You may also pay for your California Lawyers Association Section fees. All licensees will also have the opportunity to donate to the Greg E. Knoll Justice Gap Fund, California ChangeLawyers (formerly the California Bar Foundation), the Legislative Activities Fund, and the California Supreme Court Historical Society. 

Only MAPs are listed on the State Bar’s website. A provider with MAP status is considered to have demonstrated a strong understanding of both the standards for approval of MCLE activities and their responsibilities as outlined in the MCLE provider rules, and therefore, activities held by these providers are presumed to be approved by the State Bar.

The decision to choose nonbinding or binding arbitration is entirely up to you.

Fee arbitrations are nonbinding unless the parties agree in writing, after the dispute arises, to binding arbitration before the arbitrator takes any evidence. If only one of the parties agrees to binding arbitration, or if a party fails to respond, the matter will proceed as nonbinding arbitration.

If neither party files an action in court rejecting the award and requesting a trial within 30 days after the award is mailed, a nonbinding award will automatically become binding on the parties.

If the arbitration is binding, the award is considered to be final, and neither you nor the lawyer can request a new trial in court. A binding award can only be corrected or vacated by a court for very limited reasons.

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.

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).

Arbitration hearings are informal, but you should obtain a copy of the rules of procedure from the program handling your fee dispute to educate yourself about the process.

The program will assign your dispute to a volunteer attorney arbitrator who must be licensed in good standing with the State Bar. Depending on the amount of your fee dispute, the panel will consist of one attorney arbitrator, or a three-member panel consisting of two attorney arbitrators and one nonattorney arbitrator.

You may be represented by a attorney, but it is not necessary. You can arrange for an interpreter to attend the hearing with you.

Both you and the attorney will have a chance to make statements, ask each other questions, and present evidence, such as letters, billing statements, or the fee agreement. You may also present witnesses, for example, someone who heard you and your attorney agree to the fee. If you have problems obtaining papers needed for the hearing from the opposing attorney, you may ask the arbitration panel to intervene.

If you think you will need moral support, ask the arbitrator if a family member or friend can accompany you to the hearing. Fee arbitration hearings may be closed to everyone else except the witnesses while they are testifying.

Most local bar programs don’t allow the arbitration hearing to be recorded or transcribed for confidentiality reasons.

Also, keep in mind that fee arbitration aims to determine if the fee amount is appropriate for the attorney’s work on your case. Arbitrators also consider the attorney’s performance in your case to reach their decision, but they cannot award any additional money for what may be attorney malpractice or professional misconduct.

Courses required by AB 1825 (mandatory sexual harassment awareness and prevention training for personnel managers) are approved for recognition and elimination of bias MCLE credit.

Please email refund@calbar.ca.gov.

If you choose to arbitrate, the attorney must do so in most cases. Exceptions include these situations:

• Fees set by law or the courts, such as the ordinary charges for probating a will, or attorney’s fees that a judge orders one spouse to pay the other in a divorce.
• Fees charged by an attorney who is not a member of the State Bar of California, who does not have offices in California, and who did the majority of the work for you out of state.
• Fee disputes in which you or the attorney filed a suit, and the attorney notified you of your right to arbitrate, using the required State Bar form, but you filed a suit or answered a suit in court before requesting arbitration.
• Fee disputes in which you are not the attorney’s client, unless you paid fees to the attorney for a client.

Up to two years from the date of the activity.