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The Legislative Analyst’s Office has just published the following report:
The California State Bar: Assessment of Proposed Disciplinary Case Processing Standards
The State Bar functions as the administrative arm of the California Supreme Court for the purpose of admitting individuals to practice law in California and regulating the professional conduct of attorneys by adopting and enforcing rules of professional conduct. Complaints that such rules have been violated are processed through the State Bar’s own disciplinary system.
Chapter 723 of 2021 (SB 211, Umberg) required our office review the California State Bar’s proposed (1) caseload processing standards for resolving attorney discipline cases within its Office of Chief Trial Counsel, (2) establishment of a backlog goal and metrics to measure such a goal, and (3) staffing requirements needed to achieve the new standards.
Our review found that portions of the State Bar’s proposal were reasonable, while others raised several concerns. For example, we find it unclear whether the aggressive time lines reflected in the standards are reasonable. To assist the Legislature, we identify a couple of key questions for legislative consideration on the overall proposal as well as ten key question across its three specific components.
This report is available using the following link: https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4655?utm_source=laowww&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=4655
