News Releases

State Bar Board of Trustees Approves Several Oversight and Accountability Reforms

At its meeting on May 18 and 19, the State Bar of California Board of Trustees approved two alternatives for California Supreme Court consideration of a new Rule of Professional Conduct that would require attorneys to report misconduct by other attorneys.   

“While the Court will ultimately need to finalize the specific parameters of the rule, the Board has agreed on the overall importance of having such a rule: that it acknowledges and codifies that lawyers have a moral duty to report criminal acts and misconduct that imperil the public,” said Ruben Duran, Board Chair. “Given their expertise, lawyers often recognize misconduct that clients are unaware of. I am grateful for the work of the Committee on Professional Responsibility and Conduct and staff, as well as for the many people who contributed their comments, for helping to shape this effort since I called for it in November 2022.”  

Meanwhile, an overlapping bill, Senate Bill 42, is currently pending in the Legislature. The bill would establish a duty in California Business and Professions Code to report attorney misconduct. At this writing, the bill is substantially the same as the American Bar Association’s Model Rule 8.3, which is broader than both of the California proposed alternatives. 

The new rule is among several actions taken at the May Board meeting to strengthen the State Bar’s accountability and transparency in the wake of recent reports spotlighting the agency’s past failures in handling complaints against now-disbarred attorney Thomas V. Girardi. The Board approved several legislative priorities to pursue statutory reforms proposed by the Board’s Ad Hoc Committee on Oversight & Accountability Reforms. These include: 

• An Inspector General/Discipline Monitor who would regularly review performance measures for the State Bar discipline system, assess the effectiveness of selected policies, procedures, initiatives, and internal controls, recommend further corrective actions for Board consideration, and ensure implementation of approved measures.  
• Making the State Bar subject to the Political Reform Act as well as conflicts statutes related to government contracting to broaden and clarify their application to the State Bar’s Board and staff decision-making. 
• A proposal to include the State Bar in the California budget process conducted by the executive and legislative branches. 

Emphasizing the importance of the State Bar having sufficient funds for core operational stability as well as for important and needed reforms, the Board deleted a proposal to hold off on requesting a fee increase until 2025 and agreed to move forward—as approved in January 2023—with a request to the Legislature for a licensing fee increase in 2024. 

The Ad Hoc Committee also recommended, and the Board approved, pursuing a statutory change to extend the term for the Board chair from one to two years. For the 2022–2023 Board year, the Supreme Court appointed Ruben Duran as Chair for an unprecedented second year to allow for continuity while the State Bar was dealing with important, transformational issues. The committee believes making this change permanent will benefit leadership continuity and longer-term planning. 

The Board also approved a comprehensive new Whistleblower Antiretaliation Program to be administered by the California Department of Justice (DOJ). The program will provide a process whereby individuals can send whistleblower complaints and whistleblower retaliation complaints against State Bar personnel directly to the DOJ for review and investigation without prior review by the State Bar. 

In other actions at this meeting, the Board: 

• Approved proceeding with the sale of the San Francisco headquarters building, directing staff to refine pending offers and select a best offer, negotiate with the selected buyer over sale and leaseback agreements, and return to the Board or its Executive Committee for review and approval of the agreements. 
• Approved a slate of administrative fee increases to enable the State Bar to recover the full cost of providing related services, which include certifying Limited Liability Partnerships, Law Corporations, and providers of Minimum Continuing Legal Education (MCLE); issuing certificates of standing; and administering attorney MCLE compliance. Some of these fees have not changed in 5 to 10 years. The fee increases are projected to generate an additional $1.7 million in General Fund revenue, enabling the State Bar to use less licensing fee revenue to subsidize programs currently operating at a deficit, as recommended by the most recent State Audit report. A separate proposal for admissions-related fee increases completed its public comment period earlier this week and is expected to be presented at the July Board meeting. 
• Received the final report and recommendations of the joint Supreme Court/State Bar of California Blue Ribbon Commission on the Future of the Bar Exam. The commission recommended that California develop its own new exam rather than relying on the National Conference of Bar Examiners’ NextGen exam. Exam recommendations include topics and skill areas for a new exam and a proposal that California pursue reciprocity with other states so long as it applies equally to all California licensed attorneys regardless of how they met their legal education requirement. The Board indicated its support of the commission’s recommendations but directed staff to work with commission members who favored a nonexam pathway to develop such a proposal and return to the Board later this year. The report will now go to the California Supreme Court for review.  
   

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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.