Will you send me a reminder before my deadline? Will there be a reminder in My State Bar Profile?
No. The State Bar will not send a reminder before your NAT completion deadline. You are personally responsible for tracking and meeting your deadline.
If you do not complete NAT by your deadline, the State Bar will send you a notice of noncompliance. The notice will explain that you must complete NAT and pay any assessed noncompliance penalty to avoid being enrolled as inactive and becoming ineligible to practice law.
Because NAT is a onetime requirement, it may not appear in the same area of My State Bar Profile as your annual MCLE compliance obligations. Remember to:
Keep your email address and mailing address current with the State Bar,
Review your notifications in My State Bar Profile regularly, and
Complete NAT well before your deadline.
If I miss the deadline, how do I pay the noncompliance penalty?
If you do not complete NAT by your deadline, you will be assessed a noncompliance penalty, which may take up to 90 days to appear in My State Bar Profile. To pay the noncompliance penalty:
Select “Compliance Dashboard” in the top navigation menu.
In the “Annual License Fee Status” section, select “Pay your annual fees.”
Select “Calculate and pay my fees.”
Follow the instructions to pay any outstanding balance.
Even after a noncompliance penalty has been assessed, you are still required to complete NAT. If you do not complete NAT and resolve any assessed fees by the applicable deadlines, you may be enrolled as involuntarily inactive and become ineligible to practice law.
What is the New Attorney Training Program?
The State Bar of California’s New Attorney Training (NAT) Program is a mandatory online training program for all newly admitted California attorneys. It consists of nine State Bar–produced courses covering professional responsibilities and practical skills for practicing law. The courses may be completed in any order and at your own pace.
Topic
MCLE Credit
Attorney as an Officer of the Court—Civility and Pro Bono Legal Services
1.0 hour of Civility
Attorney Communication Duties
1.25 hours of Legal Ethics
Attorney Well-Being: The Bedrock of Competence
1.0 hour of Competence: Prevention and Detection
Attorney-Client Relationships
1.25 hours of Legal Ethics
Conflict Resolution, Interpersonal and Communication Skills, and Technology
0.75 hours of General
Elimination of Bias
1.0 hour of Elimination of Bias
Introduction to Law Practice Management Skills
1.0 hour of General
The Attorney as a Fiduciary of Funds and Property of Clients and Others
1.5 hours of Legal Ethics
The Duty of Confidentiality and Conflicts of Interest
1.25 hours of Legal Ethics
Can I claim MCLE credit for NAT courses?
The State Bar’s New Attorney Training is a separate requirement and is not MCLE. However, you may apply NAT course hours toward your MCLE requirements if you complete the hours during your first MCLE compliance period. (Rule 2.142.) Review your MCLE requirements, including any proportional requirement, to determine whether and how the NAT hours apply to your situation.
When is my deadline to complete NAT?
You must complete NAT by the last day of the month of your one-year anniversary as a State Bar licensee. (Rule 2.141.)
For example, if you were admitted on October 15, your deadline is October 31 of the following year. If you have a question about your deadline, complete the Licensee Records and Compliance Inquiry form.
How do I access the New Attorney Training?
The New Attorney Training Program courses can be accessed through My State Bar Profile. The fee to access all nine courses is $55. Fee waivers are not available.
Locate the e-learning section toward the bottom of the home page, and select “E-Learning Portal.”
On the E-Learning Dashboard’s top navigation bar, select “View Catalog.”
In the search box, type “New Attorney Training.”
Select “Add to Cart” and complete the checkout process.
After you purchase the courses, when you return to the E-Learning Dashboard, select “Not Started” to locate the course you want to start. Then, select the red + button to the right of the course title, and select “Launch.”
Can I get a fee waiver for the course?
No. Fee waivers are not available. The fee to access all nine NAT courses is $55.
Can I request an exemption or time extension?
There are no exemptions from the NAT requirement. (Rule 2.143.)
Time extensions are granted only in rare cases involving documented personal hardship. (Rule 2.144.) If you believe you have a qualifying hardship, submit the applicable State Bar request as soon as possible and ideally before your NAT deadline, if feasible.
Submitting a request does not excuse compliance unless the State Bar grants it. Do not delay beginning or completing NAT while awaiting a decision.
I’m a former Provisional Licensure Program (PLP) participant and was recently admitted. Do I need to take NAT again?
If you completed any portion of NAT while enrolled in the State Bar’s PLP, you are considered to have satisfied that portion of the NAT requirement and do not need to retake it. Make sure you complete all nine NAT courses by the deadline.
Check your E-Learning Portal to confirm that your completed courses are reflected. If a completed course does not appear in your record, contact elearning@calbar.ca.gov for assistance.
As a federal or state employee, am I exempt from completing NAT?
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.
1.3 What are entrusted funds and how must they be handled?
All funds received by a lawyer in connection with legal representation in which a client or a third party has an interest are funds that must be deposited in a trust account. Examples include advances for fees received from clients (until they are earned by the lawyer), funds of others that are being held for disbursement at a later time, personal injury awards, and litigation settlements.
Client and third-party funds must be held in either an IOLTA or non-IOLTA type client trust account. The definitions of each are as follows:
IOLTA—An attorney or firm that holds funds for a client or third party that are nominal in amount or are held for too short a time to earn interest income for the benefit of the client or third party in excess of the cost to hold the funds in a separate account is required to place those funds in an IOLTA account. (Bus. & Prof. Code, § 6211, subd. (a)). A California IOLTA account must be established and maintained with an eligible institution that offers IOLTA accounts that meet certain requirements. The State Bar website has a list of IOLTA-eligible institutions.
Non-IOLTA—An attorney or firm that holds funds for a client or the benefit of a single party in a matter that is large enough to generate more than nominal interest, or an attorney who holds funds for a single party for an extended period must hold such funds in a non-IOLTA trust account. An example would be funds held by the administrator of a family trust. The attorney must use a non-IOLTA account because these entrusted funds will earn interest in excess of the costs to maintain the account. The interest earned goes to the client or third party. (Bus. & Prof. Code, § 6211, subd. (b)).
When registering a client trust account as part of CTAPP, you must identify the trust account type. The account will either be IOLTA or non-IOLTA; an account will never be both. The account type was established at the time the account was opened and does not change. A California IOLTA must bear the State Bar of California’s Taxpayer Identification Number to ensure that interest or dividends generated by this account will be paid to the State Bar’s IOLTA program. A non-IOLTA will bear the Social Security Number or Tax ID number of the client or third party.
2.6 I have already completed my reporting, but I want to change an answer during the annual CTAPP reporting period. How do I do that?
If you have already completed your CTAPP reporting for the current period and you want to change an answer before the reporting deadline, you can access the CTAPP reporting page by logging in to My State Bar Profile. On your Client Trust Reporting page (third blue tab at the top), click the CTAPP Annual Reporting tile. You can click through the pop-up warning that says you have already submitted your CTAPP Annual Reporting declaration and that you will have to resubmit your declaration, or you will be out of compliance. NOTE: Even if you make no changes, be sure to click all the way through and resubmit your declaration.
2.13 How do I report changes to my trust accounts outside of the annual CTAPP reporting period (rule 2.2(C) of the Rules of the State Bar)?
A lawyer must report any changes to their client trust account to the State Bar within 30 days. A lawyer may add or close an account using the 30-day reporting window in My State Bar Profile, and a firm administrator may add or close an account or add or remove an attorney from an account through the 30-day reporting window in the Agency Billing platform. When a firm administrator adds a new attorney or removes an attorney from a trust account, they provide the effective date and reason for the disassociation as part of the reporting.
3.3.3 The bank holding my trust account was acquired by or merged with another bank. The new bank changed my routing number and/or account number, but I cannot update those fields during my CTAPP reporting. How do I report this change to my account?
The trust account reporting system does not allow changes to routing numbers or account numbers of previously registered trust accounts. To report this change, please close the registration of the existing account by clicking the “Update Account Information” link and then entering, in the “Edit Close Date” tab, the date the account was changed to the new routing and account number. You will also need to enter the balance on that date.
You can then register the account with the new routing number and account number. In the open date field, please enter the date the account was changed to the new routing and account number. Please be sure to enter the bank balance of the new account as of December 31.
Depending on the circumstances, the arbitrator will consider several factors in reaching a decision. These may include:
Whether there was a written fee agreement;
The value of the attorney’s services;
Whether the attorney spent an appropriate amount of time on your case;
Whether there are any billing errors; and
Whether any professional negligence or misconduct by the attorney affected the value of the services
The arbitrator will decide the matter based on written submissions and the evidence presented at the hearing. The award will be either binding or nonbinding, depending on what the two parties choose.
What is the Mandatory Fee Arbitration Program?
The State Bar's Mandatory Fee Arbitration Program is an informal, confidential, and low-cost forum for resolving fee disputes between attorneys and their clients. Clients have the right to have a neutral party—an “arbitrator"—hear fee disputes with their attorneys. The arbitrator determines whether the fees and costs charged by the attorney are reasonable for the services provided.
This kind of arbitration is mandatory for a lawyer if requested by a client.
What are the different levels of discipline that the State Bar Court imposes on attorneys?
The Probation Unit of the Office of Chief Trial Counsel monitors attorneys’ compliance with the conditions imposed on suspensions and reprovals.
The State Bar Court also may put attorneys on involuntary inactive status if they appear to pose a serious threat to the public.
If a State Bar investigation indicates that an attorney’s conduct only bordered on a violation or was a minor breach, State Bar prosecutors may choose an alternative to discipline.
The State Bar’s Office of Chief Trial Counsel could decide to:
Send a Directional or Warning Letter to the attorney, and close the case.
Issue an Admonition informing the attorney that no further action will take place as long as they stay out of trouble for two years.
Settle on an Agreement in Lieu of Discipline that requires the attorney to fulfill specially tailored remedial conditions.
Do I need to identify myself in any particular way?
Yes. When providing legal services pursuant to rule 9.46, you must use the title "Registered In-House Counsel." That title may not be used in connection with any other activities, and you may not in any way hold yourself out as a member of the State Bar of California.
Do I need to identify myself in any particular way?
Yes. When providing legal services pursuant to rule 9.45, you must use the title "Registered Legal Services Attorney." That title may not be used in connection with any other activities, and you may not in any way hold yourself out as a licensed attorney of the State Bar of California.
Am I eligible if I am a California resident?
No. (Rule 9.47 & 9.48)
Do I have to take the California bar exam?
No. You must meet all of the requirements for admission to the California bar except that you do not need to take the bar exam or the Multistate Professional Responsibility Exam.
If I have been disciplined by an attorney regulatory or other regulatory agency, does my disciplinary history affect my eligibility?
No. Notwithstanding a prior disciplinary history, if you are currently licensed and entitled to practice law, you may register as a legal services attorney. However, a record of discipline could lead to an adverse moral character determination depending on the nature of the circumstances leading to the imposition of discipline, the nature and amount of rehabilitation that has taken place, and the length of time since the events that led to discipline. For more information, go to www.calbar.ca.gov>Bar Exam>Moral Character.
Will registered legal services attorneys or in-house counsel receive a certificate of registration?
Yes. They will receive a standard certificate once the registration process is complete.
Are there any special advertising requirements?
Yes. You must indicate on any advertising accessible in California (including internet ads) either that you are not a California bar attorney or that you are admitted to practice only in the states listed in your advertising.
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