Title BPC — California Bus. & Prof. Code

(a) The rules adopted by the board of trustees shall provide that an attorney shall forward a written notice to the client prior to or at the time of service of summons or claim in an action against the client, or prior to or at the commencement of any other proceeding against th…

The provisions of Article 3 (commencing with Section 950) of Chapter 4 of Division 8 of the Evidence Code shall not prohibit the disclosure of any relevant communication, nor shall the provisions of Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 2018.010) of Title 4 of Part 4 of the Code of …

(a) The award shall be in writing and signed by the arbitrators concurring therein. It shall include a determination of all the questions submitted to the arbitrators, the decision of which is necessary in order to determine the controversy. The award shall not include any award …

(a) The parties may agree in writing to be bound by the award of arbitrators appointed pursuant to this article at any time after the dispute over fees, costs, or both, has arisen. In the absence of such an agreement, either party shall be entitled to a trial after arbitration if…

(a) The State Bar shall provide by rule for an appropriate procedure to disqualify an arbitrator or mediator upon request of either party. (b) The State Bar, or the local bar association delegated by the State Bar to conduct the arbitration, shall deliver a notice to the parties …

The time for filing a civil action seeking judicial resolution of a dispute subject to arbitration under this article shall be tolled from the time an arbitration is initiated in accordance with the rules adopted by the board of trustees until (a) 30 days after receipt of notice …

The Legislature finds that, due to insufficient funding, existing programs providing free legal services in civil matters to indigent persons, especially underserved client groups, such as the elderly, the disabled, juveniles, and non-English-speaking persons, do not adequately m…

(a) There shall be created, within the State Bar, a Legal Services Trust Fund Commission to administer IOLTA accounts, Equal Access Funds, or similar funds or grant moneys intended for the support of qualified legal services projects and qualified support centers, as those terms …

(a) An attorney or law firm that, in the course of the practice of law, receives or disburses trust funds shall establish and maintain an IOLTA account in which the attorney or law firm shall deposit or invest all client deposits or funds that are nominal in amount or are on depo…

An attorney who, or a law firm that, establishes an IOLTA account pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 6211 shall comply with all of the following provisions: (a) The IOLTA account shall be established and maintained with an eligible institution offering or making available an …

As used in this article: (a) “Qualified legal services project” means either of the following: (1) A nonprofit project incorporated and operated exclusively in California that provides as its primary purpose and function civil legal services without charge to indigent persons and…

(a) Projects meeting the requirements of subdivision (a) of Section 6213 which are funded either in whole or part by the Legal Services Corporation or with Older Americans Act funds shall be presumed qualified legal services projects for the purpose of this article. (b) Projects …

A law school program that meets the definition of a “qualified legal services project” as defined in paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 6213, and that applied to the State Bar for funding under this article not later than February 17, 1984, shall be deemed eligible for a…

(a) Support centers satisfying the qualifications specified in subdivision (b) of Section 6213 which were operating an office and providing services in California on December 31, 1980, shall be presumed to be qualified support centers for the purposes of this article. (b) Support…

The State Bar shall distribute all moneys received under the program established by this article for the provision of civil legal services to indigent persons. The funds first shall be distributed 18 months from the effective date of this article, or upon such a date, as shall be…

With respect to the provision of legal assistance under this article, each recipient shall ensure all of the following: (a) The maintenance of quality service and professional standards. (b) The expenditure of funds received in accordance with the provisions of this article. (c) …

All legal services projects and support centers receiving funds pursuant to this article shall adopt financial eligibility guidelines for indigent persons. (a) Qualified legal services programs shall ensure that funds appropriated pursuant to this article shall be used solely to …

Qualified legal services projects and support centers may use funds provided under this article for the following: (a) To provide work opportunities with pay, and where feasible, scholarships for disadvantaged law students to help defray their law school expenses. (b) To provide …

Attorneys in private practice who are providing legal services without charge to indigent persons shall not be disqualified from receiving the services of the qualified support centers.

Qualified legal services projects shall make significant efforts to utilize 20 percent of the funds allocated under this article for increasing the availability of services to the elderly, the disabled, juveniles, or other indigent persons who are members of disadvantaged and und…

A recipient of funds allocated pursuant to this article annually shall submit a financial statement to the State Bar, including an audit of the funds by a certified public accountant or a fiscal review approved by the State Bar, a report demonstrating the programs on which they w…

No funds allocated by the State Bar pursuant to this article shall be used for any of the following purposes: (a) The provision of legal assistance with respect to any fee generating case, except in accordance with guidelines which shall be promulgated by the State Bar. (b) The p…

The State Bar shall have the power to determine that an applicant for funding is not qualified to receive funding, to deny future funding, or to terminate existing funding because the recipient is not operating in compliance with the requirements or restrictions of this article. …

The Board of Trustees of the State Bar shall adopt the regulations and procedures necessary to implement this article and to ensure that the funds allocated herein are utilized to provide civil legal services to indigent persons, especially underserved client groups such as but n…

The program authorized by this article shall become operative only upon the adoption of a resolution by the Board of Trustees of the State Bar stating that regulations have been adopted pursuant to Section 6225 which conform the program to all applicable tax and banking statutes,…

Nothing in this article shall create an obligation or pledge of the credit of the State of California or of the State Bar of California. Claims arising by reason of acts done pursuant to this article shall be limited to the moneys generated hereunder.

If any provision of this article or the application thereof to any group or circumstances is held invalid, such invalidity shall not affect the other provisions or applications of this article which can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this end…

It is the intent of the Legislature that the State Bar of California seek ways and means to identify and rehabilitate attorneys with impairment due to substance use or a mental health disorder affecting competency so that attorneys so afflicted may be treated and returned to the …

(a) The board shall establish and administer an Attorney Diversion and Assistance Program, and shall establish a committee to oversee the operation of the program. The committee shall be comprised of 12 members who shall be appointed as follows: (1) Six members appointed by the B…

(a) The committee shall establish practices and procedures for the acceptance, denial, completion, or termination of attorneys in the Attorney Diversion and Assistance Program, and may recommend rehabilitative criteria for adoption by the board for acceptance, denial, completion …

An attorney entering the diversion and assistance program pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 6232 may be enrolled as an inactive licensee of the State Bar and not be entitled to practice law, or may be required to agree to various practice restrictions, including, where appro…

Any information provided to or obtained by the Attorney Diversion and Assistance Program, or any subcommittee or agent thereof, shall be as follows: (a) Confidential and shall not be disclosed pursuant to any state law, including, but not limited to, the California Public Records…

(a) (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), participants in the Attorney Diversion and Assistance Program shall be responsible for all expenses relating to treatment and recovery. (2) Consistent with subdivision (b), funds collected pursuant to Section 6140.9 for the Attorney Di…

The State Bar shall actively engage in outreach activities to make licensees, the legal community, and the general public aware of the existence and availability of the Attorney Diversion and Assistance Program. Outreach shall include, but not be limited to, the development and c…

It is the intent of the Legislature that the authorization of an Attorney Diversion and Assistance Program not be construed as limiting or altering the powers of the Supreme Court of this state to disbar or discipline licensees of the State Bar.

For purposes of this article, the following definitions apply: (a) “Immigration reform act” means either of the following: (1) Any pending or future act of Congress that is enacted after October 5, 2013, that authorizes an undocumented immigrant who entered the United States with…

This article shall apply to the following: (a) An attorney who is an active licensee of the State Bar who provides immigration reform act services. (b) An attorney who is not an active licensee of the State Bar, but who meets both of the following: (1) The attorney is authorized …

(a) It is unlawful for an attorney to demand or accept the advance payment of any funds from a person for immigration reform act services in connection with any of the following: (1) An immigration reform act as defined in paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 6240, before …

(a) (1) When a contract for legal services is required in writing pursuant to Section 6148, or is subject to Section 1632 of the Civil Code, an attorney providing immigration reform act services shall provide a written notice informing the client that he or she may report complai…

(a) “Charges” means the amount of money to be paid to the consumer legal funding company by or on behalf of the consumer, above the funded amount provided by or on behalf of the company to a California consumer pursuant to this article. Charges include all administrative, origina…

(a) (1) All consumer legal funding transactions shall be codified in a written contract. (2) If the consumer legal funding contract was negotiated in a language other than English, the consumer shall be provided a copy of the contract in both English and the language in which the…

(a) All contracts for a consumer legal funding transaction shall disclose material terms to the consumer, including, but not limited to, all of the following: (1) Clear and conspicuous language, on the first page of the contract, detailing all of the following: (A) The funded amo…

The contracted amount to be paid to the consumer legal funding company shall be a predetermined amount based upon intervals of time from the funding date through the resolution date, and shall not be determined as a percentage of the recovery from the legal claim.

(a) A consumer legal funding company shall be prohibited from doing any of the following: (1) Paying or offering to pay commissions, referral fees, or other forms of consideration to any attorney, law firm, or any of their employees for referring a consumer to the company. (2) Ac…

The contingent right to receive an amount of the potential proceeds of a legal claim is assignable by a consumer.

(a) An attorney, or the attorney’s immediate family, retained by a consumer shall not have a financial interest in a consumer legal funding company offering consumer legal funding, and shall not provide consumer legal funding directly to a consumer. (b) Any attorney who has refer…

This chapter shall be known, and may be cited, as the “Gambling Control Act.”

The Legislature hereby finds and declares all of the following: (a) State law prohibits commercially operated lotteries, banked or percentage games, and gambling machines, and strictly regulates parimutuel wagering on horse racing. To the extent that state law categorically prohi…

The Legislature further finds and declares as follows: Appropriate regulation of banking and percentage games or of gambling devices consistent with public safety and welfare would require, at a minimum, all of the following safeguards: (a) The creation of an adequately funded ga…

(a) It is the intent of the Legislature, in enacting this chapter, to provide uniform, minimum standards of regulation of permissible gambling activities and the operation of lawful gambling establishments. (b) Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to preclude any city, coun…