California
Regulatory profile maintained from State Bar of California; CA Courts.
Sources verifiedVerified
Last reviewed 2026-09-10. Always confirm the current rule on the official source before acting.
Bar & Regulation
- Bar / regulatory authority
- State Bar of California
- Attorney registration lookup
- www.calbar.ca.gov/Attorneys/License-Status
- Rules of professional conduct
- www.calbar.ca.gov/Ethics/Rules-of-Professional-Con…
- Ethics opinions
- www.calbar.ca.gov/Ethics/Ethics-Opinions
- Ethics hotline
- Research pending
- Mandatory bar
- YesCalifornia has a mandatory, unified bar (State Bar of California).
- Client security fund
- Research pending
Trust Accounts & Fees
- IOLTA authority
- California State Bar IOLTA
- Trust recordkeeping rules
- Three-way reconciliation required; follow CA trust account rules
- Fee agreement requirements
- Contingency fees in writing; subject to CA fee rules
- Flat-fee / advance-fee treatment
- Confirm current rule — CA has specific guidance on flat fees
- Limited-scope representation
- Limited-scope representation permitted under CA RPC 1.2(c)
CLE & Advertising
- CLE authority
- State Bar of California MCLE
- Current CLE requirements
- 25 credits per 3-year cycle, including 4 ethics; confirm current cycle
- Advertising / solicitation rules
- www.calbar.ca.gov/Ethics/Advertising
- Trade-name / firm-name rules
- Firm names regulated under CA RPC 7.1-7.5
Practice & Remote
- Remote / virtual practice guidance
- Remote practice permitted; check CA ethics opinions on virtual offices
- Multijurisdictional / UPL rules
- CA RPC 5.5 governs MJP and UPL
- Succession / designated-successor
- Check current rule on succession planning
- Malpractice insurance rules
- No mandatory malpractice insurance; disclosure may be required
- Data security / breach guidance
- CA ethics opinions on data security and confidentiality
- Permitted entity types
- PC, LLP, LLC (confirm current rule)
Business Formation
- Secretary of State
- www.sos.ca.gov/business
- State tax department
- www.ftb.ca.gov
- Local business registration
- www.ca.gov
Courts & E-Filing
- State court homepage
- www.courts.ca.gov
- Trial court directory
- www.courts.ca.gov/find-your-court.htm
- Appellate court directory
- www.courts.ca.gov/courts.htm
- E-filing portal
- www.courts.ca.gov/e-filing.htm
- Court forms
- www.courts.ca.gov/forms.htm
- Civil procedure rules
- www.courts.ca.gov/rules.htm
- Rules of evidence
- www.courts.ca.gov/rules.htm
- Case-law search
- www.courts.ca.gov/opinions.htm
- Statutes / codes
- leginfo.legislature.ca.gov
- Regulations / admin decisions
- govt.westlaw.com/calregs
Federal Courts
- Federal district courts
- N.D., E.D., C.D., S.D., E.D. Cal.
- Federal bankruptcy courts
- Multiple districts
- Federal court admission
- www.cacd.uscourts.gov
- Pro hac vice rules
- CA RPC 5.5; pro hac vice via local court rules
Support & Resources
- Lawyer assistance / wellness
- www.calbar.ca.gov/Attorneys/Lawyer-Assistance-Prog…
- Law libraries
- CA State Law Library; county law libraries
- Practice management assistance
- State Bar of California Practice Management
- Incubators / mentoring / referral
- Check State Bar and local bars
- Malpractice insurers / guidance
- Various; confirm with State Bar resources
Verification record
- Review date
- 2026-09-10
- Source authority
- State Bar of California; CA Courts
- Status
- Verified
Initial verified profile seeded
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