Judges are taking sides on an Assembly bill to shift authority over the trial courts from the Judicial Council to local courts. Backed by a group of dissident judges, the measure is strongly opposed by Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye. It gets a hearing this month.
Lawyers who attend ethics school find answers to the kinds of questions that land them in the State Bar discipline system. Attendees at a recent class brushed up on rules that govern, among other things, communicating with clients, advertising and trust accounts.
Dueling proposals for governing the State Bar will be sent to the legislature and the Supreme Court this month, and it looks like some lawyers on future boards of governors will be appointed rather than elected.
Despite the board’s uncertain future, there is no shortage of candidates for five open seats this year.
A Southern California attorney accused of misappropriating almost $170,000 from a client’s estate has agreed to be disbarred, the first disbarment obtained by a new major misappropriation task force in the State Bar’s discipline unit.
The board of governors will vote whether to post a very visible alert when disciplinary charges are filed against an attorney for misappropriating more than $25,000 in client funds.
Recipients of Rosenthal Bar Exam Scholarship will receive $3,500 to pay for a BARBRI bar review course.