News

In a joint effort with the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office, the State Bar of California on Thursday seized the downtown Los Angeles office, as well as relevant documents at the Glendale home, of Nubia Esmeralda Burrier for the unauthorized practice of law (UPL), announced George Cardona, State Bar Chief Trial Counsel.

The State Bar of California’s Chief Trial Counsel George Cardona announced today the filing of a Notice of Disciplinary Charges (NDC) against attorney John Charles Eastman (State Bar No. 193726).

At its meeting Thursday and Friday, the State Bar Board of Trustees grappled with tough decisions around the agency’s 2023 budget, which must be finalized and submitted to the Legislature by the end of February.

In an effort to recognize California legal employers who take vital steps to increase diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), the State Bar of California announced today the launch of its DEI Leadership Seal Program.

The State Bar of California announced today that Enrique Zuniga has been appointed as the agency’s first-ever Public Trust Liaison. The Public Trust Liaison will ensure that members of the public, applicants for admission, legal consumers, attorneys, and other constituents, can meaningfully voice their complaints about State Bar action or inaction and receive assistance in having those concerns addressed.

At its November meeting Thursday, the Board of Trustees approved proposing to the Supreme Court a series of options for extending the highly successful provisional licensure program (PLP).

Today the State Bar announced that 3,753 (52.4 percent of applicants) passed the July 2022 California General Bar Exam. If those who passed satisfy all other requirements for admission, they will be eligible to be licensed by the State Bar to practice law in California. 

On November 3, 2022, Ruben Duran, Chair of the State Bar Board of Trustees, issued an open letter and disclosures regarding closed cases against now-disbarred attorney Thomas V. Girardi. A minor update to the disclosure was published on November 4. Frequently asked questions about this disclosure are available here.

The State Bar of California today submitted to the Legislative Analyst’s Office and legislative leaders a report proposing new discipline case processing standards. The report, required by Senate Bill 211 (last year’s fee bill) proposes shorter timelines than current averages, while differentiating timelines by case complexity and types of cases, prioritizing those that pose a greater risk to the public.  

In a joint effort with the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office and the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB), the State Bar recently seized the practice of Peter Shah, a Porter Ranch resident who repeatedly engaged in the unauthorized practice of law (UPL), announced George Cardona, State Bar Chief Trial Counsel, today.  

The Supreme Court of California announced today it has approved rules put forth by the State Bar of California to implement the new Client Trust Account Protection Program (CTAPP), which includes new reporting requirements for attorneys. The program is designed to strengthen proactive oversight and regulation of client trust accounts. 

The State Bar of California today informed the California Supreme Court that it is changing its interpretation of a statute to allow for greater transparency with respect to closed disciplinary complaints. Pursuant to this revised interpretation, the State Bar of California further informed the Court that it intends to disclose statutorily authorized information about closed complaints against disbarred attorney Thomas Girardi.  

The State Bar of California’s Board of Trustees Chair Ruben Duran announced today that the State Bar is investigating attorneys Mark John Geragos (State Bar No. 108325) and Brian Stephen Kabateck (State Bar No. 152054) in connection with the Armenian Genocide insurance settlement funds from which dispersals were made in the U.S. and France.

At its September meeting Thursday and Friday, the State Bar of California Board of Trustees approved rules for implementing the Client Trust Account Protection Program (CTAPP) designed to strengthen proactive oversight and regulation of client trust accounts.

California is the only state with an independent professional court dedicated to ruling on attorney discipline cases. Following several recent appointments by California’s Supreme Court and the Senate Rules Committee, this 33-year-old institution, known as the State Bar Court, is well situated to continue to carry out its mission: “To hear and decide cases fairly, correctly, and efficiently for the protection of the public, the courts, and the legal profession.”

The State Bar of California released today its 2022 Report Card on the Diversity of California’s Legal Profession. The report—based on survey responses from a majority of active California attorneys—highlights trends in the diversity, workplace settings, leadership roles, and workplace satisfaction of California’s attorney population across multiple demographic groups and employment sectors. It points out that while the legal profession is growing increasingly diverse, it still does not reflect the demographic diversity of the Golden State’s population. 

At its meeting on July 21–22, 2022, the State Bar Board of Trustees adopted a streamlined set of parliamentary rules and discussed changes to expand and standardize public comment procedures as ways to improve both public access to meetings and overall accountability.

The State Bar seized the practice of Chad Padilla, a West Hollywood resident who repeatedly engaged in the unauthorized practice of law, announced George Cardona, the State Bar Chief Trial Counsel, today.

The State Bar of California announced today that this year’s $308 billion State Budget will furnish more than $105 million in funding for access to justice efforts through the State Bar, supporting legal aid organizations that serve low-income Californians facing evictions and other forms of housing insecurity, mounting debt, and other legal problems. This supplements the more than $50.5 million in funds the State Bar plans to distribute for similar assistance from Interest on Lawyers’ Trust Accounts (IOLTA) earnings in 2023.

The Board of Trustees of the State Bar of California has named Ellin Davtyan as its new General Counsel.