Do I need to notify the State Bar if my employer or supervising attorney changes? What happens if my employment or supervision ends?
Yes.
RIHC: Within 30 days, you must notify the State Bar of the date that your employment with the qualifying institution ended. If you have new employment with a qualifying institution, you must submit the RIHC Change of Employer Notice to register as RIHC before beginning the employment.
RLAA: Within 30 days, you must notify the State Bar of the date that your employment with the eligible legal aid organization ended. If you have new employment with an eligible legal aid organization, you must submit the RLAA Change of Employer Notice to register as RIHC before beginning the employment.
RMSA: Within 30 days, you must notify the State Bar of the date that the supervision by your supervising attorney ended. If you have a new qualified supervising attorney, you must submit the RMSA Change of Employer Notice to register as RMSA before beginning employment with the new supervising attorney.
If you are unable to secure new qualifying employment within one year from the date your employment or supervision ended, you will be terminated from the MJP Program. If you are terminated from the MJP Program, you will be required to submit a new application, not the change of employer notice. Additionally, if you are terminated from the MJP Program and your positive moral character determination has expired, you will be required to submit a new Application for Determination of Moral Character.
Click “Support Requests” o Select “New General Request”
For type, select “Other”
Provide the update in the description box and click “Confirm” when you are ready to submit the update.
You may find the change of employer notices in the Applicant Portal under the applications section called the “Multijurisdictional Practice Programs for Out-of-State U.S. Attorneys.”
If you are unable to access the Applicant Portal, please contact the Office of Admissions at Admissions@calbar.ca.gov or at 800-843-9053.
I registered as an attorney applicant with the State Bar. Can I now practice under the MJP Program?
No. All applicants for the MJP program must first submit a registration application in the Applicant Portal to register as an attorney applicant. Your registration application must then be approved.
Once your registration application is approved, you must submit 1) the application for the MJP Program you wish to apply for – RIHC, RLAA, or RMSA, and 2) the Application for Determination of Moral Character.
You may only practice under the MJP Program once your MJP application has been approved. You may practice under the MJP Program while awaiting a moral character determination. However, if you receive an adverse moral character determination, you will be terminated from the MJP Program.
What do I need to know before beginning the online Application for Determination of Moral Character or Application for Extension of Determination of Moral Character?
Please review the information regarding the Moral Character requirement, including the instructions for the Application for Determination of Moral Character and Application for Extension of Determination of Moral Character.
Where can I find general information about the standards for making moral character determinations?
Am I required to disclose a situation or issue that does not appear in the Moral Character Determination Guidelines?
Maybe. Please carefully review the instructions and questions to determine the disclosure requirements.
The guidelines contain examples of issues that may be relevant to a moral character determination and do not provide an exhaustive list of all potentially relevant issues. Applications are considered individually. Accordingly, the guidelines neither bind nor limit the discretion of the decision-makers, but rather provide a framework to assist the decision-makers and provide applicants with information about the process. The severity of an act of misconduct, length of time since the act, and the frequency with which the act occurred are among the factors that will be taken into consideration in making a moral character determination.
What if I don’t know all the answers to complete a form for the moral character application?
When filling out a form, provide as much responsive information as possible. If you are unable to obtain responsive information after conducting a diligent search and contacting others who might have the information, such as an attorney who represented you, please indicate that you have conducted such a search, detail the steps you took, and state that you are unable to obtain the information. An omission of responsive information with no explanation may delay the processing of your moral character application.
Why does it take so long to complete the processing of my moral character application?
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.
The instructions state that applicants for admission to practice law in California have a continuing duty to update their responses. What is the best way to update my application?
You are required under rule 4.42 of the Rules of the State Bar of California to update your responses within 30 days when information provided in the application has changed or there is new information relevant to the application until you have taken the attorney’s oath. To update your application, please log in to the Applicant Portal and access your moral character case. Use the feed on your moral character case to post an update or upload a document.
Figure 1: Posting an update or document to a Moral Character Case
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Is there a preferred file type and file size limit when uploading or posting a document?
Yes, PDF documents are preferred. Word documents are discouraged, as incompatible versions may create technical issues. There is a 25 MB upload limit per post.
I submitted my moral character application at the same time my classmate submitted their application. Why was their application approved quickly while my application remains pending?
Applications are considered individually. Processing times for applications are affected by variables such as the relative complexity of an applicant’s history. It may take 180 days or more from the date the application is deemed complete to finish the processing of a moral character application. You may submit a moral character application after you meet the eligibility requirements by commencing the study of law and registering with the State Bar as a law student or an attorney applicant. Applicants are encouraged to file a moral character application before the start of their last year of law study.
