SACRAMENTO – A recent report announced that the California State Bar has put the brakes on controversial proposals aimed at expanding the availability of legal help in the state, citing “political headwinds.”
Board chairman Alan Steinbrecher said he hopes to resurrect measures championing a so-called "regulatory sandbox" and easing legal advertising rules in May, according to the Law.com report.
“This is not a closure, refer it to committee, table it and let it go forever,” Steinbrecher said at a recent Bar meeting. “This is an attempt to make sure we have the best information in front of the board at the right time.”
An ATILS Task Force report was forwarded to The Northern California Record by the State Bar in effort to clarify the recent news.
“The Task Force recognizes that sweeping regulatory reform is likely needed to see a significant reduction in the access-to-legal-services gap,” according to a ATILS (Access Through Innovation of Legal Services) Task Force Final Report. “However, data, experience and evidence should inform these reforms… By conducting a focused implementation study, a California sandbox will be positioned to gather data that should answer key questions about the benefits and harms of contemplated reforms. Should the Board agree with this recommendation, it is anticipated that the Board would direct staff to form a working group to explore the development of a regulatory sandbox proposal as described in this report.”
The Board deferred until May action on proposals related to the establishment of a working group to explore a regulatory sandbox.
“All of us on the task force were driven by the knowledge that the people of California need and deserve better access to legal services,” said Justice Lee Edmon, ATILS Task Force Chair. “I am proud of the work we’ve done and the dialog that this work has generated. We probed tough questions, considered thousands of public comments, and arrived at a pathway to continue moving the policy process forward. We are thankful for the careful consideration the Board has given to this important work and join the Board in their goal of balancing the considerations of access and public protection.”