Former foster child Tyrone Wilson was sworn in last month as a California lawyer, overcoming a youth spent in 20 foster homes that ranged from good to awful. Wilson, 28, passed the bar exam with mentoring help from a Tulare County judge and a Hanford law firm.
California lawyers will get a one-time $10 rebate on their dues bill next year, legal services programs will get an infusion of millions of dollars and the State Bar Board of Governors will get smaller.
After less than a year in office, James Towery resigned July 1, saying the challenges of running offices in northern and southern California while living in San Jose were more onerous than expected.
The new state budget had both the chief justice and the attorney general crying foul, complaining the cuts to their agencies jeopardize much of their work. "This is a sad day for justice in California," said Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye.
After the Court of Appeal found that data provided by applicants for the bar exam may be subject to public disclosure, the State Bar asked for a rehearing.
The American Bar Association will ask more detailed questions of all ABA-accredited law schools about employment statistics.
Arcadia attorney Ronald Gottschalk lost his license after the State Bar Court found, among other things, he misappropriated $345,000 from clients.