Opinion ID: 1153836
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: where may review of csf decisions be had?

Text: In 1927, the Legislature adopted the State Bar Act (Bus. & Prof. Code, § 6000 et seq.) establishing what is known as an `integrated' bar, i.e., an organization of members of the legal profession of the state with a large measure of self-government, performing such functions as examining applicants for admission, formulating rules of professional conduct, disciplining members for misconduct, preventing unlawful practice of the law, and engaging in study and recommendation of changes in procedural law and improvement of the administration of justice. (1 Witkin, Cal. Procedure (2d ed. 1970) Attorneys, § 157, p. 168.) We have described the bar as a public corporation created ... as an administrative arm of this court for the purpose of assisting in matters of admission and discipline of attorneys. ( Emslie v. State Bar (1974) 11 Cal.3d 210, 224 [113 Cal. Rptr. 175, 520 P.2d 991].) In those two areas, the bar's role has consistently been articulated as that of an administrative assistant to or adjunct of this court, which nonetheless retains its inherent judicial authority to disbar or suspend attorneys. (Bus. & Prof. Code, § 6100; Jacobs v. State Bar (1977) 20 Cal.3d 191, 196 [141 Cal. Rptr. 812, 570 P.2d 1230]; Brotsky v. State Bar (1962) 57 Cal.2d 287, 301 [19 Cal. Rptr. 153, 368 P.2d 697, 94 A.L.R.2d 1310].) In the area of admission to practice, an applicant is admitted only by order of the Supreme Court which, upon certification by the bar's examining committee that the applicant fulfills the admission requirements, may admit such applicant as an attorney at law in all the courts of this State.... (Bus. & Prof. Code, § 6064.) (1) Determinations and recommendations of the bar in matters of discipline and admission are directly reviewable in this court. Rule 952 of the Rules of Court describes the means by which such review may be sought. After designating the methods of seeking review of decisions recommending disbarment, suspension, or setting aside a stay of suspension (subds. (a), (b)), the rule next provides: A petition to the Supreme Court to review any other action of the Board of Governors of the State Bar, or of any board or committee appointed by it and authorized to make a determination pursuant to the provisions of the State Bar Act, shall be filed within 60 days after written notice of the action.... (Subd. (c).) The Draftsman's Explanatory Notes to the rule explain that this language applies to admissions, readmissions, and reinstatements, and takes care of situations not covered by the old rule, where no certified copy of a decision is filed with the Sup. Ct. Both parties contend that this provision governs review of CSF determinations. As a matter of policy, the bar also urges that permitting review of CSF decisions in the lower courts would cause confusion and inconsistencies because such determinations are frequently made in connection with a disciplinary decision which would be reviewable only in this court. Moreover, the bar stresses, the standard of review utilized by us in disciplinary matters differs from that which might be utilized in a lower court should review be obtained through use of the writ of mandamus. Consideration of the method by which the CSF was created, its purpose, and historical principles regarding the appropriateness of direct review in this court lead us to conclude that the provisions for direct review provided in the rules of court do not necessarily extend to CSF determinations. The CSF was enacted at the request of the bar which, [r]ecognizing that occasionally a lawyer might engage in dishonest conduct in violation of his oath which could result in pecuniary loss to his client or others, and that disciplining the guilty attorney does not alleviate the injury to the person sustaining such a loss, ... resolved to join thirty-four other states already maintaining funds to compensate such losses. (Plant, Annual Report of the Board of Governors (1971) 46 State Bar J. 578, 581-582; see Smith, The Client's Security Fund: A Debt of Honor Owed by the Profession (1958) 44 A.B.A.J. 125.) Thus the bar sought legislative authorization for the CSF in order to create a remedy in addition to disciplinary measures and civil actions to reimburse clients for losses caused by the wrongful conduct of attorneys. In so acting, the bar sought to advance the legal profession's role as a public profession devoted to serving the public for whom the spirit of public service acts as a motivating force. (Resolution by the Bd. of Governors of the State Bar of Cal. Establishing a Client Security Fund (June 17, 1971).) Because the grant or denial of reimbursement from the CSF does not involve discipline or admission of attorneys and there is no legislative requirement for direct review of such determinations here, we decline to hold that our direct review of such decisions is appropriate as a matter of course. (Compare Jacobs v. State Bar, supra, 20 Cal.3d 193, 198 [Bus. & Prof. Code, §§ 6049-6051 entitle only the bar to initiate action in superior court to enforce subpoena it has issued].) There is nothing in the allocation of CSF monies that necessarily would invoke our inherent powers. Unlike the bar's determinations regarding disciplinary matters and decisions involving admission, the bar's power to grant or deny reimbursement is vested pursuant to powers directly granted by the Legislature. In fact, the difference between the bar's traditional role in assisting this court and its role here is emphasized by the bar's own arguments in this action where it contends that it has virtually limitless discretion not subject to our usual standards of review of its recommendations. [2] We therefore conclude that rule 952 does not apply in this context because the bar's determination of CSF matters does not involve its administrative role in aiding this court in matters of discipline and admissions. In the future, claimants seeking review should proceed by writ of mandamus filed in the superior court.