California Restrains State Bar From Expanding Nonlawyer Practice

A new California law limits the ability of the State Bar to increase the scope of practice for paralegals or explore corporate ownership of law firms.

The agency now has a Jan. 15 deadline to report to the legislature how much the bar has spent since 2018 to study expanding creating a regulatory sandbox or licensing of nonattorneys as paraprofessionals.

Under the law (A.B. 2958) signed late Sunday by Gov. Gavin Newsom (D), any spending on the regulatory sandbox will require lawmakers’ approval.

The legislature regulates lawyers under the state Business & Professions Code, while the California Supreme ...