BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 1257|
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VETO
Bill No: SB 1257
Author: Block (D)
Amended: 6/30/16
Vote: 21
SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: 6-1, 4/26/16
AYES: Jackson, Moorlach, Hertzberg, Leno, Monning, Wieckowski
NOES: Anderson
SENATE FLOOR: 26-9, 5/9/16
AYES: Allen, Anderson, Block, De León, Glazer, Hall, Hancock,
Hernandez, Hertzberg, Hill, Hueso, Jackson, Lara, Leno, Leyva,
Liu, McGuire, Mendoza, Mitchell, Monning, Moorlach, Pan,
Pavley, Roth, Wieckowski, Wolk
NOES: Berryhill, Cannella, Fuller, Huff, Morrell, Nguyen,
Nielsen, Stone, Vidak
NO VOTE RECORDED: Bates, Beall, Gaines, Galgiani, Runner
SENATE FLOOR: 26-12, 8/15/16
AYES: Allen, Beall, Block, De León, Galgiani, Glazer, Hall,
Hancock, Hernandez, Hertzberg, Hill, Hueso, Jackson, Lara,
Leno, Leyva, Liu, McGuire, Mendoza, Mitchell, Monning, Pan,
Pavley, Roth, Wieckowski, Wolk
NOES: Anderson, Bates, Cannella, Fuller, Gaines, Huff,
Moorlach, Morrell, Nguyen, Nielsen, Stone, Vidak
NO VOTE RECORDED: Berryhill
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 42-31, 8/4/16 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT: State Bar: admission: license: pro bono service
requirement
SOURCE: Author
SB 1257
Page 2
DIGEST: This bill, to achieve greater access to justice for
indigent unrepresented Californians, requires those who apply to
become licensed California attorneys, with certain exceptions,
to complete at least 50 hours of pro bono legal service, as
defined, prior to admission with the State Bar of California.
Assembly Amendments clarify who is eligible to supervise the pro
bono legal service, the definition of "pro bono legal service,"
what qualifies as pro bono legal service, and the process for
certifying completion of the hours. The amendments exempt
certain applicants from the pro bono legal services requirement
and add disclosure requirements for law schools and the State
Bar related to the pro bono legal service requirement. The
amendments add that an applicant may receive compensation for
performing pro bono legal service that is paid by a person or
entity other than the client who receives the pro bono legal
service. The amendments add definition of "modest means" and
"attorney incubator programs." The amendments add that the new
pro bono legal services requirement applies to applicants that
enter law school on or after January 1, 2018. The amendments
add that the purpose of the service requirement is also to
expose the applicant to the professional value of pro bono legal
service for the public good. The amendments also make
clarifying nonsubstantive changes.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1) Provides that the State Bar's highest priority is protection
of the public, and, whenever the protection of the public is
inconsistent with other interests sought to be promoted, the
protection of the public shall be paramount.
2) Requires that attorneys who wish to practice law in
California generally must be admitted and licensed in this
state and must be a member of the State Bar.
SB 1257
Page 3
3) Sets forth requirements for an individual to be certified by
the Supreme Court for admission and a license to practice
law, including but not limited to, having to pass the general
bar examination, passing an examination in professional
responsibility, and having to complete certain legal
education in a law school, law office, or judge's chambers.
4) Provides that every lawyer authorized and privileged to
practice law in California is expected to make a contribution
to provide voluntary pro bono legal services to those who
cannot afford the help of a lawyer.
This bill:
1) Requires an applicant for admission and a license to
practice law to complete at least 50 hours of pro bono legal
service, as defined, prior to admission with the State Bar of
California.
2) Defines "pro bono legal service" as work without
compensation from the client who receives the legal service
that is designed to benefit the public interest or persons
who are indigent or of modest means for one of the following
purposes:
to secure or promote access to justice, including, but
not limited to, the protection of civil rights, civil
liberties, or public rights;
to address the economic, health, and social needs of
persons who are indigent or of modest means; or
to further the purpose of a charitable, civic,
community, governmental, or educational organization where
payment of the market rate for legal fees would
significantly deplete the organization's resources or
would otherwise be inappropriate.
1) Defines "modest means" as low income, very low income, or
extremely low income under the official state income limits
established by the Department of Housing and Community
Development under Section 50093 of the Health and Safety Code
or under comparable official state income limits in another
United States jurisdiction.
SB 1257
Page 4
2) Defines "attorney incubator program" as a postgraduate
training program that teaches attorneys how to form, develop,
and sustain law firms.
3) Provides that all qualifying pro bono legal services shall
be performed under the supervision of:
a member of a law school faculty, including part-time
faculty, or an instructor employed by a law school;
a person with the appropriate licensing to represent
the client before the relevant judicial body or government
agency, which includes, but is not limited to, an active
licensed attorney in good standing; or
an active licensed attorney in good standing.
1) Provides that:
pro bono legal service may be completed in any state
or territory of the United States, the District of
Columbia, or any foreign country;
no applicant may satisfy any part of the 50-hour
requirement by participating in any partisan political
activities;
pro bono legal service shall be provided after the
commencement of the applicant's legal studies, and prior
to admission;
an applicant may receive compensation for performing
pro bono legal service that is paid by a person or entity
other than the client who receives the pro bono legal
service; and
pro bono legal service requirements do not apply to
applicants that are already admitted to practice law, who
have earned a J.D. or its equivalent in a foreign
jurisdiction and are qualified to practice without a
separate admission process in that jurisdiction, or
qualify for admission by completion of an LL.M. degree
program.
1) Requires that pro bono legal service be performed with any
of the following:
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Page 5
a legal aid organization as defined by Bus. & Prof.
Code section 6159.51 or a qualified legal services project
or a qualified support center as defined in Bus. & Prof.
Code section 6213;
a nonprofit organization;
a charitable, civic, community, governmental, or
educational organization;
an externship, law school clinic or other placement
approved for credit hours by a law school, or law
school-sponsored project, in which the applicant is
assigned work that otherwise meets the criteria of this
section;
a law firm, including a solo practitioner, or other
legal services provider where the applicant is assigned
work that otherwise meets the criteria of this section;
a State Bar-certified lawyer referral and information
services panel that provides legal services to the
indigent or persons of modest means without charge or for
less than market rate; or
an attorney incubator program or nonprofit law
corporation affiliated with a law school or bar
association that provides legal services to the indigent
or persons of modest means without charge or for less than
market rate.
1) Requires, upon completion of the pro bono legal service
requirement, an applicant shall complete a form describing
the nature and dates of pro bono legal service and the number
of hours completed and submit the form to the State Bar, as
specified.
2) Allows the State Bar to create the form upon which the
applicant can report completion of pro bono legal service,
requires the State Bar to adopt rules for its retention of
the certification forms, and requires the state bar to
randomly audit the compliance documentation applicants submit
to ensure their completion of pro bono hours.
3) Requires law schools and the State Bar to make public
disclosures related to the pro bono legal service
requirements, as specified.
SB 1257
Page 6
4) States that the purpose of the pro bono legal service
requirement is to supplement the applicant's legal education
with practical legal work experience and expose the applicant
to the professional value of pro bono legal service for the
public good.
5) Specifies the requirements of this bill apply to all
applicants who enter law school on or after January 1, 2018.
Background
In 1963, the United States Supreme Court decided Gideon v.
Wainright (1963) 372 U.S. 335, in which it unanimously ruled
that state courts are required under the Sixth Amendment of the
Constitution to provide counsel in criminal cases for defendants
unable to afford their own attorneys.
The U.S. Supreme Court, however, has declined to extend the
right to counsel to indigents in civil proceedings. In Lassiter
v. Department of Social Services (1981) 452 U.S. 18, the Court
affirmed that an indigent litigant's right to an appointed
counsel applies only when the litigant may be deprived of his or
her personal liberty. Consequently, the United States mainly
relies upon limited legal services and pro bono programs to
provide indigent litigants representation in civil matters.
Existing law provides that it has been the tradition of those
learned in the law and licensed to practice law in this state to
provide voluntary pro bono legal services to those who cannot
afford the help of a lawyer; that every lawyer authorized and
privileged to practice law in California is expected to make a
contribution; that in some circumstances, it may not be feasible
for a lawyer to directly provide pro bono services; and that in
those circumstances, a lawyer may instead fulfill his or her
individual pro bono ethical commitment, in part, by providing
financial support to organizations providing free legal services
to persons of limited means.
In recent years, there has been a growing movement, to provide
legal counsel as a matter of right to indigent litigants in
matters where basic human needs are at stake. Proponents argue
that meaningful access to the civil justice system is largely
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dependent upon legal representation; and that the likelihood of
a just result is significantly increased by competent
representation. In recognition of the need for indigent civil
litigants in California to be represented by legal counsel, the
State of California enacted a pilot project, the Sargent Shriver
Civil Counsel Act, in selected courts to provide legal
representation to low-income parties in civil matters involving
critical issues affecting basic human needs.
To achieve greater access to justice for indigent unrepresented
Californians, this bill requires any person who applies to
become a licensed California attorney to complete at least 50
hours of pro bono service, as specified, prior to admission with
the State Bar of California.
Comments
The author writes:
During their tenure at law school, students have a heavy
course load and are most likely involved in extracurricular
activities. However, most law students do not get hands on
experience in the area they are pursuing, nor do they get to
compare the different types of work they may be involved in
post-graduation. Although there are already various
requirements that must be met in order to sit for the bar
exam, the new pro bono requirement will expose candidates to
real world experience, and explore different segments of the
legal field, while volunteering in different communities.
This is crucial to the development of our work force and the
future of the advancement of diversity in the legal field.
On October 12, 2013, the State Bar's Board of Trustees
adopted the Phase I Final Report of the Task Force on
Admissions Regulations Reform (TFARR). One of the three
proposed competency training proposals was a 50-hour pro
bono component.
Related/Prior Legislation
SB 1281 (Block, Chapter 87, Statutes of 2016) required law
schools not accredited by the American Bar Association to post
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information on their internet Web sites, including bar passage
data, tuition, fees, financial aid, admissions data, employment
outcomes for graduates, conditional scholarships, enrollment
data, faculty information, average class size for required
courses, and the number of clinical offerings.
AB 590 (Feuer, Chapter 457, Statutes of 2009) enacted the
Sargent Shriver Civil Counsel Act and expressed the intent of
the Legislature to encourage the legal profession to make
further efforts to meet its professional responsibilities and
other obligations by providing pro bono legal services and
financial support of nonprofit legal organizations that provide
free legal services to underserved communities.
SB 686 (Corbett, Chapter 474, Statutes of 2007) provided that
every lawyer authorized and privileged to practice law in
California is expected to make a contribution to provide
voluntary pro bono legal services to those who cannot afford the
help of a lawyer.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:NoLocal: No
SUPPORT: (Verified8/5/16)
ACLU
Monterey College of Law & San Luis Obispo College of Law
Conference of California Bar Associations
OPPOSITION: (Verified8/5/16)
None received
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: In support, the American Civil Liberties
Union of California (ACLU) writes that this bill will "help
address the large and growing justice gap by promoting pro bono
service by new applicants seeking admission to practice law in
SB 1257
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California." The ACLU notes that "California meets only a
fraction of the legal needs of the poor - turning away far more
potential clients than are served by existing resources, even
taking into account the strict eligibility requirements for
legal aid and the few types of legal matters for which services
are provided. While more must be done to fund nonprofit legal
aid groups, pro bono services can play an important part in
addressing the unmet need. We believe pro bon o services for
the poor are appropriately asked of those who are privileged to
practice law in California [.]"
GOVERNOR'S VETO MESSAGE:
I am returning Senate Bill 1257 without my signature.
This bill requires an applicant for membership in the State
Bar to complete at least fifty hours of supervised pro bono
legal service. It also requires that a practicing lawyer or
law professor supervise the student.
I certainly support law students and lawyers providing pro
bono legal services. Some law schools already promote
volunteerism and pro bono service in various ways and many
employers also require a certain amount of pro bono hours for
associates and clerks. While I commend the author for his
desire to further these efforts, I don't believe a state
mandate can be justified.
Law students in California are now contending with
skyrocketing costs-often more than $200,000 for tuition and
room and board-and many struggle to find employment once they
are admitted to the Bar. In this context, I believe it would
be unfair to burden students with the requirements set forth
in this bill.
Instead, we should focus on lowering the cost of legal
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Page 10
education and devising alternative and less expensive ways to
qualify for the Bar Exam. By doing so, we could actually
expand the opportunity to serve the public interest.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 42-31, 8/4/16
AYES: Alejo, Arambula, Atkins, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, Brown,
Burke, Calderon, Chau, Chiu, Chu, Cooper, Dodd, Eduardo
Garcia, Gipson, Gomez, Gordon, Gray, Holden, Irwin,
Jones-Sawyer, Kim, Levine, Lopez, Low, McCarty, Medina,
Mullin, Nazarian, O'Donnell, Quirk, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez,
Santiago, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Weber, Williams, Wood,
Rendon
NOES: Achadjian, Travis Allen, Baker, Bigelow, Brough, Campos,
Chang, Dababneh, Dahle, Beth Gaines, Gallagher, Cristina
Garcia, Gatto, Gonzalez, Grove, Hadley, Harper, Jones, Lackey,
Linder, Maienschein, Mathis, Melendez, Obernolte, Olsen,
Patterson, Salas, Steinorth, Wagner, Waldron, Wilk
NO VOTE RECORDED: Chávez, Cooley, Daly, Eggman, Frazier, Roger
Hernández, Mayes
Prepared by: Margie Estrada / JUD. / (916) 651-4113
8/30/16 16:00:43
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