Yes. The State Bar earned the gold tier DEI Leadership Seal in January 2024. The State Bar recruited three impartial external reviewers to review and score the State Bar’s application and submitted materials.

A lawyer in possession of client or third-party funds and property is a fiduciary. A lawyer must safeguard and segregate those funds and not commingle them with the lawyer's personal or business accounts. (See FAQ 1.3, above, for a description of the two types of trust accounts a lawyer may open to hold client or third-party funds.)

A lawyer must report timely and completely to their client regarding the status and accounting of client funds. A lawyer’s obligations regarding entrusted funds and property are set out in rule 1.15 of the Rules of Professional Conduct. In addition, under rule 1.4 of the Rules of Professional Conduct, a lawyer must keep their client reasonably informed about significant developments related to a client’s representation. Comment [1] to this rule specifies that a lawyer’s receipt of funds on behalf of a client ordinarily is a significant development requiring such communication with the client.

Yes. Even if you do not currently hold funds in your client trust account, you must still report and register the account. Further, regardless of whether there are client funds, third-party funds, or no funds in a trust account, an attorney has the Client Trust Account obligations set forth in the standards in rule 1.15. 

The definition of a client trust account is “any bank account or accounts opened to receive or hold funds in accordance with rule 1.15(a) of the Rules of Professional Conduct, regardless of the amount of funds in the account, and includes, but is not limited to, any IOLTA account under Business and Professions Code section 6211, subdivision (a) where the interest is paid to the State Bar; and any accounts established under Business and Professions Code section 6211, subdivision (b) where the interest is payable to a client or other person.”

Question 1 asks whether, to comply with the requirements or prohibitions governing the safekeeping of funds of clients and other persons in rule 1.15 of the California Rules of Professional Conduct, you maintained—or anyone maintained on your behalf—any trust account under Business and Professions Code section 6211, subdivision (a) where the interest is paid to the State Bar, also known as an Interest on Lawyers’ Trust Account (IOLTA), or a similar pooled trust account in another jurisdiction? 

Question 2 asks the same question about trust accounts under Business and Professions Code section 6211, subdivision (b) where the interest is payable to a client or other person or similar accounts, also known as non-IOLTA trust accounts, or a similar trust account in another jurisdiction. 

When registering a client trust account as part of CTAPP, you must identify the trust account type. The account will either be IOLTA or non-IOLTA; an account will never be both. The account type was established at the time the account was opened and does not change. A California IOLTA must bear the State Bar of California’s Taxpayer Identification Number to ensure that interest or dividends generated by this account will be paid to the State Bar’s IOLTA program. A non-IOLTA will bear the Social Security Number or Tax ID number of the client or third party.

Rule 2.2(C) of the Rules of the State Bar requires licensees to report changes in trust account information within 30 days of any change. Many licensees are unaware of this longstanding rule. At this time, there is no penalty for noncompliance with the 30-day update requirement. Answering this question truthfully will not increase the likelihood of a CTAPP compliance review or investigatory audit. Currently, the State Bar is focusing on gathering accurate information, educating licensees about their trust account responsibilities (including the 30-day update requirement), and improving overall compliance. There is a 50-character limit on this field.

Unless exempt (see FAQ 2.3, above), California licensees, regardless of where they practice, must still comply with the CTAPP reporting requirements. Licensees must report and register each and every trust account in any location if (1) they acted as a signatory or exercised managerial or primary administrative oversight for a trust account held pursuant to rule 1.15 of the California Rules of Professional Conduct, or (2) were otherwise responsible for complying with any of the requirements or prohibitions in rule 1.15 of the California Rules of Professional Conduct other than the disclosure and agreement requirements in rule 1.15(b) pertaining to depositing a flat fee paid in advance into a lawyer’s or law firm’s operating account (e.g., responsibilities for safekeeping of funds, to identify and discharge liens, notify clients that funds have been received, etc.).

Currently, CTAPP reporting features do not allow licensees or firm administrators to enter non-U.S. routing and account numbers. Therefore, for all non-U.S. trust accounts, in Step 1 (Annual Client Trust Account Reporting), please check the box next to “Yes, I will provide or update IOLTA and/or non-IOLTA account information, including the balance as of December 31, 2025, via My State Bar Profile” for the appropriate question, depending on the type of account. Then, during Step 2 (Account Registration), check the checkbox next to “Other” under the sentence, “If you selected Yes to the IOLTA or Non-IOLTA question in Step 1, but are unable to register that IOLTA (CA or Non-CA) and/or Non-IOLTA because you do not have some of the required information, please describe why below,” and, in the box provided, list all non-U.S. bank accounts, including bank name, account number, and country of origin. In future years, we expect enhancements to the reporting application will make it possible for licensees and agencies to report non-U.S. trust account information.

It depends. Service to a local or affinity bar association counts toward the pro bono hours requirement if it is legal in nature (i.e., providing legal services to the nonprofit directly pursuant to Business and Professions Code section 6073.1(c)(1)(B) or 6073.1(c)(1)(C)). General board service qualifies only to the extent that the work enables legal services to the indigent, to another “charitable, religious, civic, community, governmental, or educational organization in matters that are designed primarily to address the needs of persons of limited means,” or to another “charitable, religious, civic, community, governmental, or educational organization in matters in furtherance of its organizational purposes.” Licensees should use their best good-faith judgment in determining whether their non-legal board activities enable the direct provision of legal work to the indigent or other nonprofits.

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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.

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