The State Bar seeks public comment on a proposed new State Bar policy that would remove from the publicly available attorney profile page nondisbarment discipline, administrative suspensions, and inactive enrollments.
Deadline: September 24, 2024, 11:59 p.m.
Comments should be submitted using the online Public Comment Form. The online form allows you to input your comments directly.
The Board established the Ad Hoc Commission on the Discipline System in November 2020 to assess reforms implemented by the State Bar to further the efficiency, effectiveness, and fairness of the discipline system and to identify any additional improvements needed. On September 22, 2022, the Board received the commission’s final report and recommendations. See Agenda Item 701.
At its January 2023 meeting, after consideration of the Ad Hoc Commission’s recommendations, in addition to other directives, among others, the Board directed staff to:
The proposed policy was developed in response to those directives.
Staff proposes a new State Bar policy to remove nondisbarment public discipline and administrative suspensions from the licensee’s attorney profile page. Website removal means the removal of nondisbarment discipline and administrative suspensions from the licensee’s attorney profile page. Removal of nondisbarment public discipline and administrative suspensions from the attorney profile page would not constitute expungement and the information would still be available upon request.
The criteria for website removal are on the policy in Attachment B.
Adoption of the policy would require an information technology investment to develop a solution to automate the removal of discipline history and administrative suspensions and administrative inactive enrollments from the attorney profile page. In the short term, significant manual work would be required to provide the relief granted by these proposals. Additionally, there may be ongoing costs associated with receipt and processing of requests for records that remain public but have been removed from the attorney profile page. The impact of these costs would depend on the volume of requests received.
State Bar Staff
September 24, 2024, 11:59 p.m.