Senate Rules Committee advances George Cardona after hearing on State Bar reforms

George Cardona, the State Bar of California’s chief trial counsel, told the Senate Rules Committee that his office has made “significant changes to our policies and procedures” since the failures exposed by the Tom Girardi matter and urged the committee to advance his nomination to the full Senate.

Cardona told senators he had overseen changes to conflict-of-interest rules, enhanced investigative requirements for client trust account cases and a diversion program for lower‑level matters. He also said the office has worked to reduce disparities identified in a 2019 study and its 2024 update, while acknowledging that “disparities remain and we still lack more complete data needed to identify and understand the root causes.”

The committee’s questioning focused on whether the safeguards now in place would prevent another high‑profile failure, how the office is addressing an increasing caseload and a staffing shortfall, and the State Bar’s use of new technologies. Cardona said the office is operating with about a 13.2 percent vacancy rate and has seen large increases in incoming complaints; he described short‑term measures, including rotating attorneys into intake work, streamlined investigative procedures and a pilot of generative-AI tools under human review. “We are looking at potentially using generative AI for certain functions to assist our attorneys and try to do things more quickly,” he said, noting the Supreme Court asked the Bar to pause AI use pending a report on testing and human‑review safeguards.

Senator Grove questioned Cardona about the recent disbarment of John Eastman. Cardona said the prosecution was not political and described the State Bar Court and appellate review that led to the findings, saying the record supported determinations that Eastman made false statements and advanced frivolous legal positions. Senator Grove and others pressed for more detail about how such cases are initiated and whether the office’s investigative role could be seen as political; Cardona said investigations are conducted adversarially in the State Bar Court and that filings are public once charges are brought.

Senator Reyes raised concerns about persistent discipline disparities, citing the Farkas study and a 2024 update; Cardona said gaps have narrowed but that Latino attorneys remain overrepresented among disciplined lawyers and that the office will analyze firm size, practice area and other data to identify drivers and preventive measures. On unauthorized-practice complaints, including notarios providing immigration services, Cardona described cease‑and‑desist letters, superior‑court injunctions and outreach in Spanish‑language media as remedies and prevention strategies.

Public supporters addressed the committee during the hearing. Mark Toney, vice chair of the State Bar Board of Trustees, told the panel that trustees support Cardona’s confirmation and credited his office with prioritizing the highest‑risk discipline matters and reducing the backlog despite funding and staffing constraints. Arnie Sowell, the Senate’s appointee to the State Bar board and chair of the board’s finance committee, and Daniel Sherrill of SEIU Local 1000 also urged confirmation.

Senator Jones said he would withhold his aye vote to seek additional information about the Eastman matter; Senator Laird moved to advance the nomination. The committee approved a motion to move Cardona’s appointment to the full Senate confirmation with a recorded 3–0 tally (Limon, Laird and Reyes recorded aye votes). The committee noted other members were recorded earlier or left rolls open.

The committee’s action sends Cardona’s nomination to the full Senate for confirmation; no final confirmation occurred during the hearing.

Next steps: the nomination will appear on the Senate floor for a confirmation vote.