California Bar’s Policies Don’t Protect Public, Audit Finds (1)

California’s system for overseeing the legal profession failed to adequately investigate attorneys “despite lengthy patterns of complaints against them,” the state auditor said in a report released Thursday.

“We found that the State Bar prematurely closed some cases that warranted further investigation and potential discipline,” Michael S. Tilden, acting California State Auditor, said in a letter to lawmakers. “We reviewed files for one attorney who was the subject of 165 complaints over seven years, many of which the State Bar dismissed outright or closed after sending private letters to the attorney.”

The California Bar, which oversees more than 250,000 licensed ...