawyers to report certain misconduct by other lawyers to the State Bar or a tribunal with jurisdiction to investigate or act upon such misconduct.

A lawyer who fails to report conduct as required by rule 8.3 may be subject to disciplinary action by the State Bar.

All messages sent by the site administrator will appear in the Messages section. Above the calendar, click the tab labeled “Message” to view messages. Click a specific message to view the full message.

New attorneys must complete all nine courses of the New Attorney Training Program by the last day of the month of an attorney’s one-year anniversary as a State Bar licensee. (Rule 2.414 of Title 2, Division 6, Chapter 1 of the Rules of the State Bar.)

For example: If your admission date is 10/15/24, your completion deadline will be 10/31/25.

You can also find your completion deadline date by logging in to My State Bar Profile or in the email you received from the State Bar about this program. If you have questions regarding your compliance deadline, complete the Licensee Records and Compliance Inquiry Form.

No. Pursuant to rule 9.46 of the California Rules of Court and Title 3 Division 3 Chapter 1 Article 3 of the Rules of the State Bar, you must reside in California. As defined in rule 3.370(D), this means that you must live or be located in California on more than a temporary or transient basis.

No. All applicants for the MJP program must first submit a registration application in the Applicant Portal to register as an attorney applicant. Your registration application must then be approved.

Once your registration application is approved, you must submit 1) the application for the MJP Program you wish to apply for – RIHC, RLAA, or RMSA, and 2) the Application for Determination of Moral Character. 

You may only practice under the MJP Program once your MJP application has been approved. You may practice under the MJP Program while awaiting a moral character determination. However, if you receive an adverse moral character determination, you will be terminated from the MJP Program.

Items listed in the Admittance Ticket Bulletin are allowed without prior approval. The Admittance Ticket Bulletin can be found on the California Bar Exam webpage once logistics for the exam are confirmed. Items not listed in the bulletin will require approval through the testing accommodations process. If the bulletin is not yet available for the exam you intend to take, refer to the bulletin for the prior administration of the exam; however, please note that the bulletin is subject to change.

You are not permitted to have any extraneous or personal items (e.g., backpacks, purses, cell phones, etc.) in the exam room. Such items will not be allowed into the testing rooms and must be left outside of the secure testing area. Ensure all audible devices left outside or in the designated courtesy area are turned off.

“IOLTA” stands for Interest on Lawyers’ Trust Accounts. IOLTA is a method of raising money, primarily for providing legal services to those unable to afford them. 

The State Bar’s Legal Services Trust Fund Program collects the interest generated by IOLTA accounts and distributes the funds to more than 100 nonprofit legal aid organizations that provide civil legal aid to indigent Californians. 

You can look up the IOLTA-funded organizations, and you can learn more about IOLTA accounts on the State Bar’s website.

• To qualify to supervise a PLL, the supervisor must have practiced law for at least four years and have actively practiced law in California or taught law at a California Law School for at least two years immediately preceding the period of supervision.
• Supervising lawyers may also be judges of a court of record in the California judicial branch.
• Registered In-House Counsel and Registered Military Spouse Attorneys and others “specially admitted” are not California licensed attorneys and cannot act as supervisors for a PLL.
• Supervising lawyers must be active licensees in good standing, and must not be ineligible to practice, suspended, under a stayed suspension order, or have resigned or been disbarred in any jurisdiction.
• • Supervising lawyers must agree to assume professional responsibility for any work of the PLL and must be prepared to assume personal representation of the PLL’s clients.

Yes. Paralegals and assistants must create their own account in the Office of Admissions' Applicant Portal using their own credentials (email address and name). Once the paralegal or assistant has access to the Applicant Portal, they may submit a PHV application with the fee on behalf of the out-of-state attorney.

A licensed California attorney may also submit a PHV application on behalf of the out-ofstate attorney. The California attorney must sign into the Applicant Portal using their credentials or contact the Office of Admissions at 800-843-9053 to reset their login information for the Applicant Portal.

You will automatically receive a receipt via email after you remit payment. Please ensure that you complete the final step and submit the application. 

Please do not click "Print Receipt" since it will eject you from the application and prevent you from submitting it. If you accidentally click the link before submitting your application, please contact the Office of Admissions at prohac@calbar.ca.gov or 800- 843-9053.

• The State Bar plans to make applications available in the Applicant Portal beginning January 4, 2023.
• Attorney applicants need to provide an original Certificate of Good Standing from each jurisdiction in which they are licensed.
• Law school graduates (JD or LLM) need to provide official, sealed transcripts.
• The application will be considered complete when, in addition to the CGS and transcript referenced above, the following are received:
  • Applicant declaration;
  • Supervising Attorney Declaration: The declaration must be submitted within the Applicant Portal; declarations sent via email and USPS are not automatically associated with the online application and may delay processing. Please ensure that you are submitting as instructed in the Applicant Portal; and
  • Payment.

You can look up IOLTA-funded organizations here.

A PLL must:

• Expressly refer to themselves orally and in writing as a Provisionally Licensed Lawyer and/or participant in the State Bar’s Provisional Licensure Program and not describe themselves as a fully licensed lawyer or imply in any way orally or in writing that they are a fully licensed lawyer.
• Follow the same professional conduct rules as all fully licensed lawyers.
• Agree to be subject to the disciplinary authority of the Supreme Court of California and the State Bar with respect to the law governing the conduct of lawyers.
• Attest that they will not practice California law other than under the supervision of an approved supervising lawyer during the time they are provisionally licensed.
• Be employed by or volunteering at the firm (as defined) where the supervising lawyer works and that firm must have an office located in California.

Maybe. Please carefully review the instructions and questions to determine the disclosure requirements.

The guidelines contain a non-exhaustive list of examples of issues that may be relevant to a moral character determination. Applications are considered individually, and the guidelines neither bind nor limit the discretion of the decision-makers, but rather provide a framework to assist the decision-makers and provide applicants with information about the process. The severity of an act of misconduct, length of time since the act, and the frequency with which the act occurred are among the factors that will be taken into consideration in making a moral character determination.

Yes. You are required to disclose all administrative matters in which you were a party.