If the California Supreme Court has ordered you to comply with California Rule of Court 9.20, you have to notify your clients, co-counsel, opposing counsel, and any unrepresented adverse parties in writing by registered or certified mail, return client files and any unearned fees, and then file a sworn declaration with the State Bar Court confirming you did all of it — within the deadlines the order itself sets.1Judicial Branch of California. California Rules of Court Rule 9.20 – Duties of Disbarred, Resigned, or Suspended Attorneys Miss any piece of it willfully and you’ve handed the State Bar grounds for further discipline, blocked your own future reinstatement, and committed a separate crime under the Business and Professions Code.
Who the Rule Applies To and When the Clock Starts
Rule 9.20 reaches any State Bar licensee whose discipline order from the California Supreme Court directs compliance with its terms. That covers three situations: disbarment, suspension, and resignation with disciplinary charges pending.1Judicial Branch of California. California Rules of Court Rule 9.20 – Duties of Disbarred, Resigned, or Suspended Attorneys
The clock runs from the effective date stated in the order, not the date the order was issued. Those are often different, and confusing them is a common way to blow a deadline.
The rule doesn’t fix a universal number of days. It says the licensee must act “within such time limits as the Supreme Court may prescribe,” so the deadlines vary from case to case.1Judicial Branch of California. California Rules of Court Rule 9.20 – Duties of Disbarred, Resigned, or Suspended Attorneys Read the dates in your own order. Don’t rely on anything you’ve heard about a standard window.
The Four Notices You Must Send
Written notice has to reach four groups.1Judicial Branch of California. California Rules of Court Rule 9.20 – Duties of Disbarred, Resigned, or Suspended Attorneys
- Every client you currently represent, told about the disbarment, suspension, or resignation and your resulting inability to act as counsel after the effective date.
- Any co-counsel sharing responsibility on a case.
- Opposing counsel in every pending matter.
- Any adverse party who has no lawyer. The notice has to go directly to them.
When a client has no co-counsel, the notice has to do more than report the news. It must advise the client to find new representation and flag any urgency in doing so.1Judicial Branch of California. California Rules of Court Rule 9.20 – Duties of Disbarred, Resigned, or Suspended Attorneys A client who doesn’t understand what’s happened can miss a court date or lose a right simply because nobody spelled it out.
Every notice has to go by registered or certified mail with return receipt requested. That’s not optional, and the receipts are what you’ll point to later when the State Bar asks for proof. Each notice must also include an address where future communications can reach you. A copy of every notice sent to opposing counsel or an unrepresented adverse party also has to be filed with the court, agency, or tribunal where the case is pending, so the case file reflects the change.1Judicial Branch of California. California Rules of Court Rule 9.20 – Duties of Disbarred, Resigned, or Suspended Attorneys
Parallel Notices Required by Section 6180.1
Rule 9.20 isn’t the whole list. Business and Professions Code section 6180.1 adds notices to your errors and omissions insurer, the Office of the Chief Trial Counsel of the State Bar, and anyone else with reason to know about your change in status.2California Legislative Information. California Business and Professions Code 6180.1 Working only off the Rule 9.20 checklist leaves these out.
Client Files, Property, and Unearned Fees
You have to deliver all client papers and property to each client or their new counsel in every pending matter. If direct delivery isn’t workable, notify the client and any co-counsel of a reasonable time and place to pick the materials up, and flag any urgency in collecting them.1Judicial Branch of California. California Rules of Court Rule 9.20 – Duties of Disbarred, Resigned, or Suspended Attorneys “Papers and property” means the entire case file, original documents, and anything else of value the client entrusted to you.
You also have to refund the portion of any fees paid but not yet earned as of the effective date. This is one of the obligations attorneys drag their feet on most often, and one the State Bar takes seriously when evaluating any later petition for reinstatement. Trust account funds must be disbursed or transferred according to the client’s instructions promptly after the order takes effect.
Filing the Compliance Declaration
Once the notifications and property transfers are done, file a sworn declaration with the Clerk of the State Bar Court. Signed under penalty of perjury, it confirms full compliance with every obligation in the discipline order and includes a current address where the State Bar can reach you.1Judicial Branch of California. California Rules of Court Rule 9.20 – Duties of Disbarred, Resigned, or Suspended Attorneys
The State Bar Court publishes a specific form for the declaration, and the filing has to land within the deadline set in the Supreme Court’s order.3The State Bar of California. Rule 9.20 Compliance Declaration Treat it as a formality and you’ve created exactly the record that will come up if you ever try to return to practice. It’s the State Bar’s primary way of verifying that you actually did what the order required.
What Happens If You Don’t Comply
The consequences split by category of discipline.
If you were disbarred or resigned, willful failure to comply is grounds to deny any future petition for reinstatement or readmission. If you were suspended, noncompliance is itself a basis for disbarment, additional suspension, or revocation of any pending probation. In either case, the failure can also be punished as contempt of court.1Judicial Branch of California. California Rules of Court Rule 9.20 – Duties of Disbarred, Resigned, or Suspended Attorneys
Willful failure to comply with a Rule 9.20 order is also a standalone crime under Business and Professions Code section 6126(c). A conviction can bring imprisonment under Penal Code section 1170(h) or up to six months in county jail.4California Legislative Information. California Business and Professions Code 6126 The criminal exposure stacks on top of any disciplinary consequences.
What You Can’t Do After the Effective Date
California law prohibits anyone who is not an active State Bar licensee from practicing law in the state.5California Legislative Information. California Business and Professions Code 6125 For you, that means no advising clients, no court appearances, and no holding yourself out as an attorney. Under section 6126(b), a disbarred, suspended, or resigned attorney who practices or attempts to practice law faces imprisonment under Penal Code section 1170(h) or up to six months in county jail.4California Legislative Information. California Business and Professions Code 6126
The Narrow Opening for Suspended Attorneys
A suspended attorney isn’t locked out of all law-related work. Under State Bar Rule 5.3.1, a licensed attorney may employ a suspended attorney to perform support tasks under supervision: legal research, drafting pleadings and briefs, assembling case materials, communicating with clients about scheduling and billing, and accompanying an active attorney to depositions for clerical assistance. You cannot appear as the representative of any client.6The State Bar of California. Rule 5.3.1 Employment of Disbarred, Suspended, Resigned, or Inactive Attorneys Purely administrative roles — reception, courier work, transcription — don’t require any special notification to the State Bar or clients.