News Releases

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.

The California Senate confirmed Monday the appointment of George Cardona as the Chief Trial Counsel for the State Bar of California. The vote was 35-0, with five abstentions. This is the first Senate confirmation of a Chief Trial Counsel in 10 years.