Please visit the Minimum Continuing Legal Education (MCLE) page on the State Bar’s website.

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 lawyer 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.

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A Certified Law Student whose certification has been revoked may request reconsideration of the revocation.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.

Applicants enrolled in both programs, along with their respective supervisors, are expected to take proactive steps to avoid or address any actual or potential conflicts of interest or ethical issues. This includes exercising good judgment in situations where their dual roles may overlap. For example, an applicant who studies in the Law Office Study Program under the supervision of a judge should avoid appearing before that same judge when representing a client in the Certified Law Student Program.

Possible outcomes of the compliance review include:

• Confirmation of compliance with no further action
• Recommendations for best practices for a compliance review with minimal findings
• A mandatory corrective action plan
• Escalation to an investigative audit
• Referral to the Office of Chief Trial Counsel for possible disciplinary action

If certain records are unavailable, you must notify the CPA or State Bar reviewer as soon as possible. You may be asked to explain the reason for the missing documents and provide any alternative documentation or context available.

No. Appellate counsel appointed to represent indigent defendants are not included in any of the categories of attorneys who are exempt from reporting pro bono or reduced fee hours under Business and Professions Code section 6073.2(d). Although work performed by appointed appellate counsel does not meet the definition of pro bono services under Business and Professions Code section 6073.1(c), this work may qualify as reduced fee or “low bono” legal services. Under Business and Professions Code section 6073.1(d), reduced fee legal services means providing or enabling the direct delivery of legal services at a substantially reduced rate that is affordable to persons of limited means to either a person of limited means or a person or an organization identified in subparagraph (A), (B), or (C) of paragraph (1) in subdivision (c) of section 6073.1.” Attorneys are encouraged to use their best good-faith judgment when making these determinations.

Are you licensed with the State Bar of California? Have you practiced in your specialty area for at least 25 percent of the time for each of the last three years?

If the answer is yes to each question, then you are ready to begin the process. Once open, you can register for the exam, which will be held every other year. Please visit the information on Becoming a Certified Specialist and the specific requirements for each specialty area.

No. County employees are not exempt. Employees of California Superior Courts are exempt from MCLE requirements.

You may apply the MCLE credit from courses approved by many states and a few overseas jurisdictions if you were physically outside California when you completed them. This is by rule, so no special forms or requests are needed. Check the approved jurisdictions list on the State Bar website. 

The data is used to conduct demographic analyses of the legal profession. Demographic and employment information provided by attorneys assists the State Bar in complying with California Rule of Court rule 9.9 and California Business and Professions Code sections 6002.1 and 6009.5. 

Current analyses are listed here. 

Most legal aid and pro bono organizations track the number of pro bono hours by their volunteers and law firms track the number of pro bono hours contributed by their firm members.  In September 2024, the California legislature passed a law requiring active licensees to report hours provided for pro bono and reduced fee legal services annually. Through My State Bar Profile, attorneys may report this information optionally in 2025 and will be required to report this information in 2026. 

The State Bar Board of Trustees defines pro bono as providing or enabling “the direct delivery of legal services, without expectation of compensation other than reimbursement of expenses, to indigent individuals, or to not-for-profit organizations with a primary purpose of providing services to the poor or on behalf of the poor or disadvantaged, not-for-profit organizations with a purpose of improving the law and the legal system, or increasing access to justice.” See the Pro Bono Resolution on the State Bar’s website.

Legal work for clients referred from a legal aid program generally qualifies, but waiving fees for clients unable to pay does not count as pro bono if payment was initially expected. For the work perfrmed to fall within the meaning of pro bono, the lawyer providing the legal services must intend to do so for free, and the recipient must be indient. Pro bono opportunities vary depending on the needs of the client community. Examples might include:

• Representation (full or limited scope)
• Negotiation and settlement
• Screening and intake
• Brief service by phone or in person
• Legal informationor "Know Your Rights" workshops
• Document preparation and review
• Mentoring and training less experienced staff and volunteer attorneys
• Legal research and writing
• Consumer/public education
• Litigation support
• Legislative research and legal analysis

Requests for duplicate audit notices and general questions regarding the MCLE Audit should be submitted to the State Bar’s MCLE Audit Team by completing a Licensee Records and Compliance Inquiry form online.  You may also call Attorney Regulation at 888-800-3400.

Pursuant to rule 9.44 of the California Rules of Court, you cannot:

• appear for a person other than yourself as attorney in any court, or before any magistrate or other judicial officer, in this state or prepare pleadings or any other papers or issue subpoenas in any action or proceeding brought in any court or before any judicial officer;
• prepare any deed, mortgage, assignment, discharge, lease or any other instrument affecting title to real estate located in the United States;
• prepare any will or trust instrument affecting the disposition on death of any property located in the United States and owned by a resident or any instrument relating to the administration of a decedent’s estate in the United States;
• prepare any instrument in the respect of the marital relations, rights or duties of a resident of the United States or the custody or care of the children of a resident; or
• otherwise render professional legal advice on the law of the State of California, any other state of the United States, the District of Columbia, the United States or any country other than the country in which you are admitted to practice law, whether rendered incident to preparation of legal instruments or otherwise.

Pursuant Title 3, Division 3, Chapter 4 of the Rules of the State Bar, you cannot claim in any way to be a licensee of the State Bar of California.

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.