Please submit your information both online and by email, fax or mail. We will review the submission and let you know if you need to correct any deficiencies or provide further documentation. Once the administrative portion of the audit has been completed, you will be notified by mail. Attorneys who attested to compliance but failed to provide sufficient proof may be referred to the Office of Chief Trial Counsel for further investigation and/or disciplinary prosecution.

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.

There is no specific MCLE requirement for reactivation. An attorney will receive a 60-day notice to comply soon after reactivation. However, for attorneys who have been Inactive for two (2) or more years, previously accrued hours may have all been tolled off.

• For more information, see Inactive Status
• Transfer to Active form. 

We can accommodate only one passport-type photo within your profile on the State Bar's website, which you can update as needed. However, including a link to your firm's website will give you the opportunity to provide additional information.

The State Bar of California is not an attorney referral service. The online directory is informational and there is no guarantee that the lawyer contacted will agree to take your case. An attorney’s decision of whether or not to take a case is a matter between you and the attorney. The State Bar has no influence over that process.

Some attorneys have chosen to voluntarily provide the following additional information, which is not considered part of the official record and which has not been verified by the State Bar:

• links to firm web page
• languages spoken by the lawyer or the law firm employees
• a photo of the attorney
• legal practice area 

In order to voluntarily terminate the LLP's Certificate of Registration with the State Bar, you must submit an original certified copy of the Secretary of State's LLP-4 form (including the blue and white cover sheet with red date stamp), showing that the entity ceases to exist as a limited liability partnership. Pursuant to 9.0 of the State Bar's LLP Rules and Regulations, the termination shall be effective as of the date the LLP is dissolved by the Secretary of State.

Yes. You lose your exemption for the entire compliance period, with the exception of "qualified" pro bono work (see details below).

Full-time employees of the State of California or the United States government are exempt under 2.54(A)(3) and 2.54(A)(4) only if the sole legal work done by the attorneys is within the scope of their employment.

If these attorneys engage in any legal activity outside the scope of their employment, including pro bono work (see below for exception) or legal work for the attorney personally, close friends or immediate family (such as drafting a will for a relative, reviewing a contract for a non-profit association of which the attorney is a member and giving advice respecting it, they are not covered by the exemption of section 2.54(A)(3) and 2.54(A)(4) and must comply with the full MCLE requirements.

If you claimed exempt status for any portion of the compliance period, please complete the MCLE Online Summary Log by selecting “Yes” in the Exempt box and provide a letter from all of your supervisors confirming your titles and dates of employment relative to the MCLE compliance period along with the MCLE Audit Submission Cover Sheet by the deadline. If you also have a proportional requirement you should submit the necessary number of certificates.

You don’t have to attend an admissions ceremony to take the attorney’s oath. You can also appear before a judge, justice or clerk of the court, State Bar of California trustee, military commanding officer, an American consul or anyone authorized to administer oaths.  For more information, see this list of people who are qualified to administer the oath.

Yes, see Forms.

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.

• Provider Search: Telephone numbers for approved providers
• Compliance Information: Recording Keeping Requirement

Special Masters serve without compensation, but for purposes of immunities are considered public employees of the government entity causing the search warrant to be issued.

The issues to be decided in the fee arbitration are limited. The arbitrator will decide the amount of fees and costs, if any, you owe the lawyer or whether you should receive a refund from the lawyer.

If the fee agreement fails to comply with the law, you may "void" or reject it, but the lawyer may still be entitled to receive a reasonable fee. So, as discussed below, you must still be prepared to present a case to the arbitrator with the specific reasons why you believe the fee charged is not reasonable. You may present evidence of what a reasonable fee should be

The arbitration hearing is typically informal, although evidence is usually taken under oath. Arbitration hearings may be held in a conference room in the arbitrator's office or at the bar association. Generally, only the arbitrator, you, the lawyer, and maybe witnesses will be in the room. You do not need to be represented by a lawyer. However, you may choose to have a lawyer represent you if you wish.

There are two types of approved providers in California: Single Activity Providers and Multiple Activity Providers. A Single Activity Provider (SAP) is an organization approved to hold and grant Minimum Continuing Legal Education (MCLE) or Legal Specialty Minimum Continuing Legal Education (LSMCLE) credit for a single MCLE or LSMCLE activity for a period of two years from the date of the activity, provided that no substantive changes are made to the program. A SAP must apply for and receive approval of the activity in accordance with the State Bar’s procedures and pay applicable fee(s). More on becoming a Single Activity Provider

A Multiple Activity Provider (MAP) is an organization approved to hold and grant credit for any MCLE or LSMCLE activity for two years after applying for and receiving approval of MAP status in accordance with State Bar procedures and paying the applicable fee(s). Providers approved for MAP status do not have to submit separate applications to request approval for each program offered. More on becoming a Multiple Activity Provider

Yes, there is no exception in rule 8.3 for when a lawyer knows that a complaint was already filed with the State Bar, concerning the same conduct.

The dashboard provides a bird’s-eye view of your course availability and completion. The dashboard presents:

• New courses that have been launched recently.
• Messages: Check this section for important messages from the site administrator.