EDWARD O. LEAR

Edward O. Lear’s long history in the professional responsibility arena began with a three-year stint as a State Bar prosecutor, during which time he never lost a trial. In 1994, he co-founded Gerry & Lear and in 2002, he founded Century Law Group, LLP.

Today, the seven-lawyer boutique focuses on Lear’s specialty — State Bar defense, which he practices with colleagues Marisol Ocampo and Rizza D. Gonzales — and business litigation.

He’s busy, having defended lawyers at half a dozen State Bar trials over the past year. In addition, he aids lawyers seeking reinstatement. “I won two last year, and that’s pretty rare,” Lear said. He also represents State Bar applicants with moral character issues. “I got one in last week,” he said.

“I’ve probably tried more cases before the State Bar Court than anyone else, more than 150 over the years,” Lear said. “A lot are garden-variety cases and not that interesting except to me, the lawyer involved and the court.”

Lear declined to discuss his clients by name. In one case, “Lawyer M” faced disbarment for alleged financial elder abuse related to estate planning. “After a seven-day trial, 18 counts were dismissed by the court,” he reported. “That was a rare one, where we got to court to prove there was no wrongdoing at all. Much more common are cases where the client has done something wrong, but the State Bar’s offer is too high.”

Among Lear’s public service commitments is his work on the discipline commission established by the State Bar’s board of trustees. He chairs the effectiveness subcommittee. “It was born of the Black Lives Matter movement and the realization that in California, four times as many black male attorneys are disbarred as white male attorneys,” he said.

After studying the situation, the subcommittee had recommendations. “The focus for us was to create more educational opportunities for all attorneys and to lessen discipline for de minimis infractions,” Lear said. “Often, small disparities in trust accounts can begin a downward spiral for any attorney. Warn instead of charging. Educate and rehabilitate.”

Two other issues: the lowering of the bar exam passing score from 1,440 to 1,390 and the provisional licensing plan. Lear is on record favoring the latter and opposing the former. The supervised licensure program would allow young lawyers to learn their craft, he thinks, but with the lowered score, “I think there’s going to be a compromise in quality.”

– John Roemer