SECTIONS 6230-6238 - California Statutes

BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONS CODE

SECTION 6230-6238

6230. It is the intent of the Legislature that the State Bar of
California seek ways and means to identify and rehabilitate attorneys
with impairment due to abuse of drugs or alcohol, or due to mental
illness, affecting competency so that attorneys so afflicted may be
treated and returned to the practice of law in a manner that will not
endanger the public health and safety.

6231. (a) The board shall establish and administer an Attorney
Diversion and Assistance Program, and shall establish a committee to
oversee the operation of the program. The committee shall be
comprised of 12 members who shall be appointed as follows:
(1) Six members appointed by the Board of Governors, including the
following:
(A) Two members who are licensed mental health professionals with
knowledge and expertise in the identification and treatment of
substance abuse and mental illness.
(B) One member who is a physician with knowledge and expertise in
the identification and treatment of alcoholism and substance abuse.
(C) One member of the board of directors of a statewide nonprofit
organization established for the purpose of assisting lawyers with
alcohol or substance abuse problems, which has been in continuous
operation for a minimum of five years.
(D) Two members who are attorneys, at least one of which is in
recovery and has at least five years of continuous sobriety.
(2) Four members appointed by the Governor, including the
following:
(A) Two members who are attorneys.
(B) Two members of the public.
(3) One member of the public appointed by the Speaker of the
Assembly.
(4) One member of the public appointed by the Senate Rules
Committee.
(b) Committee members shall serve terms of four years, and may be
reappointed as many times as desired. The board shall stagger the
terms of the initial members appointed.
(c) Subject to the approval of the board, the committee may adopt
reasonable rules and regulations as may be necessary or advisable for
the purpose of implementing and operating the program.

6232. (a) The committee shall establish practices and procedures
for the acceptance, denial, completion, or termination of attorneys
in the Attorney Diversion and Assistance Program, and may recommend
rehabilitative criteria for adoption by the board for acceptance,
denial, completion of, or termination from, the program.
(b) An attorney currently under investigation by the State Bar may
enter the program in the following ways:
(1) By referral of the Office of the Chief Trial Counsel.
(2) By referral of the State Bar Court following the initiation of
a disciplinary proceeding.
(3) Voluntarily, and in accordance with terms and conditions
agreed upon by the attorney participant with the Office of the Chief
Trial Counsel or upon approval by the State Bar Court, as long as the
investigation is based primarily on the self-administration of drugs
or alcohol or the illegal possession, prescription, or nonviolent
procurement of drugs for self-administration, or on mental illness,
and does not involve actual harm to the public or his or her clients.
An attorney seeking entry under this paragraph may be required to
execute an agreement that violations of this chapter, or other
statutes that would otherwise be the basis for discipline, may
nevertheless be prosecuted if the attorney is terminated from the
program for failure to comply with program requirements.
(c) Neither acceptance into nor participation in the Attorney
Diversion and Assistance Program shall relieve the attorney of any
lawful duties and obligations otherwise required by any agreements or
stipulations with the Office of the Chief Trial Counsel, court
orders, or applicable statutes relating to attorney discipline.
(d) An attorney who is not the subject of a current investigation
may voluntarily enter, whether by self-referral or referral by a
third party, the diversion and assistance program on a confidential
basis. Confidentiality pursuant to this subdivision shall be absolute
unless waived by the attorney.

6233. An attorney entering the diversion and assistance program
pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 6232 may be enrolled as an
inactive member of the State Bar and not be entitled to practice law,
or may be required to agree to various practice restrictions,
including, where appropriate, restrictions on scope of practice and
monetary accounting procedures. Upon the successful completion of the
program, attorney participants who were placed on inactive status by
the State Bar Court as a condition of program participation and who
have complied with any and all conditions of probation may receive
credit for the period of inactive enrollment towards any period of
actual suspension imposed by the Supreme Court, and shall be eligible
for reinstatement to active status and a dismissal of the underlying
allegations or a reduction in the recommended discipline. Those
attorneys who participated in the program with practice restrictions
shall be eligible to have those restrictions removed and to a
dismissal of the underlying allegations or a reduction in the
recommended discipline.

6234. Any information provided to or obtained by the Attorney
Diversion and Assistance Program, or any subcommittee or agent
thereof, shall be as follows:
(a) Confidential and this confidentiality shall be absolute unless
waived by the attorney.
(b) Exempt from the provisions of Section 6086.1.
(c) Not discoverable or admissible in any civil proceeding without
the written consent of the attorney to whom the information
pertains.
(d) Not discoverable or admissible in any disciplinary proceeding
without the written consent of the attorney to whom the information
pertains.
(e) Except with respect to the provisions of subdivision (d) of
Section 6232, the limitations on the disclosure and admissibility of
information in this section shall not apply to information relating
to an attorney's noncooperation with, or unsuccessful completion of,
the Attorney Diversion and Assistance Program, or any subcommittee or
agent thereof, or to information otherwise obtained by the Office of
the Chief Trial Counsel, by independent means, or from any other
lawful source.

6235. (a) Participants in the Attorney Diversion and Assistance
Program shall be responsible for all expenses relating to treatment
and recovery. In addition, the State Bar may charge a reasonable
administrative fee to participants for the purpose of offsetting the
costs of maintaining the program.
(b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), the State Bar shall establish
a financial assistance program to ensure that no member is denied
acceptance into the program solely due to the lack of ability to pay.

6236. The State Bar shall actively engage in outreach activities to
make members, the legal community, and the general public aware of
the existence and availability of the Attorney Diversion and
Assistance Program. Outreach shall include, but not be limited to,
the development and certification of minimum continuing legal
education courses relating to the prevention, detection, and
treatment of substance abuse, including no-cost and low-cost programs
and materials pursuant to subdivision (d) of Section 6070, informing
all members of the State Bar of the program's existence and benefits
through both direct communication and targeted advertising, working
in coordination with the judicial branch to inform the state's judges
of the program's existence and availability as a disciplinary
option, and working in cooperation with organizations that provide
services and support to attorneys with issues related to substance
abuse.

6237. It is the intent of the Legislature that the authorization of
an Attorney Diversion and Assistance Program not be construed as
limiting or altering the powers of the Supreme Court of this state to
disbar or discipline members of the State Bar.

6238. The committee shall report to the Board of Governors and to
the Legislature not later than March 1, 2003, and annually
thereafter, on the implementation and operation of the program. The
report shall include, but is not limited to, information concerning
the number of cases accepted, denied, or terminated with compliance
or noncompliance, and annual expenditures related to the program.