Disciplinary Authority of the Board of Governors
Cal. BPC § 6086.15
California Statutes
(
a) The State Bar shall issue an Annual Discipline Report by November of each year describing the performance and condition of the State Bar discipline system, including all matters that affect public protection. Except as set forth in subdivision (d), the report shall cover the period from July of the previous calendar year to June of the year in which the report is issued and shall include accurate and complete descriptions of all of the following:
(1) The inventory of cases within the Office of Chief Trial Counsel which were open at the start of the reporting period, were opened during the reporting period, remain pending with the office at the close of the reporting period, or were disposed of during the reporting period by closure, by filing of a stipulation with the State Bar Court, by filing of a notice of disciplinary charges with the State Bar Court, or by transmittal of a criminal conviction to the State Bar Court. The State Bar shall also report on its success in meeting the case processing goals set forth in
Section 6094.5, including, but not limited to, tables showing the number and percentage of cases meeting each goal, the number and percentage of those cases not disposed of within the case processing goals, and a high-level explanation of the reasons for failing to meet those case processing goals. The inventory of cases shall not be limited to case types that could result in the filing of a notice of disciplinary charges in the State Bar Court, but shall also include Nonattorney Unauthorized Practice of Law (NA-UPL),
Section matters, moral character matters, resignations with charges pending, and mini-reinstatements.
(2) The number of inquiries and complaints and their disposition.
(3) The number, average pending times, and types of matters self-reported by licensees of the State Bar pursuant to subdivision (
o) of
Section and subdivision (
c) of
Section 6086.8.
(4) The number, average pending times, and types of matters reported by other sources pursuant to Sections 6086.7, 6086.8, 6091.1, subdivisions (
b) and (
c) of
Section 6101, and
Section 6175.6.
(5) The speed of complaint handling and dispositions by type, measured by the median and the average processing times.
(6) The number, average pending times, and types of filed notices of disciplinary charges and formal disciplinary outcomes.
(7) The number, average pending times, and types of other matters, including petitions to terminate practice pursuant to
Section or 6190, interim suspensions and license restrictions pursuant to
Section 6007, motions to enforce a binding arbitration award, judgment, or agreement pursuant to subdivision (
d) of
Section 6203, motions to revoke probation, letters of warning, private reprovals, admonitions, and agreements in lieu of discipline.
(8) The number, average pending times, and outcomes of complaints involving a State Bar licensee who has been disbarred or who has resigned, and is engaged in the unauthorized practice of law, including referrals to district attorneys, city attorneys, or other prosecuting authorities, or petitions to terminate practice pursuant to
Section 6180.
(9) The number, average pending times, and outcomes of complaints against nonattorneys engaged in the unauthorized practice of law, including referrals to district attorneys, city attorneys, or other prosecuting authorities; petitions to terminate practice pursuant to
Section 6126.3; or referrals to prosecuting authorities or actions by the State Bar pursuant to
Section 6126.7.
(10) A description of the condition of the Client Security Fund, including an accounting of payouts.
(11) An accounting of the cost of the discipline system by function.
(12) Compliance with the requirement of
Section to transmit, within days of receipt, the record of any criminal conviction which involves or may involve moral turpitude to the Supreme Court, or to close the matter if transmittal to the Supreme Court is not appropriate. (
b) The Annual Discipline Report shall include statistical information presented in a consistent manner for year-to-year comparison. (
c) The Annual Discipline Report shall be presented to the Chief Justice of California, to the Governor, to the Speaker of the Assembly, to the President pro Tempore of the Senate, and to the Assembly and Senate Judiciary Committees, for their consideration and shall be considered a public document. (d)
(1) All data relating to the items set forth in subdivision (
a) shall also be reported, if available, for the preceding five years. Data from and prior years shall be reported for the calendar year. Except as specified in paragraph (2), data from and future years shall be reported based on the state fiscal year.
(2) The Annual Discipline Report due on October 31, 2022, shall include data from both the prior state fiscal year and the prior calendar year.