Government Claims, Subpoenas, and Lawsuits Against the State Bar

Government claims

Pursuant to the Government Claims Act (Gov. Code, § 810, et seq.), a government claim must be filed with the State Bar if you are seeking money damages from the State Bar and/or its employees or Trustees or other volunteers for alleged violation(s) of state law. In general, no lawsuit for money damages based on state law may be brought unless a written claim has been filed with the State Bar and been denied.

Claims for death, injury to person, or to personal property must be filed no later than six (6) months after the date of occurrence (Gov. Code, § 911.2). Any other claim, including, but not limited to, claims for damages to real property, must be filed no later than one (1) year after the occurrence. (Ibid.)

To file a government claim with the State Bar, please email your completed Government Claims Program Information and Claim Form to serviceofprocess@calbar.ca.gov, or mail your completed form to:

The State Bar of California
Office of General Counsel / Government Claims
180 Howard Street
San Francisco, CA 94105

or

The State Bar of California
Office of General Counsel / Government Claims
845 South Figueroa Street
Los Angeles, CA 90017

Subpoenas

Occasionally, parties to legal proceedings in which State Bar is not a party may seek to issue subpoenas to the State Bar. Such subpoenas must be served on the State Bar pursuant to applicable law, and as set forth below.

The State Bar will accept email service of subpoenas directed to the State Bar or its custodian of records at serviceofprocess@calbar.ca.gov only if:

• The subpoena is issued by: (a) state or federal courts located in California, or
  (b) administrative agencies located in California, and  
• The subpoena requires production of documents or a personal appearance on a date at least 30 days after the date the email is received by the State Bar.

Any email received on weekdays after 5:00 p.m. or received on a weekend or State Bar holiday shall be deemed received on the next date the State bar is open. Email service of subpoenas is not complete until you receive an email acknowledging receipt and, if applicable, pay witness fees, as described below.

Subpoenas that do not meet the above requirements for email service may be served personally on the State Bar during State Bar business hours (weekdays 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., except State Bar holidays) at the State Bar’s San Francisco or Los Angeles offices. (In Los Angeles, proceed to the security desk on the first floor; in San Francisco, proceed to the security desk on the sixth floor.)

By law, some subpoenas must be served along with payment of witness fees (e.g., federal subpoenas for personal appearance pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 45(b)(1); state subpoenas for appearance at trial pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure, section 1987(a)). Service of such a subpoena is not complete until the State Bar receives payment of any required fees. For in-person service, fees may be paid by including a check payable to “The State Bar of California” in the documents presented at the security desk. For email service, fees may be paid by mailing a check payable to “The State Bar of California” to:

The State Bar of California
Office of General Counsel / Subpoenas
180 Howard Street
San Francisco, CA 94105

or

The State Bar of California
Office of General Counsel / Subpoenas
845 South Figueroa Street
Los Angeles, CA 90017

The procedures above apply to subpoenas directed to the State Bar or its custodian of records. If your subpoena is directed to an individual State Bar employee or other official, you may email your subpoena to serviceofprocess@calbar.ca.gov, and the State Bar will determine whether it can obtain authorization to accept service for such individual(s), and will provide you with further instructions.

Service of lawsuits against the State Bar

If you file a lawsuit against the State Bar in state or federal court, you must validly serve the State Bar as provided under applicable law. (e.g., Code Civ. Proc., § 415.10, et seq.; Fed. R. Civ. Proc. 4(j)(2)). Service provides notice of the lawsuit to the State Bar; the State Bar is not required to respond to a lawsuit unless it has been validly served.

For lawsuits pending in state or federal courts in California, the State Bar will accept service by email of required case-initiating documents (generally, a complaint and a summons) naming the State Bar following the “Notice and Acknowledgement of Receipt” procedure described in Code of Civil Procedure, section 415.30, as modified to allow for email service. To utilize this procedure, you must:

• Fill out and sign a Notice and Acknowledgement of Receipt-Civil form; and
• Email the form along with a copy of required case-initiating documents to serviceofprocess@calbar.ca.gov.

Any email received after 5:00 p.m. on a weekday or received on a weekend or State Bar holiday shall be deemed received on the next date the State bar is open. Once the State Bar receives the form and required case-initiating documents, it will have 20 days from that date in which to return a signed acknowledgement of receipt to you. Service is complete when the State Bar signs the form.

Alternatively, anyone who is 18 years or older and not a party to your litigation may personally serve the State Bar with a the required case-initiating documents at the State Bar’s San Francisco or Los Angeles offices during State Bar business hours (weekdays 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., except State Bar holidays). (In Los Angeles, proceed to the security desk on the first floor; in San Francisco, proceed to the security desk on the sixth floor.)

The procedures above apply to service of case-initiating documents directed to the State Bar or its employees or officials sued in their official capacity. If you seek to serve individual State Bar employees or other officials sued in their individual capacity concerning State Bar business, you may email your case initiating documents to serviceofprocess@calbar.ca.gov, and the State Bar will determine whether it can obtain authorization to accept service for such individual(s), and will provide you with further instructions.

If you have any questions regarding the instructions on this page, please email serviceofprocess@calbar.ca.gov. For more information on service of court papers, please see the Judicial Council’s website.