Complaints typically take up to six months, sometimes more, for an investigation to be completed. In particularly complex cases, the investigation could take as long as a year. Many complaints are diverted out of the process along the way by, for example, a referral to mandatory mediation, an agreement requiring the attorney to meet certain conditions or the attorney's participation in other programs.

Attorneys are asked to provide their best, good faith effort at reporting the amount of pro bono and/or reduced fee legal services hours provided to low-income individuals, nonprofit organizations, or public law libraries during the past year to meet the requirement of Business and Professions Code section 6073.2. Per section 6073.2(g), failure to comply with any of the provisions of this section is not grounds for disciplinary or administrative recourse.

The Ethics Hotline:

• Cannot offer legal advice. Staff cannot tell you what to do, review documents, or recommend a specific course of action; they can only provide references to applicable rules and authorities.
• Cannot assist with administrative or compliance issues, such as:
  • Client Trust Account Protection Program (CTAPP)
  • Law Corporations or Limited Liability Partnerships
  • Agency billing
  • Admissions
  • MCLE compliance
  • Mandatory pro bono reporting

For these types of questions, please use the Licensee Records and Compliance Inquiry Form.

The operative date has not yet been set; it depends on completion of the public comment and Board approval processes.

Applicants enrolled in both programs, along with their respective supervisors, are expected to take proactive steps to avoid or address any actual or potential conflicts of interest or ethical issues. This includes exercising good judgment in situations where their dual roles may overlap. For example, an applicant who studies in the Law Office Study Program under the supervision of a judge should avoid appearing before that same judge when representing a client in the Certified Law Student Program.

Yes. To remain in the program, you must take your first eligible administration of the California Bar Exam, and your certification in the program will continue only until the State Bar releases results for that examination.

You can participate in the program if you are currently enrolled in or have graduated from:

• A Juris Doctor (JD) program: Have successfully completed one full year of studies and have passed or established exemption from the First-Year Law Students’ Examination, and be enrolled and in good academic standing in the second, third, or fourth year of law school.
• A Master of Laws (LLM) program: Have a degree from a law school in a foreign jurisdiction that authorizes the applicant to practice law in that jurisdiction and is acceptable to the State Bar of California under the State Bar’s Guidelines for Applicants with a Foreign Language Degree; have successfully completed one semester or two quarters in an LLM program; be enrolled and in good academic standing in a second or subsequent semester or third or subsequent quarter of an LLM program; and have not failed to take or received results for the first California Bar Examination for which eligible, since first registering with the State Bar of California.
• The Law Office Study (LOS) Program: Have successfully completed one full year in the Law Office Study Program, have passed the First-Year Law Students’ Examination, and be actively continuing the study of law in a law office through the Law Office Study Program.

Some of the most frequent compliance issues include:

• Not performing monthly three-way reconciliations of the trust accounts
• Errors in distribution calculations to both the law firms and clients
• Designated licensee failing to supervise trust account recordkeeping performed by staff, bookkeepers, or outside vendors
• Commingling personal and client funds, often through overpayment or underpayment of withdrawals from the trust account
• Delayed or missing written notice to clients when funds are received on their behalf
• Lack of documentation for deposits and disbursements, or incorrect amounts recorded
• Failure to promptly distribute undisputed funds to the client or third party within 45 days
• Missing or incomplete account journals that do not contain all required fields:

1. Date of each transaction
2. Client related to each transaction
3. Amount of each deposit and disbursement
4. Running balance

• Failure to maintain client ledgers that contain all required fields:

1. Date of each transaction
2. Source of funds (payor) or payee of each transaction
3. Amount of each deposit and disbursement
4. Purpose of each transaction
5. Running balance

All documents must be uploaded through the State Bar’s secure online portal. This system ensures encrypted, confidential transmission and complies with data privacy and privilege protections.

Initially, attorneys selected for compliance review will represent a cross-section of the legal community. In the future, the State Bar may select attorneys using a risk-based and random selection criteria. Factors may include prior trust account activity, self-reported information through CTAPP registration, or other factors driven by State Bar data and oversight priorities. Being selected for a compliance review is not, by itself, an indication of misconduct.

No. If you already reported criminal information to the State Bar in the moral character process or under the self-reporting mandate, you are not required to report the same information again.

Replace with the following:
The State Bar certifies specialists in 11 areas: Admiralty & Maritime, Appellate, Bankruptcy, Criminal, Estate Planning, Family, Franchise & Distribution, Immigration, Legal Malpractice, Taxation, and Workers' Compensation. If you have questions, please fill out the Licensee Records and Compliance Inquiry Form or call 415-538-2120.

For a year after reporting MCLE compliance, a member must retain and provide upon demand and to the satisfaction of the State Bar the following: 

•     a provider’s certificate of attendance
•     a record of self-study that includes the title, provider, credit hours and date of each activity
•     proof of exempt status

Rule 2.73 adopted effective Jan. 1, 2008

You may sign into your My State Bar Profile page and navigate to the E-Learning Portal. Each MCLE course will offer a PDF-formatted certificate you may print or save, provided the courses haven’t expired. The State Bar only offers courses through the E-Learning Portal.

Please note we do not require copies of certificates for expired courses. We will have internal record of the courses you have completed via the E-Learning Portal as the direct provider. Also, the Portal will always have record of the courses you have completed, and you may view the list at any time.

This survey is entirely voluntary: you may decline to answer any question that you prefer not to answer.

No, MCLE Rule 2.54 allows attorneys in California employed by the State of California or federal government to keep the MCLE exemption if they are doing pro bono work for a qualified legal services provider. 

There are many places to look for interesting and rewarding pro bono work. Refer to the State Bar's Pro Bono Opportunities Directory to find programs by region or the California Pro Bono Portal to explore volunteer opportunities throughout the state.

Any questions regarding the MCLE Audit should be submitted to the State Bar’s MCLE Audit Team by submitting a Licensee Records and Compliance Inquiry. 

A Certificate of Good Standing must:

• Be issued by the entity that has the highest regulating bar admissions authority for that jurisdiction
• Contain your license number
• Indicate the date you were admitted to practice law in that jurisdiction
• State that you are currently in good standing
• Indicate your disciplinary history
• Contain an original ink signature, stamp, or seal from the jurisdiction
• Be issued within six months of the current application's submission

• Rule 9.44 of the California Rules of Court
• Title 3, Division 3, Chapter 4 of the Rules of the State Bar

• Contact the Office of Admissions at admissions@calbar.ca.gov or 800-843-9053