| 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. |
