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Attorney Race/Ethnicity and Gender Discipline Analysis Included in Annual Discipline Report

The State Bar of California’s Annual Discipline Report for fiscal year (FY) 2023 (ADR) published today, includes for the first time a snapshot of the race/ethnicity and gender of disciplined attorneys. This data is provided in alignment with the State Bar’s commitment to a transparent, fair, and equitable attorney discipline system. In total, the State Bar disciplined 243 attorneys in FY 2023, including 76 disbarments, 91 probation terms with actual suspensions, 31 probation terms with stayed suspensions, and 45 reprovals (both public and private). Key findings from the analysis by race/ethnicity reveal minor differences: 

• Asian attorneys comprised 13 percent of all attorneys and 7 percent of those who received discipline. 
• Black attorneys comprised 3 percent of all California licensed attorneys and 3 percent of those who received discipline.  
• Hispanic/Latino attorneys comprised 6 percent of all attorneys and 9 percent of those who received discipline. 
• White attorneys comprised 65 percent of all attorneys and 67 percent of those who received discipline.  

The gender analysis revealed more significant differences: 

• Female attorneys made up 42 percent of all attorneys and constituted 18 percent of those who underwent discipline. 
• Male attorneys made up 55 percent of all licensed attorneys and constituted 77 percent of those who underwent discipline. 

The breakouts by race/ethnicity and gender do not total 100 percent because of those who answered "other" and those with missing data. 

"While we are proud to report the demographics of disciplined attorneys for the first time in this year’s ADR, we cannot yet draw broad conclusions, given the small cell size for some groups based on one year’s snapshot,” said Yun Xiang, Chief of the State Bar’s Mission Advancement & Accountability Division. “However, it is important to start to report such statistics to provide transparency and build the baseline for future reporting.”  

 In 2024 the State Bar will update the groundbreaking 2019 Discrepancies in Discipline by Race and Gender report. That study analyzed 20 years of cohorts of attorneys and found that Black male attorneys experienced higher rates of discipline. The observed disparities, however, were primarily driven by the prevalence of prior complaints, firm size, and whether the attorneys sought representation in the State Bar Court when facing discipline. 

Since that Farkas study and the subsequent Robertson Report the State Bar has taken several proactive steps, including: 

• Archiving more than a half million closed complaints older than five years, with a few exceptions. 
• Encouraging attorneys in the discipline system to seek representation by counsel, with a funded representation pilot program to be considered by the Board of Trustees as part of the 2024 and 2025 budget.
• Implementing proactive communication measures with attorneys aimed at preventing overdrafts in client trust accounts, which can lead to discipline investigations.
• Creating the Ad Hoc Commission on the Discipline System, whose final report recommended further improvements for increasing the discipline system’s fairness and effectiveness. Several of these measures have required further development by State Bar staff; this work is ongoing. 

The 2024 study design will be based on multiple years of data and will be expanded to explore factors that contribute to any noticeable disparities, including race/ethnicity, gender, age, practice area and setting, and firm size. 

The State Bar remains committed to fostering transparency, fairness, and equity in the discipline system and will continue its efforts to address any disparities identified in the future.

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The State Bar of California's mission is to protect the public and includes the primary functions of licensing, regulation and discipline of attorneys; the advancement of the ethical and competent practice of law; and support of efforts for greater access to, and inclusion in, the legal system.