California Rules of Court 9.20: Notice, Declaration, and Compliance

California Rule of Court 9.20 sets out what a disbarred, suspended, or resigned attorney must do to close out their practice: notify clients and opposing parties in writing, return client files and any unearned fees, and file a sworn declaration with the State Bar Court confirming it was all done. Every step runs on a deadline the California Supreme Court writes into the discipline order itself, and willful failure to comply is both a criminal offense and a bar to future reinstatement.¹

When the Rule Applies and When the Clock Starts

Rule 9.20 applies to any State Bar licensee whose California Supreme Court discipline order directs compliance with its terms. That covers three situations: disbarment, suspension, and resignation with disciplinary charges pending.¹

The clock runs from the effective date stated in the Supreme Court’s order, not the date the order is issued. The rule itself does not set a fixed number of days for the required actions. It says the licensee must act “within such time limits as the Supreme Court may prescribe,” which means the deadlines vary from case to case. Read your specific order carefully rather than assuming a standard timeframe.¹

Who Must Receive Notice

Written notice has to go to four groups: every client in a pending matter, any co-counsel, opposing counsel in each pending case, and any adverse party who has no lawyer. The notice must tell each client about the disbarment, suspension, or resignation and the resulting inability to act as counsel after the effective date.¹

When a client has no co-counsel, the notice must go further. It must advise the client to seek legal representation elsewhere and flag any urgency in finding a replacement attorney. A client who doesn’t understand the situation could miss court deadlines or lose rights simply because nobody explained that their lawyer is gone.

Every notice must be sent by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested. Each one must include an address where future communications can reach the disciplined attorney. A copy of any notice sent to opposing counsel or an unrepresented adverse party must also be filed with the court, agency, or tribunal where the case is pending, so it goes into the case record.¹

Rule 9.20 is not the only source of notice obligations. Business and Professions Code section 6180.1 requires notice to the attorney’s errors and omissions insurer, the Office of the Chief Trial Counsel of the State Bar, and any other person or entity with reason to know about the change in status.² Working only from the Rule 9.20 checklist leaves this gap open.

Client Files, Property, and Unearned Fees

All client papers and property must be delivered to each client or their new counsel in every pending matter. If direct delivery isn’t feasible, the disciplined attorney must notify the client and any co-counsel of a reasonable time and place to pick the materials up, and must flag any urgency in retrieving them.¹ Client papers and property means the entire case file, original documents, and anything else of value the client entrusted to the attorney.

Any portion of fees paid but not yet earned as of the effective date has to be refunded. Trust account funds have to be disbursed or transferred according to the client’s instructions promptly after the order takes effect. This is one of the obligations attorneys most often drag their feet on, and one the State Bar weighs heavily when a reinstatement petition eventually arrives.

Filing the Compliance Declaration

Once notifications and property transfers are complete, the disciplined attorney must file a sworn declaration with the Clerk of the State Bar Court, under penalty of perjury, confirming full compliance with every obligation in the discipline order. The declaration has to include a current address where the State Bar can reach the attorney going forward.¹

The State Bar Court publishes a specific form for the filing, and it must be submitted within the deadline in the Supreme Court’s order.³ Treating it as a formality is a mistake. The declaration is how the State Bar verifies that everything the order required actually got done, and an incomplete or late filing leaves a record that resurfaces years later.

What Happens If You Don’t Comply

Rule 9.20 treats different categories of disciplined attorneys differently. For a disbarred or resigned attorney, willful failure to comply is grounds for denying any future petition for reinstatement or readmission. For a suspended attorney, noncompliance is an independent basis for disbarment, additional suspension, or revocation of any pending probation. In either case, the failure can also be punished as contempt of court.¹

Willful failure to comply is also a standalone crime under Business and Professions Code section 6126(c). A conviction can carry imprisonment under Penal Code section 1170(h) or up to six months in county jail.⁴ The criminal exposure stacks on top of the disciplinary consequences rather than replacing them.

What You Can and Cannot Do After the Order Takes Effect

California law prohibits anyone who is not an active licensee of the State Bar from practicing law in the state.⁵ For a disbarred, suspended, or resigned attorney, that means no advising clients, no court appearances, and no holding yourself out as an attorney.

The criminal penalty is harsher for former attorneys than for someone who was never licensed. Under section 6126(b), a disbarred, suspended, or resigned attorney who practices or attempts to practice law faces imprisonment under Penal Code section 1170(h) or up to six months in county jail. A person who was never licensed and engages in unauthorized practice faces misdemeanor charges with up to one year in jail and a $1,000 fine under section 6126(a).⁴

Support Work a Suspended Attorney Can Still Do

A suspended attorney is not shut out of every law-related task. Under State Bar Rule 5.3.1, a licensed attorney may employ a suspended attorney to perform support work under supervision: legal research, drafting pleadings and briefs, assembling case materials, communicating with clients about scheduling and billing, and accompanying an active attorney to depositions for clerical assistance. The suspended attorney cannot appear as the representative of any client.⁶ Purely administrative work like reception, courier duties, and transcription doesn’t require any special notification to the State Bar or clients.

How Compliance Affects Reinstatement

For a disbarred or resigned attorney, the route back begins with a formal Petition for Reinstatement filed with the State Bar Court, along with a $1,643 filing fee that cannot be waived.⁷ The petition is filed in the appropriate venue of the State Bar Court, with a copy served on the Office of Chief Trial Counsel and a separate Disclosure Statement.

The petitioner has to demonstrate rehabilitation and present moral fitness to practice law. The State Bar Court evaluates the seriousness of the original misconduct, the attorney’s conduct during the period of discipline, and whether Rule 9.20 compliance was complete and timely. A missing compliance declaration, late filings, or unreturned client property can each independently justify denial.¹ Every shortcut taken during the compliance phase comes back into view when the reinstatement petition lands on the court’s desk.

1
Judicial Branch of California. California Rules of Court Rule 9.20 – Duties of Disbarred, Resigned, or Suspended Attorneys
2
California Legislative Information. California Business and Professions Code 6180.1
3
The State Bar of California. Rule 9.20 Compliance Declaration
4
California Legislative Information. California Business and Professions Code 6126
5
California Legislative Information. California Business and Professions Code 6125
6
The State Bar of California. Rule 5.3.1 Employment of Disbarred, Suspended, Resigned, or Inactive Attorneys
7
The State Bar of California. Petition for Reinstatement Instructions and Requirements