Report 2022-030 Recommendation 13 Responses

Report 2022-030: The State Bar of California's Attorney Discipline Process: Weak Policies Limit Its Ability to Protect the Public From Attorney Misconduct (Release Date: April 2022)

Recommendation #13 To: Bar of California, State

To ensure that it appropriately reviews complaints involving overdrafts and alleged misappropriations from client trust accounts, the State Bar should by July 2022, revise its intake manual to disallow de minimis closures if the attorney has a pending or prior bank reportable action or case alleging a client trust account violation.

1-Year Agency Response

The pilot project was extended to ensure that a sufficient number of cases are handled to provide meaningful data. As a result, the pilot project remains ongoing. Data collection and evaluation is expected to be completed in April 2023, following which any revisions to de minimis closure policies will be made and a monitoring system for compliance with these policies established

California State Auditor's Assessment of 1-Year Status: Pending

We look forward to reviewing the results of this pilot project upon its completion.

6-Month Agency Response

A pilot project for partial implementation of this recommendation was initiated effective August 1, 2022. See supporting documents: CTA/Bank RA Pilot Program Protocol; Pilot Program Protocols.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 6-Month Status: Pending

We look forward to reviewing the results of this pilot project upon its completion.

60-Day Agency Response

Following a June 2, 2022, discussion with the State Auditor regarding resources needed for full implementation of this recommendation, the State Bar is developing a pilot project for partial implementation that will provide necessary data for better assessing resource needs. This pilot project will be developed by July 2022.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 60-Day Status: Pending

All Recommendations in 2022-030

Agency responses received are posted verbatim.