Report 2022-030 Recommendation 15 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 #15 To: Bar of California, State

To ensure that it appropriately reviews complaints involving overdrafts and alleged misappropriations from client trust accounts, by July 2022 the State Bar should, when investigating client trust account-related cases and bank reportable actions not closed de minimis, require its staff to obtain both the bank statements and the attorney's contemporaneous reconciliations of the client trust account, and determine if the relevant transactions are appropriate.

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, based on the results of the pilot project, we will make any revisions to policies and practices for investigating client trust account-related cases and bank reportable actions not closed de minimis.

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

We look forward to reviewing the results of this pilot project upon its completion. However, because of the delay in completing this project, the State Bar should consider whether improvements to its existing process for investigating cases not closed as de minimis are warranted in the meantime. Nothing prevents the State Bar from performing a more thorough review of the allegations that it does investigate. Such a review could include obtaining bank statements and the attorney's contemporaneous reconciliations of the client trust account, as we recommended.

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: Partially Implemented

The State Bar has begun a pilot program to more thoroughly review a sample of client trust account cases, regardless of the violation amounts, and will seek bank records for each case. After the conclusion of the pilot program, it plans to assess the costs and benefits of the program and determine how it will revise its practices based on what it has learned. We look forward to reviewing the results of this pilot program after it concludes.

60-Day Agency Response

Following a June 2, 2022, discussion with the State Auditor regarding resource needs for full implementation of this recommendation, the State Bar is developing a pilot project for partial implementation that will provide data for better assessing resource needs. The 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.