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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.
You have two options: (1) You can return to California and follow the instructions for being re-fingerprinted by a Live Scan vendor using the same OATI number; OR (2) You can order fingerprint cards and follow the instructions for out-of-state attorneys or out-of-country attorneys.
The Handbook on Client Trust Accounting for California Attorneys is the primary resource. The State Bar also maintains an online list of resources on client trust accounting as well as information about IOLTA (Interest on Lawyer Trust Accounts) requirements. If you have questions, please fill out the Licensee Records and Compliance Inquiry Form.
The IOLTA Program is a department within the State Bar of California that administers IOLTA accounts, as well as two other sources of funding for free civil legal aid to low-income and indigent people: the California Equal Access Fund and the Greg E. Knoll Justice Gap Fund.
The State Bar initiated the IOLTA Program due to the lack of resources available for indigent clients who are in need of civil legal services. The substantial amount of money the program generates makes it possible for hundreds of thousands of these people to get the legal help that they need every year.
A 21-member Legal Services Trust Fund Commission appointed by the State Bar's Board of Trustees and the Chief Justice (on behalf of the Judicial Council of California) oversees the Trust Fund Program. Two-thirds of the commission members are attorneys and one-third are public members.
At least two of the 21 members must be "indigent persons" as defined by law. Three judges serve as non-voting advisors to the commission.
The Commission determines the eligibility of programs applying for funding, reviews recipients' budgets for compliance with the law, and monitors and evaluates the activities of programs receiving Trust Fund Program grants.
Yes. You must enter each course included in the package into the online summary log and provide a copy of any proof of completion it may have included (for example, a log and witness statement, if the MCLE bundle include them.)
No. The only eligible attorneys are those who are licensed attorneys in good standing of the bar of at least one U.S. state, territory, jurisdiction, possession or dependency.
Yes.
Yes.
Neither licensees nor providers report attendance at an approved activity to the State Bar of California. Rather, licensees are responsible for keeping track of their own education. Attorneys must keep the certificates of attendance that providers distribute when attending a participatory education activity. (Providers are required to keep a record for four years of licensee's attendance at provider's participatory activities. Duplicate certificates of attendance may be available from the provider.)
Please note that a personal CLE log of self-study education activities must also be maintained. See Compliance Information for Record Keeping Requirements.
The State Bar will not be informing attorneys when their fingerprinting results have been received by the State Bar. Rather, attorneys are advised when they are in compliance with California Rule of Court 9.9.5 and that their fingerprints have been successfully submitted to the DOJ. The State Bar cannot advise on how long an initial background check takes, as this may vary. Additionally, since the process is an ongoing one entailing subsequent notifications from the DOJ in the future, the State Bar cannot advise an attorney that a background check is “complete.”
Criminal information reports received by the State Bar from the DOJ are required to be kept confidential. If you would like to request a copy of a DOJ record relating to yourself, you must request that record from the DOJ pursuant to procedures set forth in the California Penal Code. See Ca. Penal Code sections 11122-11123.
Review the Live Scan Form Check List attached to your prepopulated Live Scan form that you obtained via your My State Bar profile. When completing the form you must write in the following: sex, height, weight, eye color, hair color, place of birth, social security and address. You may need to write in any additional middle names. Please contact the State Bar, if your personal information is inaccurate. The form is prepopulated with specific codes required by the DOJ.
It is important to verify with the Live Scan vendor to prevent the rejection of your fingerprints. Review the cover page and Live Scan form with your Live Scan technician. Confirm technician has accurately entered the information into the Live Scan program.
Yes. Attorneys residing outside of California can choose to travel to California to submit fingerprints through a California Live Scan vendor in lieu of submitting fingerprint cards. All attorneys impacted by the fingerprinting rule can download a prepopulated Live Scan form on their My State Bar profile. However, in the event an attorney’s Live Scan fingerprints are rejected by the DOJ and/or FBI, the attorney must return to a Live Scan vendor in California to resubmit their fingerprints without new processing charges. If the attorney chooses not to return to a California Live Scan vendor, they must be fingerprinted using a fingerprint card, which will incur additional costs.
No. Currently, you are not required to take any action. If and when you are reinstated to active status, you will be required to satisfy the fingerprinting rule requirements. If you are reinstated to inactive status, you are not required to take any action. However, prior to transitioning from inactive status, you will be required to satisfy the fingerprinting rule requirements.
No. The State Bar is legally prohibited from sharing the information received and from using it for any purpose other than licensing and regulation.
When logging credit for published articles, it is not necessary to put in a provider number on the summary log. The provider will be the name of the publication and the course will be the article title. This is self-study credit. When you submit your proof of compliance, articles should be noted on your self-study log along with the date of publication (or submission if publication is pending). Again please note the name of the publication and the title of the article.
In order to be eligible for MCLE the article must meet the following conditions:
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