Where can I look up a California attorney's disciplinary record?

Public discipline appears on the attorney's profile in the State Bar of California's search at apps.calbar.ca.gov, and the underlying case documents are published by the State Bar Court at statebarcourt.ca.gov. Business and Professions Code section 6086.1 makes disciplinary hearings and records public once formal charges are filed, so a suspension, disbarment, or public reproval is a matter of public record.

There are two official places, and they answer different questions. The State Bar of California's attorney search at apps.calbar.ca.gov shows whether an attorney has public discipline, along with bar number, admission date, and current status — that is the fast check before hiring. The State Bar Court, at statebarcourt.ca.gov, publishes the decisions and filings behind those entries, which is where you read what actually happened and when. Business and Professions Code section 6086.1 makes hearings and records of disciplinary proceedings public once formal charges are filed, and the California Supreme Court holds final authority over suspension and disbarment. Two things are easy to misread. An attorney showing no discipline may still have a status that prevents practice, such as inactive or not eligible to practice, so read the status line as well as the discipline section. And private reprovals and pending investigations are not published, so an empty record means no public discipline rather than no complaints. Directories and rating services copy this data and can lag or omit it; the State Bar and State Bar Court records are the authority. California Attorney Registry indexes attorneys from those State Bar records and links the bar number, but for a decision that turns on discipline, read the State Bar Court file itself. This is legal information, not legal advice.

Authority: Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code § 6086.1; State Bar Court of California