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Monday, January 5, 2009 State Bar Home



1-800-843-9053 Attorney Complaint Hotline

Attorney Search Info

• Search for a Legal Specialist
• Search for a Lawyer Referral Service

(New admittee note: Registration cards are processed in the order received. If more than a month has passed since your card was sent to the State Bar and your name still does not appear on the Web site, send an e-mail to memrec@calbar.ca.gov. Please include a daytime phone number.)

The State Bar of California maintains a database of California attorneys. Online public information from this database includes an attorney’s:

  • Name
  • Address
  • Telephone and fax number
  • e-mail address
  • Date of admission to The State Bar of California
  • Undergraduate and law schools attended
  • Membership status (current eligibility to practice law in California)
  • Public record of discipline

For information about obtaining copies of an attorney's public record of discipline, contact the State Bar Court at 213-765-1418. Information about the State Bar’s discipline system is available on the bar’s Web site.

To obtain information specific to a member, a certificate of standing may be purchased for $25. A certificate of standing is a written statement that certifies only the following information:

  1. Whether or not a member has a record of public discipline
  2. The current status of the bar member
  3. A history of any status changes for the member.

The certificate does not explain or give reasons why an attorney may have been disciplined. The Office of Membership Records also can provide certification that a person is not a member of the State Bar.

PLEASE NOTE:

Bar members are designated as ACTIVE, INACTIVE, NOT ELIGIBLE, RESIGNED or DISBARRED:

  • ACTIVE --- Members of the State Bar who are eligible to practice law in California.
  • INACTIVE --- Attorneys who have chosen this status voluntarily, but may transfer to ACTIVE at any time upon request.
  • NOT ELIGIBLE --- Attorneys who may not practice law in California. There are several reasons that may result in this status, including suspension and involuntary transfer to inactive.
  • RESIGNED --- Attorneys who may not practice law in California. The resignation has been accepted by the California Supreme Court and may be entirely voluntary or may have been submitted with disciplinary charges pending.
  • DISBARRED --- Attorneys who are prohibited from practicing law in California by order of the California Supreme Court.

Those listed as RESIGNED and DISBARRED are no longer members of the State Bar and the information about them may no longer be current.

The online member information does not include those former members who are DECEASED or who are currently serving as JUDGES of courts of record.

For additional information about a member’s public record or to file a complaint against an attorney, call 1-800-843-9053.

Information about the State Bar’s lawyer discipline system and filing a complaint can also be found by going to Attorney Complaints on the State Bar’s Web site.
 
 
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