You should not communicate with the arbitrator before or after the hearing, except on procedural issues such as scheduling the hearing and issuing subpoenas. Never discuss the merits of your case with the arbitrator outside of the hearing. You will be given a chance to explain your side of the story at the hearing while the lawyer is present so that the lawyer may respond to each issue you raise. 

If you have to communicate in writing with the arbitrator, you must send copies of all letters and any attachments to the attorney whose fees you are disputing.

After all the evidence has been presented, you and the lawyer are permitted to summarize your case. Comments during your summary should focus on why the lawyer's fees may be reasonable or unreasonable under the circumstances of your particular case. They should address only the evidence presented. 

At all times during the hearing, both sides should avoid making personal attacks, making references to anything outside the lawyer-client relationship, or discussing matters based only on speculation or assumption.

A lawyer must report another lawyer if the lawyer knows of credible evidence that the lawyer committed a criminal act or engaged in conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or reckless or intentional misrepresentation or misappropriation of funds or property that raises a substantial question as to that lawyer's honesty, trustworthiness, or fitness as a lawyer in other respects.

False and malicious reports or complaints can result in criminal penalties or disciplinary action. (See Bus. & Prof. Code, § 6043.5.) Additionally, a false complaint to a judge, judicial officer, or tribunal may result in discipline. (See rule 3.3(a); Bus. & Prof. Code, § 6068, subd. (d).) 

Similarly, if you threaten to file a complaint with the State Bar to obtain an advantage in a civil dispute, you may be subject to disciplinary action by the State Bar. (See rule 3.10.)

Click the Learning page on the top menu bar and click the To-Do tab to view all available courses. Click the Completed tab to view courses that you have completed.

No. All persons newly admitted to the State Bar of California must take the New Attorney Training Program courses produced by the State Bar and offered through this e-learning portal. 

No other courses will satisfy completion of the New Attorney Training requirement for new admittees.

Generally, the State Bar will process your MJP application within 30 days of receipt if you submit a complete and accurate application. 

Incomplete applications will take longer to process. If your application is deemed incomplete, you will have 60 days from the date you submitted your application to provide the missing information or documentation. If your application is not deemed complete within this period, your application will be abandoned without a refund of any fees paid.

All applicants requesting testing accommodations through the streamlined approval process must submit a complete Testing Accommodations Application through their Applicant Portal, certify they are currently experiencing the same functional limitations as when they took the high-stakes exam, and upload a copy of their accommodation verification letter. Please keep in mind that the testing accommodations application is a separate application from the bar exam application. 

Certain prior accommodations will be approved by the State Bar without the need for further documentation if all the following are satisfied:

• The prior accommodations were approved for a permanent disability;
• You are requesting the same (or lesser) accommodations granted on the high-stakes exam;
• The State Bar offers equivalent testing accommodations deemed eligible for the automatic approval process;
• You submit proof of the prior approval of accommodations granted by the testing entity;
• You certify you are experiencing the same function limitations by the permanent disability;
• You submit a testing accommodations application with all sections completed; and
• Your request is not for more than 100 percent extra time, and/or a private room.

For all applicants, the Admittance Ticket will reflect whether they are approved to take the 1-day Attorneys’ Examination or the 2-day General Bar Examination. Your Admittance Ticket will not reflect extended testing days. Applicants should refer to their Testing Accommodations Notice, which will be provided to applicants with approved testing accommodations once logistics are confirmed for the exam.

For the FYLSX, applicants receive the multiple-choice questions electronically and must select their answers using a computer.

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.

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.

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.

If you have received a negative determination, you will be immediately suspended from the PLP and cannot practice as a PLL. However, you will not be terminated from the program until time has passed to request a review or final appeal, or the review or appeal has concluded. If following the review or appeal you are issued a positive moral character determination, you can continue in the program through December 31, 2025, while you seek to pass the bar exam. If you had other outstanding requirements as of May 31, 2023 (for example, you hadn’t yet received an 86 or higher on the MPRE), you will be terminated from the program as of May 31, 2023, regardless of the status of your moral character determination.

No. A positive moral character determination expires after three years unless you apply for an extension and it is approved by the State Bar. If your positive determination has expired, you must take action to participate in the PLP. You need to have either a current, nonexpired positive moral character determination or you need to submit a new Application for Determination of Moral Character, which is deemed complete 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.”

Participants in the Original PLP must, by May 31, 2023:

• Have an active positive moral character determination.
• Have achieved a score of 86 or above on the MPRE.
• Have completed the 10-Hour New Attorney Training Program (for participants who have been in the program for one year or more, this training is required to have been completed within 12 months of entry into the program).
• For those who did not have an 86 or above on the MPRE at the time of entry into the program, have completed within the first 30 days of provisional licensure the ethics portion of the New Attorney Training Program.

Participants in the Pathway PLP must, prior to the termination of the program, satisfy those same requirements, in addition to completing and documenting completion of 300 hours of supervised legal practice and receiving a positive evaluation from the supervisor as required by the State Bar. Only hours completed while an active participant in the PLP will count toward the 300 hours.

The California Lawyers Association (CLA) is collecting information about matching programs from around the state and has a provisional licensure e-community available to members where prospective supervisors and provisional licensees can connect. While the cost of joining CLA is minimal, if price is an obstacle to joining, CLA will provide assistance to individuals facing hardship if asked. Read more on the CLA resource page and find out how to join here.

• If you plan to pursue a provisional license, you should let prospective employers know that and work with them to identify a potential supervising lawyer.
• You must submit a signed declaration from your supervising lawyer with your application for provisional licensure. The declaration must confirm that you will be employed by, or volunteer at, the firm or organization of the supervising lawyer. The declaration must be submitted through the Applicant Portal; declarations sent via email and USPS are not automatically associated with the online application, which may delay processing.

Applications are processed in the order in which they are received and deemed complete. The State Bar is unable to expedite applications. The duration of a moral character investigation varies due to factors such as the volume of applications received in a given time period and whether timely responses to requests for information are received from the applicant or others. Generally, it takes a minimum of approximately 180 days, or six months, from the date the application is deemed complete, to process a moral character application.

Yes. Eligibility to sit for the California Bar Examination is based upon your legal education. An applicant’s criminal history is addressed in the moral character application, which is separate and distinct from the bar exam application.

Traffic violations that resulted in a misdemeanor or felony conviction must be disclosed on the moral character application, as well as the specific examples provided in the moral character application. Violations must be disclosed without regard to when they occurred.