California Bar Journal
OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE STATE BAR OF CALIFORNIA - DECEMBER 1999
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Struggling
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number is now closer to 25.)

As a result, there are both too few investigators to handle what he called "the overwhelming number of cases" and too few attorneys to draft the large number of disciplinary notices to be filed against attorneys who commit misconduct. The number of cases before the bar court "remains below historical figures," Lui said.

When nearly 500 bar staffers were laid off after former Gov. Pete Wilson vetoed the dues bill in 1997, the discipline operation, which consumes the lion's share of the bar's budget, also suffered the brunt of the cutbacks. By 2001, its staff should make up about two-thirds of the bar's total workforce.

The bar was funded this year with $32.7 million - $173 per member in a special discipline assessment and $77 mandated in dues.

Because the bar is "in dire need of updated computer technology," Lui authorized the expenditure of $2.3 million for equipment and software. Since the new technology benefits the entire bar, Lui authorized payment from the special discipline assessment of only two-thirds of the total expenditure.