California Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed into law a bill requiring attorneys to inform the state bar if they suspect other lawyers of treason.
Newsom signed Senate Bill 40 into law on Tuesday. A spokesperson for the governor said his “signature speaks for itself.”
The California legislature passed Senate Bill 40 last month, with Democrats backing the bill and Republicans opposing it on a straight party-line vote.
The new rule requires lawyers to inform the bar if they know of attorneys in the state who engaged or conspired to engage in seditious conspiracy, treason, rebellion or insurrection, as defined by federal law.
The rule would not apply to information protected by attorney-client privilege, and it would be considered professional misconduct for a lawyer to use the provision to harass others.
Senate Bill 40 also places more legislative oversight on the State Bar. The California Senate will now have to sign off on the appointment of the State Bar of California’s executive director and general counsel.
“The legislature has been clear in its direction to the state bar to reform its disciplinary process and increase oversight and transparency,” Senator Tom Umberg, a Democrat from Orange County who leads the senate’s judiciary committee, said in a statement.
The state bar has come under fire for its former close relationship with disbarred California lawyer Tom Girardi, who is under indictment for allegedly stealing millions in client funds.
Girardi allegedly built “an extensive network of connections” at the state bar, including directing more than $1 million in cash and gifts to a former investigator, a report found in March. Girardi has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
In August the California Supreme Court began requiring lawyers to report fraud, misappropriation of funds and other criminal acts or conduct that raise “a substantial question” about another lawyer’s “honesty, trustworthiness, or fitness as a lawyer.”
Umberg told Reuters in September that the anti-treason measure complemented the Supreme Court’s new professional rule.
Brandon Stallings, who chairs the State Bar of California’s board of trustees, on Thursday applauded Newsom’s signature on Senate Bill 40, saying the bar has “made tremendous strides in ensuring transparency and accountability.”
He also noted that the bill paves the way for a “much needed” increase in the annual licensing fee California lawyers are required to pay.
