Leah T. Wilson

SAN FRANCISCO - When State Bar Executive Director Leah T. Wilson left her position in January 2020 to pursue other professional goals, she thought it was the end of her time in government work.

"It's scary to make that kind of change, particularly when you've worked in government for your whole career, and I was all in on that other path," Wilson said of her time away from the post.

After working as senior director at consulting firm Resource Development Associates for 18 months, however, Wilson once again assumed the State Bar executive director role in July 2021.

In her second outing in the position, Wilson hoped to replicate some of the success she had instituting sweeping reforms in the organization her first time around.

"One was the separation of the trade association from the regulatory agency," she said, referring to the 2018 establishment of the California Lawyers Association and its subsequent separation from the State Bar.

"Obviously, there were the mechanics of it that had to be implemented, but much more fundamentally was what that change represented, which was that we are here to protect and serve the public," she said.

Wilson also takes pride in having shifted the bar's financial transparency practices during her first term.

"These are reforms around how we operate financially, the kind of transparency that we demonstrate and the use of our resources, and that led to our first licensing fee increase in 20 years," she said.

Since returning to the bar last year, Wilson has helped the board of trustees adopt a five-year strategic plan to strengthen the agency's commitment to public protection.

"We are demonstrating that through our discipline system, regulation of the profession, support for attorneys to facilitate their compliance with the rules, increasing access to legal services, increasing diversity and inclusion in the profession, and then of course making the public voice real in our decision-making process," Wilson said.

She has also taken an active role in dealing with high-profile scandals like the matter of disbarred attorney Thomas Girardi.

"To that end," she said, "in November of last year, the board announced a new program, the Client Trust Account Protection Program, which is our first effort to proactively monitor and regulate client trust accounts for all attorneys in the state -- not just those for whom we receive disciplinary complaints."

With so many changes in the offing, Wilson said she believes that the current board of directors is more than ready to tackle any challenges facing the bar.

"I would just want to emphasize that point, that I do lead the organization, but it is at the policy direction of the board," she said. "I'm thrilled to be able to partner with this particular board in that work."