Find a Certified Lawyer Referral Service Check Attorney Profile
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.
A Special Master accompanies a peace officer serving a warrant. The Special Master informs the party being served of the specific items being sought and gives that person an opportunity to voluntarily provide the items requested. If the items are not voluntarily produced, the Special Master conducts a search in the areas indicated in the search warrant. All items, whether produced voluntarily or seized, are then sealed until a court hearing is held to determine if the items are privileged. Special Masters receive a handbook describing the program in greater detail.
Special Masters must be active members of the State Bar in good standing for at least five years. To avoid potential conflicts of interest, attorneys who devote a substantial amount of their practice to criminal law are not eligible to serve as Special Masters.
Questions should be directed to the administrator of the fee arbitration program you are using to arbitrate your dispute. Check the rules and/or forms given to you by the program for the administrator's address and telephone number or look under the Approved Programs. Unless the matter is urgent, the arbitrator assigned to hear your dispute should not be called.
The arbitrator is a neutral decision maker, who considers the evidence presented by all parties and makes a decision on the lawyer's fees. The arbitrator cannot represent either the lawyer or the client in the dispute. Nor does the arbitrator typically independently investigate or gather evidence to support either side's position. The arbitrator must make the decision based on the evidence given by the parties.
The arbitrator has the authority to decide how the arbitration hearing should proceed. You may be asked to present your case first. You will be allowed to discuss the fee agreement and the reasons why you dispute the lawyer's fees. You may also introduce relevant documents, such as written fee agreements and copies of the lawyer's bills. Your presentation should be simple, factual, and directly related to the issue of lawyer's fees. Usually, this is also the time when you would present any witnesses to help prove your case.
After you have fully presented your case, the lawyer will have a chance to ask you questions.
The lawyer may also make their presentation and present any witnesses. You will have an opportunity to ask relevant questions after the lawyer has fully presented their case. To avoid interrupting the lawyer's presentation, you may want to take notes so that you can remember any points with which you disagree.
Rule 8.3 requires lawyers to report certain misconduct by other lawyers to the State Bar or a tribunal with jurisdiction to investigate or act upon such misconduct.
A lawyer who fails to report conduct as required by rule 8.3 may be subject to disciplinary action by the State Bar.
All messages sent by the site administrator will appear in the Messages section. Above the calendar, click the tab labeled “Message” to view messages. Click a specific message to view the full message.
New attorneys must complete all nine courses of the New Attorney Training Program by the last day of the month of an attorney’s one-year anniversary as a State Bar licensee. (Rule 2.414 of Title 2, Division 6, Chapter 1 of the Rules of the State Bar.)
For example: If your admission date is 10/15/24, your completion deadline will be 10/31/25.
You can also find your completion deadline date by logging in to My State Bar Profile or in the email you received from the State Bar about this program. If you have questions regarding your compliance deadline, complete the Licensee Records and Compliance Inquiry Form.
No. Pursuant to rule 9.46 of the California Rules of Court and Title 3 Division 3 Chapter 1 Article 3 of the Rules of the State Bar, you must reside in California. As defined in rule 3.370(D), this means that you must live or be located in California on more than a temporary or transient basis.
No. All applicants for the MJP program must first submit a registration application in the Applicant Portal to register as an attorney applicant. Your registration application must then be approved.
Once your registration application is approved, you must submit 1) the application for the MJP Program you wish to apply for – RIHC, RLAA, or RMSA, and 2) the Application for Determination of Moral Character.
You may only practice under the MJP Program once your MJP application has been approved. You may practice under the MJP Program while awaiting a moral character determination. However, if you receive an adverse moral character determination, you will be terminated from the MJP Program.
Items listed in the Admittance Ticket Bulletin are allowed without prior approval. The Admittance Ticket Bulletin can be found on the California Bar Exam webpage once logistics for the exam are confirmed. Items not listed in the bulletin will require approval through the testing accommodations process. If the bulletin is not yet available for the exam you intend to take, refer to the bulletin for the prior administration of the exam; however, please note that the bulletin is subject to change.
You are not permitted to have any extraneous or personal items (e.g., backpacks, purses, cell phones, etc.) in the exam room. Such items will not be allowed into the testing rooms and must be left outside of the secure testing area. Ensure all audible devices left outside or in the designated courtesy area are turned off.
“IOLTA” stands for Interest on Lawyers’ Trust Accounts. IOLTA is a method of raising money, primarily for providing legal services to those unable to afford them.
The State Bar’s Legal Services Trust Fund Program collects the interest generated by IOLTA accounts and distributes the funds to more than 100 nonprofit legal aid organizations that provide civil legal aid to indigent Californians.
You can look up the IOLTA-funded organizations, and you can learn more about IOLTA accounts on the State Bar’s website.
Yes, the rules allow for multiple supervisors. The supervisors may work within the same law firm or at a different law firm if you will be employed or volunteer at more than one organization.
To add a Supervising Lawyer, replace your main PLP employer, or update your employer’s address or contact information, you must submit the PLP Employment Update Notice in the Applicant Portal. There is no fee associated with this change. You must submit a declaration from each Supervising Lawyer with your PLP Employment Update Notice. You may not work as a PLL at any organization or under a new supervisor until the State Bar has approved your PLP application.
Maybe. If you click "Pause" while you are in the application, you will be able to return to the pending PHV application.
To return to the paused PHV application:
• Log in to the Applicant Portal
• Click "Special Admissions"
• Click "Pro Hac Vice”
• Under drafted applications, locate your PHV application and click "Resume."
You cannot return to a pending PHV application if you exited the application without clicking "Pause" or if a technical issue occurred that prevented you from clicking "Pause" before exiting the application. If this happens, you'll have to start over from the beginning.
For those admitted to the program prior to December 31, 2022, the Supreme Court extended the Original PLP to May 31, 2023, or, in some cases, to December 31, 2025. The program will terminate on May 31, 2023, for any participant who has not yet satisfied all of the program requirements other than passing the California Bar Exam. If bar passage is the only remaining requirement to be satisfied, the PLL can continue in the program through December 31, 2025.
No, you can apply for the program before your moral character determination is completed. If your PLP application is based on having submitted a complete Application for Determination of Moral Character, please note that your PLP application will not be considered until the moral character application is deemed complete by the State Bar and placed in “filed” status. Filed status means that our office has all the preliminary documentation required to begin the background investigation. Moral Character Applications are processed in the order received and can take up to two to three months for the initial review. If you submit your PLP application before the Moral Character Application is in filed status, your PLP application will say “Pending Internal Review.”
Under rules 9.49 and 9.49.1, a PLL is allowed to provide a broad array of legal services for clients, including appearing before a court; drafting legal documents, contracts, transactional documents, and pleadings; engaging in negotiations and settlement discussions; and providing other legal advice, provided that the work is performed under the supervision of a qualifying supervising lawyer. The limits on what a PLL can do, or what needs to be done under direct versus general supervision, are largely left to the supervising attorney to determine the readiness of the PLL.
Need additional help? Visit our Contact Us page for additional resources.