News

As this week marks National Consumer Protection Week (March 3-March 9), the State Bar of California’s Public Trust Liaison (PTL) Enrique Zuniga advises consumers to take one simple step to avoid becoming a victim of fraud: use the State Bar’s Look Up a Lawyer search feature before signing agreements with anyone offering legal services.  

At a special meeting February 26, the State Bar of California Board of Trustees approved a 2024 budget that relies on last year’s building sale proceeds as a stopgap measure to stave off the impact of an ongoing structural deficit. The Board also reviewed and discussed plans for an April 1 set of reports to the Legislature that will articulate the State Bar’s needs for a fee increase in 2025.

For the first time in its 34-year history, the State Bar Court Reporter is now available online.    

The State Bar of California announced today that it has earned Gold level status in its DEI Leadership Seal Program, and the law firm Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP has earned Bronze. The two join 34 other California legal organizations that earned a DEI Leadership seal in 2023, when the State Bar launched the initiative to recognize legal employers who implement research-driven actions that further workplace diversity, equity, and inclusion. 

At its meeting on January 18–19, the State Bar of California’s Board of Trustees discussed the State Bar’s significant budget challenges and provided direction on plans to request of the Legislature a licensing fee increase for 2025. When the Legislature authorized flat licensing fees for 2024 amid an ongoing structural deficit in the State Bar’s General Fund, it directed submission of reports by April 1 that will outline the State Bar’s future funding needs.

In a first-of-its kind move, the State Bar of California Committee of Bar Examiners (CBE) voted today to withdraw the registration and terminate the degree-granting authority of Los Angeles-based Peoples College of Law (PCL), effective May 31, 2024.

In a ruling issued on December 6, 2023, the Ninth Circuit’s en banc panel affirms the State Bar’s sovereign immunity as an arm of the state under the Eleventh Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.   

The State Bar of California’s first-ever comprehensive Law School Profile highlights the attrition, number of JD degrees awarded, and bar exam pass rates of California’s American Bar Association (ABA), California accredited (CALS), and unaccredited law schools by race/ethnicity and gender of the student body, exploring differences in outcomes for students. 

At its November meeting, the State Bar Board of Trustees approved forwarding to the California Supreme Court a plan to pilot a Portfolio Bar Examination (PBE) as a method for assessing a candidate’s minimum competence to practice law.

The State Bar of California announced today that it sold its San Francisco headquarters at 180 Howard Street in the Financial District to Ridge Capital Investors for $54 million.

The State Bar of California reported today that 51.5 percent of applicants passed the July 2023 General Bar Examination (GBX). As a result, the 3,888 people who passed the July exam will be eligible for admission to the State Bar as soon as all admissions requirements are satisfied.

The State Bar of California’s Annual Discipline Report for fiscal year (FY) 2023 (ADR) published today, includes for the first time a snapshot of the race/ethnicity and gender of disciplined attorneys.

The State Bar of California Board of Trustees marked a leadership transition at its September 21–22 meeting, as Board Chair Brandon Stallings, Vice Chair José Cisneros, and new Trustee Mary Huser were sworn into office.

The State Bar of California seized the Gardena practice of George Y. Takahashi, doing business as American Legal Counseling, Advanced Legal Services, and American Horitsusodan, announced George Cardona, the State Bar Chief Trial Counsel today. The Office of Chief Trial Counsel (OCTC) received an interim ruling from a Los Angeles Superior Court after Takahashi engaged in the unauthorized practice of law (UPL) by providing legal services and holding himself out as an attorney. 

The State Bar of California today released reports from an independent investigation into whether former Chair of the Board of Trustees Sean SeLegue had a disqualifying conflict of interest arising out of his involvement with a 2010 discipline case against since disbarred attorney Thomas V. Girardi. The investigation found that Mr. SeLegue did not have a disqualifying conflict of interest and that neither he nor other State Bar leaders engaged in misconduct. The reports, which have been redacted on a limited basis as required by law, are being shared in keeping with the State Bar’s commitment to transparency. 

At its meeting on July 20, 2023, the State Bar of California’s Board of Trustees approved proposed measures to improve the civility of attorneys who are authorized to practice law in California.

The State Bar of California Board of Trustees approved Thursday a 2024 grant distribution of more than $95.2 million from Interest on Lawyers’ Trust Accounts (IOLTA), pooled trust account interest funds that support legal aid organizations serving indigent Californians. The 2024 IOLTA allocation, recommended to the Board by the State Bar’s Legal Services Trust Fund Commission (LSTFC), marks an 88 percent increase from the 2023 IOLTA grant distribution.  

California attorneys safeguard nearly $14 billion in client funds through their pooled Interest on Lawyers’ Trust Accounts (IOLTAs) and non-IOLTA client trust accounts (CTAs), and proactive efforts through the new Client Trust Account Protection Program (CTAPP) are already helping attorneys ensure they are properly handling those funds, the State Bar reports.

The State Bar of California filed Notices of Disciplinary Charges (NDCs) Wednesday against former Girardi Keese law firm attorneys David Richard Lira (SB#134370) and Keith David Griffin (SB#204388), the Office of Chief Trial Counsel (OCTC) announced today.

The State Bar of California announced today that 34 legal employers are receiving the first DEI Leadership Seals in the Gold, Silver, and Bronze tiers. The DEI Leadership Seal Program recognizes legal employers who implement research-driven actions that further workplace diversity, equity, and inclusion. The State Bar launched the program in January 2023 in support of its strategic plan goal of enhancing access to and inclusion in the legal system.