California Lawyers Association - Attorneys - Business & Professions - CA

Section § 6055

This section designates the official name for the legislation as the Nonprofit Association Act, which means that's how it can be referred to in legal contexts.

This article shall be known, and may be cited, as the Nonprofit Association Act.

Nonprofit Association Act official name citation

Section § 6056

This section explains how the State Bar of California will help set up the California Lawyers Association (CLA) as an independent, nonprofit organization. The CLA will not be a part of the State Bar and won't receive any mandatory fees from it. They'll handle the functions of the previous State Bar Sections and the California Young Lawyers Association. The CLA can manage its own resources and contracts. It isn’t considered a public body, so it's not subject to certain public meeting and records laws. Membership criteria for the CLA, especially for young lawyers, is set by the association and can include changes to names or missions. The State Bar can help the CLA with ABA appointments and partnerships with educational programs, but this requires agreement from relevant parties. Current staff supporting the existing sections must be reassigned within the Bar. Additionally, the CLA must provide affordable legal education and share expertise with the State Bar as required. Lastly, the Bar will help publicize CLA’s educational resources through their website.

(a) The State Bar, acting pursuant to Section 6001, shall assist the Sections of the State Bar to incorporate as a private, nonprofit corporation organized under Section 501(c)(6) of the Internal Revenue Code and shall transfer the functions and activities of the 16 State Bar Sections and the California Young Lawyers Association to the new private, nonprofit corporation, to be called the California Lawyers Association. The California Lawyers Association shall be a voluntary association, shall not be a part of the State Bar, and shall not be funded in any way through mandatory fees collected by the State Bar. The California Lawyers Association shall have independent contracting authority and full control of its resources. The California Lawyers Association shall not be considered a state, local, or other public body for any purpose, including, but not limited to, the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act (Article 9 (commencing with Section 11120) of Chapter 1 of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code) and the California Public Records Act (Division 10 (commencing with Section 7920.000) of Title 1 of the Government Code).

(b) The California Lawyers Association shall establish the criteria for membership in the California Young Lawyers Association. The California Lawyers Association may change the name of the California Young Lawyers Association to another name consistent with the criteria for membership and its mission.

(c) The State Bar may assist the California Lawyers Association in gaining appointment to the American Bar Association (ABA) House of Delegates, consistent with the California Lawyers Association’s mission and subject to the consent of the ABA.

(d) The State Bar shall support the California Lawyers Association’s efforts to partner with the Continuing Education of the Bar (CEB), subject to agreement by the University of California.

(e) The State Bar of California shall ensure that State Bar staff who support the Sections, as of September 15, 2017, are reassigned to other comparable positions within the State Bar.

(f) The Sections of the State Bar or the California Lawyers Association and the State Bar shall enter into a memorandum of understanding regarding the terms of separation of the Sections of the State Bar from the State Bar and mandatory duties of the California Lawyers Association, including a requirement to provide all of the following:

(1) Low- and no-cost mandatory continuing legal education (MCLE).

(2) Expertise and information to the State Bar, as requested.

(3) Educational programs and materials to the licensees of the State Bar and the public.

(g) The State Bar of California shall assist the California Lawyers Association in meeting the association’s requirement to provide low- and no-cost MCLE by the inclusion on the State Bar’s internet website of easily accessible links to the low- and no-cost MCLE provided by the California Lawyers Association.

California Lawyers Association nonprofit organization state bar sections

Section § 6056.3

This law requires the California State Bar to transfer all funds, contracts, and intellectual property related to its sections to a new organization, the Association, by January 31, 2018. The State Bar must provide detailed accounting of these funds and work with the Association to ensure a smooth transition. If there is any disagreement over the amount of funds to transfer, the matter will be resolved through binding arbitration. The State Bar also cannot continue to have similar sections or organizations after this transfer.

(a) On or before January 31, 2018, the State Bar shall transfer to the Association all membership fees and other funds paid for membership in the sections or paid in sponsorships, donations, or funds for the benefit of the sections, including, but not limited to, State Bar section financial reserves, with an accounting that specifies which funds are attributable to each individual section of the Association. The State Bar shall work with the Association to transfer all contracts previously entered into by the State Bar on behalf of the sections, as soon as practicable, consistent with any contractual obligations and legal requirements, unless an alternative arrangement is mutually acceptable to the State Bar and the Association.

(b) On or before January 31, 2018, the State Bar shall provide an itemized list of any outstanding expenses, including contracts made on behalf of section activities.

(d) All current intellectual property of the Sections of the State Bar and the board of governors, currently in the possession of the State Bar, shall be transferred to and retained by the Association, including, but not limited to, publications, educational materials, online education, membership lists of section members, and products.

(e) Programs created by the sections within the State Bar’s online education catalog shall be transferred to the Association.

(f) The amount of the State Bar sections’ reserves that are to be transferred shall be determined by cooperative review and accounting between the State Bar and the Association no later than January 31, 2018. If the State Bar and Sections of the State Bar do not agree on the amount by January 31, 2018, the parties shall submit the matter to binding arbitration by a neutral arbitrator who will determine the amount. If the parties cannot agree on a neutral arbitrator, each shall select a neutral arbitrator and the two neutral arbitrators shall select a single neutral arbitrator to determine the amount. The neutral arbitrator chosen to oversee the matter may hire an auditor to assist in this task. The fees charged by the arbitrator, including any auditor fees, shall be borne equally by the State Bar and the Association.

(g) The State Bar shall no longer include individual sections or voluntary organizations that are similar to Sections of the State Bar as they existed before being transferred to the Association.

State Bar transfer membership fees transfer sections financial reserves