Proposed Change to California Rule of Procedure Regarding Early Neutral Evaluation Process

The State Bar seeks public comment regarding a proposed revision to Rule of Procedure 5.30 of the State Bar regarding the Early Neutral Evaluation Process.

Deadline: 5 p.m., July 30, 2018

Background

The current Rule of Procedure 5.30 regarding Early Neutral Evaluation Conferences requires the State Bar to provide the evaluator with a summary of the proposed charges, but it does not specify when it needs to be provided. Additionally, the current rule does not require that the parties submit specific dates when they would be available for the conference.

Discussion

On May 17, 2018, the Regulation and Discipline Committee of the Board of Trustees authorized a 60-day public comment period for a proposed amendment to Rules of Procedure of the State Bar.

Proposal

This proposal, if adopted, would amend Rule 5.30, the rule which governs Early Neutral Evaluation Conferences (ENEC). The new procedures would require the Office of Chief Trial Counsel to provide a draft copy of the proposed Notice of Disciplinary Charges (NDC) or a written summary of the proposed charges to the judge at least 3 days prior to the conference. It would also mandate that any party requesting an ENEC do so on the State Bar Court form and provide multiple dates for the conference that have been agreed to by the opposing counsel.

Following the public comment period, the proposed rules and any comments received will be reviewed by the Board of Trustees during its September 2018 meeting.

Any known fiscal/personnel impact

No negative fiscal or personnel impact is anticipated.

Background material

Summary memo, with redline and clean version of rules attached.

Source

Regulation and Discipline Committee

Deadline

5 p.m., July 30, 2018

Direct comments to

Antonia G. Darling
The State Bar Court
180 Howard St.
San Francisco, CA 94105
Phone: 415-538-22233
Email: sbcrulescomment@calbar.ca.gov
Please reference the specific rule number and title in your comments.