The State Bar seeks public comment regarding proposed changes to the Rules of Procedure of the State Bar to integrate many of the current Rules of Practice into the Rules of Procedure.
Deadline: 5 p.m., July 30, 2018
This proposed change is the integration of the majority of the current Rules of Practice into the Rules of Procedure. Rules of Practice are developed by the court and approved only by the Executive Committee of the Court. They are not put out for public comment. Rules of Practice are meant to be more akin to local rules, setting forth specific, non-substantive requirements for doing business with the court.
In a comprehensive review undertaken by the State Bar Court it was determined that the majority of the current Rules of Practice should be moved into the Rules of Procedure. Many of the Practice rules complement or expand on the correlated Rules of Procedure so by combining them the reader can find all the requirements for a procedure in one place. It was also determined that some Rules of Practice were not exactly aligned with the correlated Rule of Procedure, so the proposed changes make the processes clearer and consistent.
In some proposals language was added to clarify what is meant, others to make the procedure more balanced to both parties. For a discussion of each change see the memo found in the background materials.
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.
This proposal, if adopted, would amend Title 5, Division 2, Chapter 5, Rules of Procedure of the State Bar: 5.27, 5.49, 5.50, 5.65, 5.69, 5.101, 5.151-5.154, 5.159, and proposes 15 new Rules of Procedure.
Following the public comment period, the proposed rules and any comments received will be reviewed by the Board of Trustees during its September 13-14, 2018 meeting.
No negative fiscal or personnel impact is anticipated.
Summary memo, with redline and clean version of rules attached.
Regulation and Discipline Committee
5 p.m., July 30, 2018
Antonia G. Darling The State Bar Court 180 Howard St. San Francisco, CA 94105 Phone: 415-538-2233 Email: sbcrulescomment@calbar.ca.govPlease reference the specific rule number and title in your comments.