Existing law, the State Bar Act, provides for the licensure and regulation of attorneys by the State Bar of California (State Bar) , a public corporation governed by a board of trustees. The act 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 and further provides that every lawyer authorized and privileged to practice law in California is expected to make a contribution, whether by directly providing pro bono legal services or, if that is not feasible, by providing financial support to organizations providing free legal services to persons of limited means, as specified.
This bill would provide that every lawyer should aspire to fulfill their individual commitment to provide pro bono legal services each year and contribute financially to California legal aid organizations. The bill, except as specified, would require an active licensee to report annually whether they have provided pro bono legal services and certain other information through the licensee's My State Bar online profile on the State Bar's internet website, as prescribed. The bill would require the State Bar to retain and maintain the reported information for purposes of historical record for at least 5 years. The bill would make the reported information confidential and exempt from disclosure as a public record, but would authorize the State Bar to publish aggregated and anonymized reports based on that information. Under the bill, the failure of a licensee of the State Bar to comply with its provisions would not be grounds for disciplinary or administrative recourse. The bill would prohibit the State Bar from using specified moneys for any costs associated with these provisions. The bill would define terms for its purposes.
Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest.
This bill would make legislative findings to that effect.

Statutes affected:
02/13/24 - Introduced: 17026.1 BPC
03/18/24 - Amended Assembly: 17026.1 BPC
AB 2505: 17026.1 BPC