Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

Poorest Americans Dealt Biggest Blow Under Senate Republican Tax Package

11 hours ago

Trump Vowed to Dismantle MS-13. His Deal With Bukele Threatens That Effort.

15 hours ago

Ukraine Voices Concern as US Halts Some Missile Shipments

15 hours ago

Poll: Most Americans Say National Divide, Political Violence Threaten Democracy

15 hours ago

Paramount Settles With Trump Over ‘60 Minutes’ Interview for $16 Million

15 hours ago

Republicans Tee up House Vote on Trump Bill, Outcome Uncertain

15 hours ago

What’s Next for Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs After His Sex Trafficking Trial?

15 hours ago

Dalai Lama Says He Will Be Reincarnated, Trust Will Identify Successor

16 hours ago
Lawyers Trying to Strangle Alternative Legal Advice
By admin
Published 3 years ago on
August 2, 2022

Share

 

In theory, the state requires licenses for those who engage in dozens of professions and occupations to protect the public.

After all, one doesn’t want just anyone performing surgery, designing office buildings or bridges or even teaching young children. Imposing training standards, followed by competency testing, ensures the public that those who provide services are at least minimally qualified to do so.

There is, however, a darker side to California’s licensing system. It gives licensees monopolies over specific services defined by the Legislature.

Dan Walters

CalMatters

Opinion

Therefore, who is legally authorized to provide what service is ultimately as much a political issue as one of professional competency. No session of the Legislature is complete without at least one “scope of practice” battle.

Most commonly, conflicts occur in the medical field. In the past, they have included podiatrists against orthopedic surgeons over the legal right to operate on the ankle; psychologists versus psychiatrists over the right to prescribe drugs; oral surgeons against plastic surgeons over facial surgery, and opticians versus optometrists over eye care.

Some scope of practice battles have been semi-comedic episodes as well, such as veterinarians battling dog groomers over who had the legal right to brush canine teeth and doctors against colonic clinics over who could inject cleansing liquids into the alimentary tract.

Scope of practice conflicts, however, are not confined to medical issues and a doozy, involving the practice of law, faces the Legislature in the final month of its 2022 session.

A few years ago, the Legislature issued a long-overdue redefinition of the State Bar, the agency that licenses lawyers. For decades, it acted not only as a regulatory body but, in essence, as a political lobby for the legal profession. The Legislature abolished the latter function and directed the State Bar to become more diligent about protecting the public’s interest in getting competent and affordable legal advice.

Accordingly, a more consumer-oriented State Bar has been exploring alternative, lower-cost ways of providing legal services. But that has disturbed legal licensees, particularly Consumer Attorneys of California, the lobby for lawyers who specialize in personal injury lawsuits.

It and other lawyer interests have persuaded Assemblyman Mark Stone, a Santa Cruz Democrat who chairs the Assembly Judiciary Committee, to insert some language into the annual bill reauthorizing State Bar dues that, in essence, forbids the State Bar from studying legal services that are not confined to licensed attorneys.

Stone and other advocates say they just want the State Bar to concentrate on cracking down on bad lawyers. However, opponents of the bill, now pending on the Senate floor, say that the current system often makes it impossible for ordinary citizens to get needed legal advice.

The opponents have state Supreme Court Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauve on their side. During a presentation last month to the American Association of Law Libraries, the soon-to-retire chief justice faulted the Legislature for attempting to strangle alternative legal services.

Noting that the Supreme Court had authorized the State Bar’s studies and citing programs in other states, Cantil-Sakauve said, “But the legislature has just now, at least written in statute, the inability to proceed with that. And that bill was lobbied by the lawyer groups in California, who went to the legislature and want this to slow down because of their concern.”

The State Bar is merely studying potential alternatives. Any changes would have to be approved by the Legislature. So why should lawmakers shut down the studies now?

The obvious answer is that lawyers don’t want any competition, even though it’s also obvious that expanding access to routine legal services would fill a void.

About the Author

Dan Walters has been a journalist for nearly 60 years, spending all but a few of those years working for California newspapers. He began his professional career in 1960, at age 16, at the Humboldt Times. For more columns by Walters, go to calmatters.org/commentary.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

House Republicans Say They Expect to Vote Tonight on Trump’s Tax-Cut Bill

DON'T MISS

San Luis Obispo’s Madre Fire Grows to 8,300 Acres, Prompts Evacuations

DON'T MISS

SLO Deputies Fatally Shoot Man in Los Osos Weeks After US Marshal Impersonation Arrest

DON'T MISS

Madera County Deputy Injured, Wanted Felon Arrested After Violent Struggle

DON'T MISS

San Luis Obispo County Wildfire Burns More Than 3,000 Acres. No Containment Yet

DON'T MISS

Wired Wednesday: Why Is State Lawmaker Taking Aim at Rooftop Solar?

DON'T MISS

Two Visalia Men Sentenced in 2021 Motel Killing

DON'T MISS

Ex-Jan. 6 Defendant Gets Life in Prison for Plot to Kill FBI Agents

DON'T MISS

Del Monte Files for Bankruptcy. Gets Nearly $1B to Keep Producing Through Process

DON'T MISS

Who is Running for Fresno Area Offices in 2026? An Updated Look

UP NEXT

Dear Mayor and City Council, Fresno’s Housing Bottlenecks Are a Modern Form of Redlining

UP NEXT

A Path Forward on Immigration Reform That Strengthens America

UP NEXT

Israel Faces Genocide Accusations Amid Gaza Food Aid Killings

UP NEXT

I Detest Netanyahu, but on Some Things He’s Actually Right

UP NEXT

Much of LA’s Community of Immigrants Is Hiding, Leaving a Hole in the Fabric of the City

UP NEXT

Things Netanyahu Might Say if Injected With Truth Serum

UP NEXT

California Politicians Ignore Ag’s Troubles, but Boost Movie Business

UP NEXT

Trump’s Courageous and Correct Decision to Bomb Iran

UP NEXT

How the Attacks on Iran Are Part of a Much Bigger Global Struggle

UP NEXT

Groceries Are Now a Luxury. So Is Breathing.

Madera County Deputy Injured, Wanted Felon Arrested After Violent Struggle

9 hours ago

San Luis Obispo County Wildfire Burns More Than 3,000 Acres. No Containment Yet

9 hours ago

Wired Wednesday: Why Is State Lawmaker Taking Aim at Rooftop Solar?

9 hours ago

Two Visalia Men Sentenced in 2021 Motel Killing

9 hours ago

Ex-Jan. 6 Defendant Gets Life in Prison for Plot to Kill FBI Agents

10 hours ago

Del Monte Files for Bankruptcy. Gets Nearly $1B to Keep Producing Through Process

10 hours ago

Who is Running for Fresno Area Offices in 2026? An Updated Look

10 hours ago

CIA Review Finds Flaws but Does Not Dispute Finding Putin Sought to Sway 2016 Vote to Trump

11 hours ago

Poorest Americans Dealt Biggest Blow Under Senate Republican Tax Package

11 hours ago

Check Out Newest Downtown Mural. It’s a Spectacular Tribute to Fresno Artisans

12 hours ago

House Republicans Say They Expect to Vote Tonight on Trump’s Tax-Cut Bill

WASHINGTON – Republicans in the House of Representatives on Wednesday struggled to pass President Donald Trump’s massive tax-cut...

8 hours ago

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson speaks to the press, as Republican lawmakers struggle to pass U.S. President Donald Trump's sweeping spending and tax bill, on Capitol Hill, in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 2, 2025. (Reuters/Annabelle Gordon)
8 hours ago

House Republicans Say They Expect to Vote Tonight on Trump’s Tax-Cut Bill

The Madre Fire in San Luis Obispo County has rapidly expanded to 8,396 acres with no containment, prompting evacuation orders and warnings near New Cuyama. (CalFire)
8 hours ago

San Luis Obispo’s Madre Fire Grows to 8,300 Acres, Prompts Evacuations

Andrew Biscay, 40, was arrested Friday, June 20, 2025, after deputies found him with a fake U.S. Marshal’s badge, homemade firearm, and law enforcement-style gear during a warrant arrest. (Madera County SO)
8 hours ago

SLO Deputies Fatally Shoot Man in Los Osos Weeks After US Marshal Impersonation Arrest

On Tuesday, July 1, 2025, a Madera County sheriff’s deputy was injured while trying to arrest a wanted felon, Felix Adrian Nucamendi Carrasco, 40, who later fled and was captured near Raymond Road. (Madera County SO)
9 hours ago

Madera County Deputy Injured, Wanted Felon Arrested After Violent Struggle

A wildfire dubbed the Madre Fire has burned over 3,300 acres near New Cuyama with 0% containment, officials said Wednesday, July 2, 2025. (CalFire)
9 hours ago

San Luis Obispo County Wildfire Burns More Than 3,000 Acres. No Containment Yet

9 hours ago

Wired Wednesday: Why Is State Lawmaker Taking Aim at Rooftop Solar?

Jose Luna (left), 33, and Ralph Grajeda, 45, both of Visalia, have been sentenced for their roles in the 2020 shotgun killing of Robert Soto at a local motel. (Tulare County DA)
9 hours ago

Two Visalia Men Sentenced in 2021 Motel Killing

A U.S. Justice Department logo or seal showing Justice Department headquarters, known as "Main Justice," is seen behind the podium in the Department's headquarters briefing room before a news conference with the Attorney General in Washington, January 24, 2023. (Reuters File)
10 hours ago

Ex-Jan. 6 Defendant Gets Life in Prison for Plot to Kill FBI Agents

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend