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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.
The State Bar does not refer clients to lawyers or provide legal advice. We provide a directory of certified Lawyer Referral Services in your area who may be able to help you find a lawyer. Please see our Find Legal Professionals section for resources. The State Bar also publishes free legal information for consumers.
If you believe your lawyer has done something wrong, you can file a complaint with the State Bar. Complaints may be submitted online or by mail. If you have questions or need assistance in completing the form, call the State Bar’s Attorney Complaint Hotline at 800-843-9053. For more information on reporting a lawyer to the State Bar and handling other problems, read the legal guide If You Have a Problem with an Attorney.
If you have a complaint about a certified or uncertified LRS, you can file a complaint against the service with the State Bar. In order to promote public protection, the State Bar will review your complaint to determine if the LRS has violated Business and Professions Code Section 6155 and State Bar Rules.
For more information on certified lawyer referral services, contact LRS@calbar.ca.gov.
The due date is by March 30, or the next business day if that date falls on a weekend or holiday, each year during the annual license renewal process. The 2025 annual deadline is April 1, 2025. If you miss the deadline, you will be charged a penalty ($103 for active attorneys, $31 for inactive attorneys).
Activities that qualify for general MCLE credit must: (1) relate to legal subjects that are directly relevant to California attorneys, and (2) offer current, significant educational, professional, or practical content with the specific objective of increasing each participant’s professional competency as an attorney. Programs created primarily for nonattorney audiences (for example, general public, clients, or business staff) do not qualify and will not be approved for general MCLE credit. More on Standards for MCLE activity Approval.
IOLTA stands for Interest on Lawyers’ Trust Accounts. Attorneys deposit client funds that they plan to hold briefly, or that are too small to earn interest for the client, into larger shared accounts. Over 73,000 attorneys make deposits in approximately 49,000 IOLTA accounts in California. As of September 2019, IOLTA accounts hold nearly $5 billion. Any interest earned on these accounts is paid by financial institutions to the State Bar, which in turn distributes those funds as grants to qualified nonprofit civil legal organizations throughout the state.
Refer to the State Bar’s IOLTA FAQ page for more information.
Photocopies are sufficient for the purposes of the audit. Hold on to your originals through the end of the year you report MCLE compliance.
The Attorney Census is administered online through My State Bar Profile to all active and inactive attorneys as well as those in a multijurisdictional program (such as Registered In-House Counsel). Participation in the Attorney Census is voluntary; attorneys may decline to answer any and all questions. If you have questions regarding the collection or use of this data, please contact surveydata@calbar.ca.gov.
The questions were recently updated to reflect current best practices in data collection and to offer more inclusive options. As a result, all licensees are encouraged to participate in the survey even if you have submitted responses in the past. If you choose not to participate, any previously provided demographic data will continue to be used in future reporting. Participation is voluntary and should take less than five minutes.
The State Bar offers attorneys who would otherwise be inactive the opportunity to contribute their legal expertise to Californians in need through its Pro Bono Practice Program.
Participants who qualify can have their State Bar annual fees waived and also get free and reduced rates to attend Minimum Continuing Legal Education (MCLE).
Learn more about the eligibility requirements and how to apply here.
The State Bar does not have a formal program for active attorneys.
Information about MCLE requirements and CLE options is available online. If you have questions, please fill out the Licensee Records and Compliance Inquiry form or call 888-800-3400.
The legal services you are authorized to provide are limited to advice regarding the law of the jurisdiction in which you are licensed and identified in the Foreign Legal Consultant application.
Yes. A United States embassy or consulate, as well as local law enforcement agencies, may provide the necessary fingerprinting services.
Where you bank makes a difference! You can help generate more money for civil legal aid for low-income Californians by establishing and maintaining your IOLTA accounts at Leadership Banks, financial institutions that commit to offering favorable interest rates. Banking with a Leadership Bank is a great way for you to help support access to justice for low-income individuals in our state.
The State Bar conducts an annual Attorney Census to gather demographic and employment data from the state’s licensees. The Attorney Census contains questions on demographic characteristics, including race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, disability, and veteran’s status. For more information, visit the Frequently Asked Questions about the Attorney Census.
Supports the State Bar’s most important resource: our people. The office manages the recruitment, hiring, and onboarding of all new staff; offers online training; oversees internal diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, and designs and manages programs and services to foster the continued professional development, well-being, and retention of staff. It also administers personnel policies; Equal Employment Opportunity and nondiscrimination policies; classification and compensation analysis; benefits administration; and labor relations.
If you already made a payment and received a confirmation, do not click the Take MCLE Test button. Instead, go to Complete Unfinished Test, enter the Tester ID sent to your email address, and click Next. The MCLE article and 20 questions will display.
You will be able to download your certificate from the E-Learning Portal upon completing the course. Be sure to download it within 30 days of completion.
Drug testing varies by need, although the general parameters are 12-36 times per year.
If you are seeking a refund of attorney’s fees that you have already paid, you may request Mandatory Fee Arbitration any time 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, you should file a request for arbitration promptly.
On January 1, 2018, the State Bar’s former sections were transferred to a new independent organization, the California Lawyers Association (CLA).
After completing payment for the annual fees, you can download and print a paper bar card or order a plastic bar card through your My State Bar Profile. Requests for plastic bar cards will be mailed to your address of record in 10 business days.
No. You must practice law exclusively on behalf of the qualifying legal services provider (with the exception that you may practice simultaneously as registered in-house counsel).
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.
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