Report 2020-030 Recommendation 5 Responses

Report 2020-030: The State Bar of California: It Is Not Effectively Managing Its System for Investigating and Disciplining Attorneys Who Abuse the Public Trust (Release Date: April 2021)

Recommendation #5 To: Bar of California, State

To ensure that it is operating efficiently, the State Bar should assess the impact of its discipline system reorganization, including determining how the changes have affected its ability to efficiently resolve cases and fulfill its mandate to protect the public. Based on the assessment's results, the State Bar should determine whether additional changes to its organizational structure are warranted.

Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From October 2025

The State Bar's April 2024 progress report on the discipline system included an assessment of the impact of the reorganization. As noted in that report, at the time the organizational changes were relatively recent, and it was too early to fully assess their impact on case processing efficiency. The State Bar has continued to monitor its caseload and performance data. The Annual Discipline Report, to be submitted by November 30, 2025, contains data suggesting that the organizational changes have worked to improve case processing efficiency. In particular, despite significant increases in incoming cases (for FY 2025, we saw a record of 21,205 new cases opened), relative to FY 2024, OCTC maintained or slightly improved both the percentages of cases closed or otherwise resolved within current case processing goals (180 days for non-complex cases and 365 days for complex cases), and the average case processing time for cases closed and cases pending at year end. It should be noted that OCTC continues to implement changes to both its organization and its procedures in an effort to address both the increasing number of new cases and the significant reduction in OCTC staffing resulting from attrition as the State Bar moves towards at least a 15% vacancy rate. Thus, for example, as of July 1, 2025, OCTC eliminated its over-aged cases team, shifting its staff to fill out other teams, while maintaining procedures to emphasize and track resolutions of older cases by all of the other teams. OCTC will continue to monitor its caseload and performance data to assess the ongoing impact of additional changes to its organization and case handling procedures.

California State Auditor's Assessment of Annual Follow-Up Status: Fully Implemented

The State Bar addressed our recommendation to assess the impact of its discipline system reorganization on its ability to resolve cases.

Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From November 2024

The State Bar fully implemented this recommendation with the submission of the April 2024 progress report on the discipline system, which included an assessment of the impact of the reorganization. Following submission of that report, which detailed in-depth changes that the State Bar has made to its discipline system, no additional organizational changes within OCTC were made, with the exception that OCTC increased the staffing of its over-aged cases team, which focuses on resolving OCTC's oldest pending cases. OCTC will continue to monitor its caseload and performance data, and may make additional organizational changes as warranted to continue its efforts to make its handling of cases as thorough and efficient as possible.

California State Auditor's Assessment of Annual Follow-Up Status: Pending

In its April 2024 report to the Legislature about the status of its case processing standards, which the

State Bar described as support of its implementation of our recommendation, the State Bar described that the organizational changes were relatively recent and it is too early to assess the impact of the changes on case processing efficiency. In that report, the State Bar asserts it will begin to assess the impact on efficiency in the future, and we look forward to reviewing that assessment.

Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From October 2022

The Office of Research & Institutional Accountability completed the development of new case processing standards as of October 31, 2022. A retired annuitant was retained in summer 2022 and has begun work on the workforce planning redesign analysis.

California State Auditor's Assessment of Annual Follow-Up Status: Pending

The State Bar is still in the process of implementing this recommendation. Because the State Bar did not provide a scope of work for its workforce planning redesign analysis, it is not clear whether that process will address this recommendation.

1-Year Agency Response

This effort is delayed due to insufficient staffing resources. The Office of Research & Institutional Accountability has been focused on developing new case processing standards and estimates of staffing resources required to meet these standards as directed by Senate Bill 211. A retired annuitant will be engaged in summer 2022 to complete the workforce planning redesign analysis.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 1-Year Status: Pending

The State Bar is still in the process of developing a plan to implement this recommendation.

6-Month Agency Response

Initial meetings have been held with the Executive Director of the Bar and the Office of Research & Institutional Accountability to define the scope of work and assign resources to this project. A preliminary list of the reforms proposed and their status in 2017 has been developed and will be used to identify data that bear on specific recommendations. Development of a project plan will continue through the fall of 2021.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 6-Month Status: Pending

The State Bar is still in the process of developing a plan to implement this recommendation.

60-Day Agency Response

Staff in the Office of Research and Institutional Accountability will begin developing an evaluation plan in the fall of 2021 and begin executing that plan in early 2022. We expect preliminary results to be available in the spring of 2022.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 60-Day Status: No Action Taken

The State Bar has not yet taken any action toward implementing this recommendation.

All Recommendations in 2020-030

Agency responses received are posted verbatim.