Anthony Kassas v. State Bar of California

I. BACKGROUND AND PROCEEDINGS

A. Background

1. The Statutory Framework

In 1971, the California Assembly created a CSF “to relieve or mitigate pecuniary losses caused by the dishonest conduct of licensees of the State Bar . . . arising from or connected with the practice of law.” Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code § 6140.5(a) (West 2011). Under the California State Bar’s CSF Rules, “[t]o qualify for reimbursement, an applicant must establish a loss of money or property that was received by an active attorney who was acting as an attorney or in a fiduciary capacity customary to the practice of law.” Cal.

KASSAS V. STATE BAR OF CALIFORNIA

State Bar Rule 3.430(A). “The loss must have been caused by dishonest conduct” and the attorney must have “been disbarred, disciplined, or voluntarily resigned from the State Bar; died or been adjudicated mentally incompetent; or . . . become a judgment debtor of the applicant in a contested proceeding or been convicted of a crime.” Id. at 3.430(B), (C), 3.432(A). Decisions “to deny or limit reimbursement” are ultimately made by the CSF Commission, a five-member body. Id. at 3.421(A), 3.430(D).

When an application is received, the CSF…