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.
How much time must I devote to pro bono activities?
The State Bar encourages attorneys to provide 50 hours of pro bono activity annually; however, even a few hours may have extraordinary positive impact on underserved individuals and groups.
I’ve lost (or never received) my MCLE Audit Notice. What do I do now?
Requests for duplicate audit notices and general questions regarding the MCLE Audit should be submitted to the State Bar’s MCLE Audit Team by completing a Licensee Records and Compliance Inquiry form online. You may also call Attorney Regulation at 888-800-3400.
What am I not permitted to do as a Foreign Legal Consultant?
appear for a person other than yourself as attorney in any court, or before any magistrate or other judicial officer, in this state or prepare pleadings or any other papers or issue subpoenas in any action or proceeding brought in any court or before any judicial officer;
prepare any deed, mortgage, assignment, discharge, lease or any other instrument affecting title to real estate located in the United States;
prepare any will or trust instrument affecting the disposition on death of any property located in the United States and owned by a resident or any instrument relating to the administration of a decedent’s estate in the United States;
prepare any instrument in the respect of the marital relations, rights or duties of a resident of the United States or the custody or care of the children of a resident; or
otherwise render professional legal advice on the law of the State of California, any other state of the United States, the District of Columbia, the United States or any country other than the country in which you are admitted to practice law, whether rendered incident to preparation of legal instruments or otherwise.
What if my licensure status changes before an annual renewal application is due?
You must notify the State Bar of any changes in your status in any jurisdiction where you are admitted to practice or of discipline with respect to such admission within 30 days. Please do not wait to inform the State Bar of any changes until your annual renewal application is due.
Will the State Bar receive subsequent arrest and conviction information from the federal government?
No. The State Bar will only receive subsequent criminal offense information from the DOJ, which is limited to criminal activity reported through California’s criminal justice system. While the FBI will provide the State Bar with criminal offense information upon initial receipt of an attorney’s fingerprints, the State Bar will not receive subsequent information from the FBI.
Can a candidate request review of a not qualified rating?
(1) A candidate rated not qualfied may request rescission within 30 days of being notified of the NQ rating by the JNE director on behalf of the commission.
(2) The JNE Review Committee consists of five members who are appointed by the Board of Trustees.
(3) This committee's charge is to review all requests for reconsideration. In the event the Review Committee finds certain specified violations of the rules to have occurred, or after review of the candidate's record the commission's rating of not qualified is not supported by substantial evidence, it may, in its absolute discretion, rescind the opinion of the commission.
How much credit do I get for attending a participatory education activity?
If an activity or provider is approved by California, the provider is required to give a certificate of attendance for participatory education activities that lists total credit hours and the number of those total hours allocated to the special requirements (i.e. legal ethics; detection, prevention and treatment of substance abuse; and elimination of bias in the legal profession). An attorney can claim credit only for the amount of time actually attended.
For information about attending a participatory activity outside California, go to Approved Jurisdictions.
What does the State Bar do when a California attorney is convicted of a crime?
The convicted attorney, the district attorney, and the court are each required, by law, to notify the State Bar any time that an attorney is arrested and charged with a crime or criminally convicted. These overlapping requirements help assure that the State Bar will be notified. When the State Bar receives such a report, the information is forwarded to the State Bar Court. Then it is handled in several different ways, depending upon the nature of the conviction.
If the attorney is convicted of a felony, they are placed on interim suspension pending a disciplinary hearing on the merits in State Bar Court.
Attorneys convicted of a misdemeanor also are put on interim suspension if the crime involved “moral turpitude” by its very nature. Some crimes, such as theft, are designated by law as crimes involving moral turpitude.
If the attorney’s misdemeanor conviction does not by its very nature involve moral turpitude, they face a hearing in State Bar Court to determine the discipline, if any, to be imposed in the case.
Is it permissible if one of the LLP's partners is also a shareholder in a law corporation and/or already a partner in another LLP?
That is fine, as long as the law practice relationship between the entities is acknowledged on the application.
I’ve submitted my audit materials. How will I know when the audit has been received and completed?
Once your audit is complete, you will receive a letter confirming your successful completion of the administrative portion of the audit.
I don’t have a certificate but I do have a copy of the sign in sheet from the provider. Will you accept that as proof of completion?
We will only accept a sign-in sheet if it includes the name of the course, course provider, date of activity and the number of MCLE hours afforded to attendees.
Where do I mail the State Bar's copy of my application?
State Bar of California
Office of Special Admissions and Specialization
180 Howard Street
San Francisco, CA 94105
What address should I use as my address of record for State Bar purposes?
The office address of the attorney's employer (qualifying institution for in-house counsel and legal services attorney) will be considered your address of record. If your current employer changes its address, you must submit a written notice to:
Office of Admissions (MJP)
845 S. Figueroa St.
Los Angeles, CA 90017-2515
If your address change is due to new employment, you must submit a Change of Employment Form to the State Bar.
MJP attorneys are not allowed to practice law with other institutions without registration by the State Bar.
How many hours of MCLE do I have?
The MCLE Compliance Department does not keep track of the education an attorney has completed: Attorneys are responsible for keeping certificates of attendance and a record of self-study activities. These records should be used to tally hours.
Certificates of attendance list the overall amount of credit available for an activity and whether any credit is available for legal ethics, prevention of substance abuse, or elimination of bias in the legal profession. Contact the provider directly regarding lost certificates of attendance or if information about an activity is incomplete.
