Title BPC — California Bus. & Prof. Code

(a) The board shall fix the annual license fee for active licensees for 2026 at a sum not exceeding four hundred dollars ($400). (b) The annual license fee for active licensees is payable on or before the date set by the State Bar, which shall not be less than 12 months from the …

(a) The California Lawyers Association shall adopt a dues schedule for membership and shall provide that schedule to the State Bar by October 1 of each year. (b) Payment of dues for membership in the California Lawyers Association and individual sections of the California Lawyers…

(a) The board shall increase each of the annual license fees fixed by Sections 6140 and 6141 by an additional forty-five dollars ($45), to be allocated only for the purposes established pursuant to Section 6033 and subdivision (b), except to the extent that a licensee elects not …

(a) At the election of the board, the invoice provided to licensees for payment of the annual license fee may provide each licensee the option of adding up to five dollars ($5) to the annual fee if the licensee elects to support lobbying and related activities by the State Bar ou…

(a) The State Bar annually shall submit its adopted final budget by February 28, so that the budget can be reviewed and approved in conjunction with any bill that would authorize the imposition of license fees. Each budget shall include the estimated revenues, expenditures, and s…

(a) In addition to the fee collected pursuant to Sections 6140 and 6141, the State Bar may collect revenue to pay for lease costs associated with leasing space in the building located at 180 Howard Street, San Francisco, as follows: (1) A fee not to exceed fifteen dollars ($15) a…

(a) In addition to the fee collected pursuant to Sections 6140 and 6141, the State Bar may collect revenue to fund the salaries and benefits of employees of the State Bar, including benefits identified in the applicable memorandums of understandings with the bargaining units of S…

The board shall complete and implement a five-year strategic plan to be updated every two years. In conjunction with the submission of the board’s adopted final budget as required by Section 6140.1, the chair shall report to the Supreme Court, the Governor, and the Senate and Ass…

(a) In addition to the fee collected pursuant to Sections 6140 and 6141, the State Bar may collect revenue not to exceed the actual cost of administering compliance reviews and audits of client trust accounts, as follows: (1) A fee not to exceed five dollars and fifty cents ($5.5…

(a) In addition to the fee collected pursuant to Sections 6140 and 6141, the State Bar may collect revenue not to exceed the actual cost of the pilot programs to fund the disciplinary diversion programs, as described in the report to the Legislature submitted pursuant to Section …

(a) To align its staffing with its mission to protect the public as provided in Section 6001.1 and to provide guidance to the State Bar and the Legislature in allocating resources, the State Bar shall develop and implement a workforce plan for its discipline system and conduct a …

The State Bar shall set as a goal the improvement of its disciplinary system so that no more than six months will elapse from the receipt of complaints to the time of dismissal, admonishment of the attorney involved, or the filing of formal charges by the State Bar Office of Tria…

The State Bar shall have a preference for using in-house employees for information technology projects, whenever possible. Nothing in this section shall be read to be inconsistent with any memorandum of understanding between the State Bar and the recognized employee organizations…

(a) The board shall establish and administer a Client Security Fund to relieve or mitigate pecuniary losses caused by the dishonest conduct of licensees of the State Bar, foreign legal consultants registered with the State Bar, and attorneys registered with the State Bar under th…

(a) The board may increase the annual license fees fixed by it pursuant to Section 6140 by an additional amount per active licensee not to exceed forty dollars ($40), and the annual license fees fixed by it pursuant to Section 6141 by an additional amount per inactive licensee no…

(a) To ensure that the Client Security Fund can adequately protect the public and relieve or mitigate financial losses caused by the dishonest conduct of licensees of the State Bar by paying claims in a timely manner, the State Bar shall conduct a thorough analysis of the Client …

The board may increase the annual license fees fixed by Sections 6140 and 6141 by an additional amount not to exceed twenty-five dollars ($25) to be applied to the costs of the disciplinary system.

Costs assessed against a licensee publicly reproved or suspended, where suspension is stayed and the licensee is not actually suspended, shall be added to and become a part of the license fee of the licensee, for the next calendar year. Unless time for payment of discipline costs…

(a) Any order imposing upon a licensee public reproval, discipline, or accepting a resignation with a disciplinary matter pending, in which the licensee is ordered to pay restitution is enforceable as a money judgment by the payee. In the entry or enforcement of any money judgmen…

(a) Moneys for the support of the program established pursuant to Article 15 (commencing with Section 6230), treatment services for those who cannot afford to pay, and related programs approved by the committee established pursuant to Section 6231 shall be paid in whole or part b…

(a) The board shall fix the annual license fee for inactive licensees at a sum not exceeding one hundred dollars ($100). The annual license fee for inactive licensees is payable on or before the date set by the State Bar, which shall not be less than 12 months from the prior year…

(a) The payment by any licensee of the annual license fee, any portion thereof, or any penalty thereon, may be waived by the board as it may provide by rule. The board may require submission of recent federal and state income tax returns and other proof of financial condition as …

(a) Except as provided in subdivision (b), the State Bar shall provide offers of discounts and other benefits to active and inactive licensees of the State Bar, including, but not limited to, insurance and noninsurance affinity programs, until December 31, 2018, and insurance aff…

Upon the payment of the annual license fees, including any costs imposed pursuant to Section 6140.7, and penalties imposed pursuant to Section 6143, each licensee shall receive a certificate issued under the direction of the board evidencing the payment.

Any licensee, active or inactive, failing to pay any fees, penalties, or costs after they become due, and after two months written notice of his or her delinquency, shall have his or her license suspended. The licensee may be reinstated upon the payment of accrued fees or costs a…

Any licensee, active or inactive, failing to pay any child support after it becomes due shall be subject to Section 17520 of the Family Code.

(a) All fees shall be paid into the treasury of the State Bar, and, when so paid, shall become part of its funds. (b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a) and consistent with the reimbursement requirement under Section 6031.5, all fees paid pursuant to Section 6140.02 shall be paid by…

(a) The net proceeds from the sale of real property, after payment of obligations and encumbrances and reasonable costs of acquiring and relocating its facilities, if any, shall be held by the State Bar without expenditure or commitment for any purpose until approved by the Legis…

It is the intent of the Legislature to confirm, validate, and declare effective the annual license fees, and all augmentations, including, but not limited to, those made under Sections 6140.3 and 6140.6, fixed and collected by the board for 1990, and all other acts arising from a…

(a) The board shall engage the services of an independent national or regional public accounting firm with at least five years of experience in governmental auditing for an audit of its financial statement for each fiscal year. The financial statement shall be promptly certified …

(a) (1) The California State Bar shall prepare a report providing written justification for how it would use revenue generated by an increase in the mandatory annual license fee authorized by Section 6140 for active licensees and Section 6141 for inactive licensees. It is the int…

(a) An attorney shall not contract for or collect a contingency fee for representing any person seeking damages in connection with an action for injury or damage against a health care provider based upon such person’s alleged professional negligence in excess of the following lim…

(a) An attorney who contracts to represent a client on a contingency fee basis shall, at the time the contract is entered into, provide a duplicate copy of the contract, signed by both the attorney and the client, or the client’s guardian or representative, to the plaintiff, or t…

(a) Sections 6147 and 6148 shall not apply to contingency fee contracts for the recovery of claims between merchants as defined in Section 2104 of the Commercial Code, arising from the sale or lease of goods or services rendered, or money loaned for use, in the conduct of a busin…

(a) In any case not coming within Section 6147 in which it is reasonably foreseeable that total expense to a client, including attorney fees, will exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000), the contract for services in the case shall be in writing. At the time the contract is entered …

A written fee contract shall be deemed to be a confidential communication within the meaning of subdivision (e) of Section 6068 and of Section 952 of the Evidence Code.

(a) Upon the payment of one hundred dollars ($100) or more in settlement of any third-party liability claim the insurer shall provide written notice to the claimant if both of the following apply: (1) The claimant is a natural person. (2) The payment is delivered to the claimant’…

This article is a part of Chapter 4 of this division of the Business and Professions Code, but the phrase “this chapter” as used in Chapter 4 does not apply to the provisions of this article unless expressly made applicable.

As used in this article: (a) A runner or capper is any person, firm, association or corporation acting for consideration in any manner or in any capacity as an agent for an attorney at law or law firm, whether the attorney or any member of the law firm is admitted in California o…

(a) It is unlawful for: (1) Any person, in an individual capacity or in a capacity as a public or private employee, or for any firm, corporation, partnership or association to act as a runner or capper for any attorneys or to solicit any business for any attorneys in and about th…

(a) A person, firm, partnership, association, or corporation violating subdivision (a) of Section 6152 is punishable, upon a first conviction, by imprisonment in a county jail for not more than one year or by a fine not exceeding fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000), or by both tha…

(a) Any contract for professional services secured by any attorney at law or law firm in this state through the services of a runner or capper is void. In any action against any attorney or law firm under the Unfair Practices Act, Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 17000) of Divi…

(a) An individual, partnership, corporation, association, or any other nongovernmental entity shall not operate for the direct or indirect purpose, in whole or in part, of referring potential clients to attorneys, and no attorney shall accept a referral of such potential clients,…

(a) Any individual, partnership, association, corporation, or other entity, including, but not limited to, any person or entity having an ownership interest in a lawyer referral service, that engages, has engaged, or proposes to engage in violations of Section 6155, shall be liab…

(a) No attorney licensed or otherwise authorized to practice in this state shall share legal fees directly or indirectly with an out-of-state alternative business structure unless all of the following apply: (1) The attorney is also licensed in the state in which the alternative …

(a) Any person may bring a civil action for a violation of Section 6155 for the following remedies: (1) Statutory damages of a minimum of five thousand dollars ($5,000) up to a maximum of one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) per violation or three times the amount of actual da…

As used in this article, the following definitions apply: (a) “Advertise” means to engage in any communication constituting an advertisement. (b) “Advertisement” means any communication, through any written, recorded, or electronic means, whether available to, or directed general…

No advertisement shall contain any false, misleading, or deceptive statement or omit to state any fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of circumstances under which they are made, not false, misleading, or deceptive.

(a) An advertisement shall not contain or refer to any of the following: (1) A guarantee or warranty of success regarding the outcome of a legal matter as a result of representation by the licensee. (2) Statements or symbols stating that the licensee featured in the advertisement…

Any advertisement made on behalf of a licensee, which is not paid for by the licensee, shall disclose any business relationship, past or present, between the licensee and the person paying for the advertisement.