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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.)
While not required, it is recommended to provide the same name to avoid delays in processing time.
For most attorneys, only once. However, if your fingerprints are rejected by the DOJ and/or the FBI you may be required to resubmit them. The State Bar will notify you if your fingerprints are rejected. The rejection notice will include instructions for resubmitting your fingerprints. The State Bar will update your My State Bar Profile indicating that your fingerprints were rejected. In addition, if an attorney is disbarred or resigns from the State Bar and later seeks re-admission, the attorney will need to be fingerprinted again.
Yes. It is a DOJ policy to limit disclosure of fingerprint records to the contractual agreement specific to the requesting agency. Fingerprints are not transferable from one agency to another.
Attorneys working for a qualified legal services provider and under the supervision of a California attorney working for the same provider (rule 9.45); attorneys working as in-house counsel for a qualifying institution (rule 9.46); attorneys practicing law temporarily in California as part of litigation (rule 9.47); and non-litigating attorneys temporarily in California to provide legal services (rule 9.48).
The accused attorney must file an answer, or risk a default judgment and involuntary enrollment as an inactive State Bar member pending the outcome of the case. The clerks in State Bar Court schedule a status conference (a meeting of all parties), to be held within 45 days after the complaint is filed. The next step depends on the individual case. There could be additional status conferences, settlement conferences, or simply the trial date.
The definition of the ratings of judicial candidates to be used by the commission in reporting to the Governor's office are:
Definition of Ratings - vary by candidate type :
Candidates for the Superior Court:
Exceptionally Well Qualified: Possessing qualities and attributes of remarkable or extraordinary superiority that enable them to perform the judicial function with distinction.
Well Qualified: Possessing qualities and attributes indicative of a superior fitness to perform the judicial function with a high degree of skill and effectiveness.
Qualified: Possessing qualities and attributes sufficient to perform the judicial function adequately and satisfactorily.
Not Qualified: Possessing less than the minimum qualities and attributes.
Candidates for the Court of Appeal or the Supreme Court:
Exceptionally Well Qualified: Possessing qualities and attributes of remarkable or extraordinary superiority that enable them to perform the appellate judicial function with distinction.
Well Qualified: Possessing qualities and attributes indicative of a superior fitness to perform the appellate judicial function with a high degree of skill, effectiveness, and distinction.
Qualified: Possessing qualities and attributes sufficient to perform the appellate judicial function with a high degree of skill and effectiveness.
Not Qualified: Possessing less than the minimum qualities and attributes.
No. Part-time employees can be exempt as long as they are permanent or probationary employees who do not otherwise practice law. The words "those employed full-time ... who do not otherwise practice law" in sections 2.54(A)(3) and 2.54(A)(4) refer to employees "employed on a permanent or probationary basis, regardless of their working hours, who do not practice law in California" except as employees of the State of California or the United States government.
The MCLE rules specify that some types of activities qualify only for self-study credit. Other kinds of activities can qualify for either participatory or self-study credit, depending on whether or not the member participated in the particular activity is verified by a provider.
If a provider verifies your "participation," an activity is "participatory." Provider verification consists of ALL the following:
Online courses, CD ROM-based courses, and some tape-based courses can count for participatory credit if they are verified by an approved provider. If unsure, contact the individual provider to verify that the program has been approved for participatory credit. To confirm a tape or other self-study activity is still current, contact the provider.
An out-of-state attorney arbitration counsel is an attorney who is not a licensed attorney of the State Bar of California but who is an active attorney in good standing of and eligible to practice before any Bar of the United States and who has been retained to appear in the course of, or in connection with, an arbitration proceeding in this state.
There is no hard and fast rule to determine this. It is usually up to the discretion of the arbitrator and/or arbitral panel who may ask the applying attorney to inform him/her how many times the applying attorney has appeared as an OSAAC. The spirit of the rule that the arbitral panel will follow mandates that out-of-state attorneys not abuse OSAAC as a substitute for practicing in California.
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