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Both arbitration and mediation involve a neutral third party. In arbitration, the arbitrator hears evidence and arguments, and then issues a decision that may be binding or nonbinding. In mediation, the mediator helps the parties reach their own voluntary agreement.
No. Both sides must agree to mediation. The State Bar will notify the opposing party if mediation is requested.
If you received a Notice of Client’s Right to Fee Arbitration form from the attorney, you have 30 days from the date you received it to submit your arbitration request form to the program. You must also submit your arbitration request if you first wish to mediate the fee dispute.
If you do not file the request form within 30 days of receiving the notice, you will lose your right to arbitrate your fee dispute. A telephone call or letter to the program requesting arbitration will not protect that right. You must be sure that the request form is complete and submitted with any required filing fee.
If the attorney has already filed a lawsuit against you for unpaid fees, you may elect either to respond to the lawsuit or request fee arbitration. If you file a response to the lawsuit, you will lose your right to arbitrate the fee dispute. If you request arbitration, the lawsuit will be stayed, but you should file the appropriate notice of automatic stay with the court. To preserve your right to arbitrate, you should file a request for arbitration promptly.
Your request for mediation is part of the State Bar request for arbitration, so it will follow the same timelines listed above.
No. The mediator will not decide any issues related to attorney misconduct and/or malpractice and has no authority to make any determinations regarding the attorney’s conduct or to discipline attorneys for professional misconduct.
If you wish to file a disciplinary complaint with the State Bar of California about your attorney’s conduct, you may do so online. Please keep in mind that a discipline complaint and a request to arbitrate and mediate a fee dispute are separate matters. Filing a complaint may result in disciplinary action against the attorney; however, the result may or may not require the attorney to refund fees.
To help you decide whether to file a complaint, visit the Want to File a Complaint webpage.
If you think you have a separate claim for legal malpractice, you should seek legal counsel.
If you are seeking a refund of attorney’s fees that you have already paid, you may request fee mediation as a preliminary option along with arbitration as long as you are still within the legal time limit for filing a lawsuit about the fee dispute. To preserve your right to arbitrate, and to potentially mediate a fee dispute, you should file a request for arbitration promptly.
For disputes filed with the State Bar, simply check the box agreeing to mediate on the request for fee arbitration form. Some local bar associations offer fee mediation in addition to fee arbitration. Find local fee arbitration programs.
Yes. Mediation is voluntary and either side can decline to mediate. All parties must agree for a mediation to go forward.
Mediations will take place by videoconference. Usually, the parties are in separate areas to start but may be brought together later in the process. The mediator will typically meet separately with one party, and then the other, to understand their perspectives and to identify areas of potential agreement. This “shuttle diplomacy” will take place until an agreement is reached, or until it is clear to the mediator that it is not possible for the parties to reach an agreement. If an agreement is reached, it will be memorialized in a writing called a settlement agreement.
You may be represented by an attorney, but it is not required. You can arrange for an interpreter to attend the mediation with you.
The mediation is confidential. This means that nothing said in a mediation can be used as evidence in any later proceeding by any party at the mediation.
The decision to agree to mediate is entirely up to you, but the attorney will also have to agree in order for the mediation to occur.
If the dispute is eligible to be filed with the State Bar for fee arbitration, you will have the option of agreeing to mediation as part of the request for arbitration. Some local bars also offer fee mediation, but most local programs only offer fee arbitration.
When you complete the Request for Arbitration with the State Bar, you will be asked to indicate whether you are interested in mediating the fee dispute. Once your request is accepted, including receipt of payment of the applicable fee arbitration filing fee, the State Bar will serve your request to the opposing party. As part of the opposing party’s written reply to the request, they will indicate whether they agree to mediate the fee dispute prior to arbitration.
If both parties agree to mediation, a mediator will be assigned to help you and attorney try to reach a settlement of your dispute, and you will receive further instructions at that time.
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.
Pursuant to rule 3.605 of the Rules of the State Bar, the State Bar does not intervene in disputes between a provider and an attendee or potential attendee. However, complaints that the State Bar receives regarding a provider are considered in assessing the provider’s compliance with State Bar certification rules. Please email your concerns to providers@calbar.ca.gov.
By law, all lawyers who handle small amounts of money for their clients, or money that is held for a short period of time, must participate in the program.
They must open interest- or dividend-bearing trust accounts at Eligible Financial Institutions and deposit all small and short-term sums into these accounts. They also must report annually to the State Bar whether or not they held a client trust account (including IOLTA) at any time during the prior year.
Once the account is designated an IOLTA account, lawyers are not responsible for ensuring that the interest is accumulated and forwarded to the State Bar.
The financial institutions with which the funds are deposited are responsible for complying with the law, and the IOLTA Program is responsible for monitoring compliance.
If your deceased attorney was part of a law firm or law partnership, that firm would maintain custody of your file.
If your deceased attorney was a sole practitioner, you will need to obtain new counsel. Generally, the executor or administrator of the attorney's estate is responsible for notifying clients and returning their files. In some instances, the local superior court may appoint a practice administrator to handle these duties.
In other instances, the deceased attorney's law practice may be sold to another member of the bar. (Such sales are governed by ethical limitations outlined in the Rules of Professional Conduct).
Finally, there are unfortunate instances in which an attorney dies leaving no responsible person in charge of the law practice. In those instances, the State Bar or local county bar associations may assist in winding down the law practice (after obtaining authorization from the Superior Court).
Your first step should be to contact the law offices of your deceased attorney to determine whether your file is available. If you are unsuccessful, you may contact the State Bar Office of Chief Trial Counsel: 800-843-9053
An entity that is either a California nonprofit corporation or a project of an accredited law school and that provides free legal services to indigent persons as its primary purpose and function. See Rule 9.45 for details.
An attorney licensed to practice law in one or more U.S. jurisdictions other than California who is providing legal assistance or legal advice concerning a transaction or other non-litigation matter, a material aspect of which takes place in a jurisdiction in which the attorney is licensed, or on an issue of federal law or the law of a jurisdiction other than California. See General Information FAQs for additional information.
Submit a registration application, which includes an Application for Determination of Moral Character, to the State Bar with the appropriate fees. MJP registration applications are available online. The moral character application is available, but must be submitted with the MJP application, not separately.
Yes
No. The only eligible attorneys are those who are licensed attorneys in good standing of the bar of at least one U.S. state, territory, jurisdiction, possession or dependency.
Yes.
Yes.
Neither licensees nor providers report attendance at an approved activity to the State Bar of California. Rather, licensees are responsible for keeping track of their own education. Attorneys must keep the certificates of attendance that providers distribute when attending a participatory education activity. (Providers are required to keep a record for four years of licensee's attendance at provider's participatory activities. Duplicate certificates of attendance may be available from the provider.)
Please note that a personal CLE log of self-study education activities must also be maintained. See Compliance Information for Record Keeping Requirements.
The State Bar will not be informing attorneys when their fingerprinting results have been received by the State Bar. Rather, attorneys are advised when they are in compliance with California Rule of Court 9.9.5 and that their fingerprints have been successfully submitted to the DOJ. The State Bar cannot advise on how long an initial background check takes, as this may vary. Additionally, since the process is an ongoing one entailing subsequent notifications from the DOJ in the future, the State Bar cannot advise an attorney that a background check is “complete.”
Criminal information reports received by the State Bar from the DOJ are required to be kept confidential. If you would like to request a copy of a DOJ record relating to yourself, you must request that record from the DOJ pursuant to procedures set forth in the California Penal Code. See Ca. Penal Code sections 11122-11123.
Review the Live Scan Form Check List attached to your prepopulated Live Scan form that you obtained via your My State Bar profile. When completing the form you must write in the following: sex, height, weight, eye color, hair color, place of birth, social security and address. You may need to write in any additional middle names. Please contact the State Bar, if your personal information is inaccurate. The form is prepopulated with specific codes required by the DOJ.
It is important to verify with the Live Scan vendor to prevent the rejection of your fingerprints. Review the cover page and Live Scan form with your Live Scan technician. Confirm technician has accurately entered the information into the Live Scan program.
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