Lawyers in California who observe misconduct by other attorneys, like harassing a witness, concocting evidence or stealing money from a client, have no legal obligation to notify the State Bar or anyone else. That’s about to change.
On Thursday, the state Supreme Court approved a rule proposed by the bar that will require California attorneys to report wrongdoing by other attorneys to the State Bar or a court. The rule, effective Aug. 1, applies to any lawyer who learns that a colleague has committed a crime or an act of fraud, theft or any conduct involving “dishonesty, deceit, (or) reckless or intentional misrepresentations.”
Every other state already has a similar reporting requirement.
Last month the state Senate approved legislation, SB42 by Sen. Tom Umberg, D-Santa Ana, that would have gone somewhat further by requiring attorneys to report misconduct that raises a “substantial question” about another lawyer’s “honesty, trustworthiness, or ability to perform legal services with competence.”
But Umberg told The Chronicle on Thursday he would put SB42 on hold and defer to the state Supreme Court, since it “has primary responsibility for regulating the bar.” He added, however, that he would add a provision to the State Bar’s annual fee-authorization bill, SB40, to require lawyers to report any “treasonous activities” by other attorneys, such as taking part in an insurrection or any act to overthrow the government.
The bar began hearings this week on possible disbarment of John Eastman, an attorney for former President Donald Trump, over his involvement in Trump’s attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election and the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.
The actions by the bar and the court come in the wake of a scandal involving Tom Girardi, a once-prominent Los Angeles lawyer now charged with embezzling millions of dollars from his clients over a 10-year period. An investigation commissioned by the State Bar found that Girardi had made gifts to bar staff members and used his influence with the bar to delay its investigation of him.
California’s state auditor reported last year that the State Bar’s disciplinary system dismisses too many complaints against lawyers without public notice or explanation, allows law practice by attorneys disciplined in other states and fails to police conflicts of interest on its own staff. The audit said the bar’s secretive processes made it harder to hold lawyers accountable.
For misconduct by any of California’s 266,000 licensed attorneys, “the State Bar either hasn’t known what’s going on or hasn’t been paying attention” and needs to hear more from its members, Laurie Levenson, a law professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, said Thursday. “I think lawyers have been reluctant to report,” she added. “They fear they will be seen as some type of snitch and people will retaliate against them.”
California’s lawyers will now be legally bound by their “moral duty to report criminal acts and misconduct that imperil the public,” said Ruben Duran, an attorney in Ontario (San Bernardino County) and chair of the State Bar’s Board of Trustees, who proposed the new rule last November.
The disclosure requirement will not apply to confidential information lawyers receive from their clients, or to information a lawyer learns while representing another attorney already accused of misconduct.
Reach Bob Egelko: begelko@sfchronicle.com; Twitter: @BobEgelko
