BILL NUMBER: AB 686	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Daly

                        FEBRUARY 25, 2015

   An act to add Section 6126.8 to the Business and Professions Code,
relating to attorneys.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 686, as introduced, Daly. Unauthorized practice of law:
referrals.
   The State Bar Act provides for the licensure and regulations of
attorneys by the State Bar of California, a public corporation. The
act prohibits persons who are not active members of the State Bar
from practicing law in California, defined as including, among other
things, advertising or holding himself or herself out as entitled to
practice law or literally translating from English into another
language, in any document, any words that imply that he or she is an
attorney. The law makes a violation of this prohibition a
misdemeanor.
   This bill would expand that prohibition to include referring a
person injured in the course of employment to a lawyer or law firm
for professional services in connection with the injury. The bill
would impose a civil penalty of up to $2,500 per day for each
referral and require the State Bar to assess and collect the penalty
in a civil action, as specified. By expanding the scope of a crime,
this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
   The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
   This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this
act for a specified reason.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  Section 6126.8 is added to the Business and Professions
Code, to read:
   6126.8.  (a) It is a violation of subdivision (a) of Section 6126
for any person who is not licensed to practice law in this state to
receive a fee or any other form of compensation from a lawyer, law
firm, or agent or employee of a lawyer or law firm for referring a
person injured in the course of employment to a lawyer or law firm
for professional services in connection with the injury.
   (b) (1) In addition to any other remedies and penalties prescribed
in this article, a person who violates this section shall be subject
to a civil penalty not to exceed two thousand five hundred dollars
($2,500) per day for each violation, to be assessed and collected in
a civil action brought by the State Bar.
   (2) The court shall grant a prevailing plaintiff reasonable
attorney's fees and costs.
   (3) A civil action brought under this section shall be commenced
within four years after the cause of action accrues.
   (4) In a civil action brought by the State Bar under this section,
the civil penalty collected shall be paid to the State Bar and
allocated to the civil enforcement of violations of subdivision (a)
of Section 6126, including actions brought under this section.
  SEC. 2.  No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or
infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty
for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the
Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the
meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution.