No. However, you may submit Certificates of Admission or Certificates of Good Standing for each court to which you are admitted in lieu of listing each court and your standing in that court.  

No. You must have a Supervising Lawyer who is committed to supervising you by May 31, 2026. However, you are still permitted to change supervisors, if the need arises, and in compliance with rules 9.49(e)(7)-(8), by submitting a PLP Employment Update application in the Applicant Portal with a declaration from each new Supervising Lawyer. You may not work at any organization unless you have submitted a declaration from a Supervising Lawyer with that organization, and the State Bar has approved your PLP Employment Update. 

Pursuant to the California Rules of Court, rule 9.49(d)(1)(C), you must complete the legal ethics courses of the New Attorney Training Program within 30 days of the date of approval of your PLP application if you did not have a passing MPRE score on file when you submit your PLP application.  

If you take the MPRE in August 2025, you may wish to apply for the PLP once your passing MPRE score has been uploaded to your Applicant Portal. We anticipate that scores from the August 2025 administration of the MPRE will be uploaded by the end of September. Please note that you must have designated California to receive your MPRE score and have your accurate NCBE number and Social Security Number in the Applicant Portal for the State Bar of California to upload your MPRE score.  

Client Trust Accounting (CTA) School provides an overview of the California Rules of Professional Conduct and relevant provisions of the State Bar Act and Rules of the State Bar relating to client trust accounting. The course is designed to help attorneys understand their fiduciary responsibilities, avoid common trust accounting violations, and maintain compliance. It is self-paced and available 24/7 on the State Bar’s E-Learning Portal. It replaces the previously offered live sessions.

The general requirement is that the report must be made within 30 days of the time you have knowledge of the triggering event.[1] Exceptions:

• If you have been newly licensed in another state or federal jurisdiction, or if your license in another jurisdiction has been terminated, you must report it on or before February 1 of each year.[2]
• If you employ a person who is disbarred, resigned, involuntarily inactive, or suspended, you must report it to the State Bar prior to or at the time the employment commences.[3]

Reporting duties are not stayed while a sanction order is on appeal.[4]

Use the search bar or filter by subject to browse relevant courses. 

Please contact our support team via email at elearning@calbar.ca.gov. Please note, response times may take up to 48 hours. 

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.

While there is no requirement to provide pro bono hours, the State Bar encourages attorneys to provide at least 50 hours of pro bono legal services annually. However, any amount will have a positive impact on the individuals and groups served.

Attorneys are also encouraged to contribute financial support to nonprofit organizations that provide pro bono legal services, especially those attorneys who are unable to directly render services. Options include making a contribution directly to a legal aid organization or donating to the Greg E. Knoll Justice Gap Fund through your annual fee statement, or at any other time in Agency Billing or My State Bar Profile. See the Pro Bono Resolution on the State Bar’s website. 

The types of ethical questions that the Ethics Hotline can assist with include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Conflicts of interest
• Communication with the represented person
• Duties of confidentiality and competence
• Advertising and solicitation
• Fee arrangements and client trust accounting
• Withdrawal from representation of a client
• Other issues under the California Rules of Professional Conduct and Business and Professions Code

Staff can provide citations to relevant rules, cases, and ethics opinions (State Bar or local bar associations).

Prior to adopting any rules, the Board is required to issue the proposal for a public comment period. The Board will then review feedback and decide whether to adopt the proposal, revise it, or send it back to staff or the Working Group for further work.

A Certified Law Student whose certification has been revoked may request reconsideration of the revocation. The request must be in writing and submitted to the State Bar within 15 days of the applicant’s receipt of the notice of revocation. Any arguments or evidence in support of the request must be submitted with the request through the Applicant Portal. Within 60 days of receipt of the request, the State Bar will provide the applicant with a written decision. The decision constitutes the final action of the State Bar.

No. You may only use the title “Certified Law Student” in connection with your activities performed under the program. You may not claim in any way to be a licensee of the State Bar of California.

The CLS Program certifies law students to provide legal services on a restricted basis under the supervision of a licensed California attorney who is active and in good standing.

The compliance review itself is not a disciplinary proceeding. However, serious or unresolved findings may result in a referral to the Office of Chief Trial Counsel. Attorneys who demonstrate good faith effort to comply and correct issues are generally supported with guidance and corrective measures, not discipline.

A client ledger is a record of all trust account transactions for a specific client or matter. The account journal is a running record of all transactions affecting the entire trust account. The client ledger tracks individual client balances, while the journal shows the total activity in the account.

Yes. There is no restriction in the statute regarding where the pro bono work is performed or where the clients are located. Pro bono services provided outside California should therefore be included in what licensees report.

If the State Bar decides to file charges against the attorney, the case will go to the independent State Bar Court and will become public, with notice on the attorney’s online profile. A judge can dismiss the case, issue an admonishment or reproval, or recommend suspension or disbarment. The California Supreme Court has the final say in all discipline cases involving suspension or disbarment.

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.