Bill inches to lawmakers Urgency requirement stripped in effort to move Hertzberg bill out of the Assembly and into the Senate by NANCY McCARTHY Staff Writer 覧覧覧覧 Efforts to keep the State Bar afloat inched toward resolution last month, with the Assembly set to vote on legislation stripped of its urgency status. Saying he could wait no longer for action on his bill, Assemblyman Robert Hertzberg, D-Van Nuys, amended AB 1669 to remove the urgency requirement of two-thirds approval of the lower house of the legislature. The vote to amend was 39-31. CONTINUED ...

Four bifurcated bars say how it works by KATHLEEN O. BEITIKS Staff Writer 覧覧覧覧 As California's 71-year-old unified bar heads down a road to potential bifurcation, it might dodge some potholes by heeding the advice of the states which made the trip long ago. Virginia, West Virginia and North Carolina, as well as the District of Columbia, all are home to both mandatory and voluntary bars. CONTINUED ...

Kopp wins audit of admissions by NANCY McCARTHY Staff Writer 覧覧覧覧 California state auditors are looking at the books of the State Bar's admissions operations after a legislative committee approved an audit request by Sen. Quentin Kopp. CONTINUED ...

Key State Bar offices move in San Francisco Several key State Bar offices, facing the end of their lease, will move from their current location to the recently purchased bar building in San Francisco later this month. The State Bar Court, office of professional competence, the MCLE certification department, ethics hotline, fee arbitration and internet services are among those moving from 100 Van Ness Ave. to 180 Howard St. CONTINUED ...

REGULARS FROM THE PRESIDENT – It's time for us to pick up the pace LEGAL TECH – Needles in the Internet haystack MCLE MCLE Self-Study MCLE Self-Assessment Test MCLE Calendar OPINION Three major daily newspapers — the Los Angeles Times, the San Francisco Chronicle and the San Jose Mercury News — say the bar deserves another chance. Serving the public interest Getting closer to the cliff's edge The State Bar and its leaders deserve another chance Letters to the editor PUBLIC COMMENT Confidentiality in fee arbitration Membership fee waiver TRIALS DIGEST YOU NEED TO KNOW