a. Licensure Required
Section 6125 establishes the basic requirement of licensure to practice law: “No person shall practice law in California unless the person is an active member of the State Bar.” (§6125.)
The California requirement of licensure to practice law is a valid exercise of the state’s police power and serves the legitimate state interest of assuring the competency of those performing this service. (J.W. v. Superior Court (1993) 17 Cal.App.4th 958.). The licensure requirement does not violate First Amendment free speech rights (Howard v. Superior Court (1975) 52 Cal.App.3d 722), and has survived Equal Protection challenge (People v. Sipper
(1943) 61 Cal.App.2d Supp. 844).
b. Unauthorized Practice or Attempted Practice Prohibited
Section 6126 is the basic charging statute for most UPL crimes. Section 6126(a) provides, in relevant part:
Any person advertising or holding himself or herself out as practicing or entitled to practice law or otherwise practicing law who is not an active member of the State Bar, or otherwise authorized . . . to practice law in this state at the time of doing so, is guilty of a misdemeanor . . . (§6126(a).)
Misdemeanor violation of section 6126 is punishable by up to one year in county jail or a fine of up to $1000, or both.