Rules of Professional Conduct and Attorney Regulation
The Regulatory Frame
California attorneys are governed by the State Bar Act (Bus. & Prof. Code), the Rules of Professional Conduct (Rules 1.0–8.5), and the case law of the State Bar Court. The disciplinary system is separate from civil malpractice liability and from criminal liability: a single act can trigger all three. Know the discipline pipeline: complaint → State Bar investigation → Notice of Disciplinary Charges → hearing before a State Bar Court judge → review by the Review Department → Supreme Court order. The Supreme Court imposes discipline; the State Bar recommends.
Core Duties to Master
Competence and diligence (Rule 1.1, 1.3); communication (1.4); confidentiality (1.6) versus the evidentiary attorney-client privilege (distinct concepts - a question may test the difference); conflicts of interest (1.7 current clients, 1.8 specific transactions, 1.9 former clients, 1.10 imputation); fees (1.5 - unconscionability standard in California, not mere reasonableness); safekeeping property (1.15, trust accounting, commingling); candor to the tribunal (3.3); fairness to opposing party and counsel (3.4); and advertising/solicitation (7.1–7.3).
Traps
Confusing ABA Model Rules with California's stricter variations (e.g., California's flat prohibition on sexual relations with clients in most circumstances, its limits on liens, its trust accounting rules). Also: the duty to report another lawyer's misconduct is narrower in California than under the Model Rules; and withdrawal duties differ (permissive vs. mandatory).
Rule of Thumb
When a question asks about a conflict, ask: (1) Is the client current or former? (2) Is the conflict adverse or merely material? (3) Can informed written consent cure it? If any client is a former client in a substantially related matter, imputation may still bar the firm absent screening under Rule 1.10.