Stanford Law School - Robert Crown Law Library

Filed 3/9/06

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF CALIFORNIA

STEVEN FRYE,
Plaintiff and Appellant,
S127641
v.
Ct. App. 1 No. A104078
TENDERLOIN HOUSING CLINIC, INC. )
)
San
Francisco
County
Defendant and Respondent.
Super. Ct. No. 989-112

The present case concerns the authority of nonprofit corporations to
practice law. The Court of Appeal held that Corporations Code section 13406,
subdivision (b) (section 13406(b)) provides the sole authority under which a
nonprofit public benefit corporation is authorized to practice and that, in failing to
comply with section 13406(b), defendant Tenderloin Housing Clinic, Inc. (THC),
engaged in the unauthorized practice of law.1 In a significant and unusual instance
of unanimity across the political spectrum, THC, joined by organizations as
diverse as the Pacific Legal Foundation and the American Civil Liberties Union as
amici curiae, urges that we reverse the judgment of the Court of Appeal.
Reviewing the background of the doctrine prohibiting the corporate practice
of law, the exceptions to this doctrine that developed prior to the enactment of

1
Statutory references are to the Corporations Code unless otherwise
indicated.
1

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section 13406(b), the constitutional problems that would be created by the Court
of Appeal’s interpretation of the statute, and the text and legislative history of the
measure, we conclude that section 13406(b) does not occupy the entire field of law
governing the corporate practice of law by nonprofit corporations.
The question remains under what authority THC practiced law. THC
claims it is authorized to practice law pursuant to an exception to the common law
rule against corporate practice of law. THC relies upon United States Supreme
Court authority recognizing that First Amendment principles restrict the ability of
the state to limit the associative and expressive rights of advocacy groups to
employ litigation to further their goals. The Court of Appeal, reaching the issue in
the context of THC’s claim that section 13406(b) could not be applied
retroactively, disagreed with THC’s claim that it was authorized to practice law
pursuant to this exception, holding that THC failed to establish that its activities
warranted protection under the First Amendment of the United States Constitution.
Although the Court of Appeal viewed the applicable constitutional doctrine
too narrowly, because of the procedural posture of the case we do not reach a final
conclusion respecting the nature of THC’s activities or its claim that it enjoyed a
right to practice law that is protected by the Constitution. Although we could
order a remand for further proceedings in this litigation, which already has
consumed many years, we decline to do so, because we agree with the trial court
that plaintiff, Roy M. Frye, was not entitled to the remedy he sought.
I
THC was incorporated in 1980 pursuant to the Nonprofit Public Benefit
Corporations Law. (§ 5110 et seq.) According to its articles of incorporation, it
was incorporated for “public and charitable purposes” and apparently enjoys tax-
exempt status pursuant to section 501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code
(26 U.S.C.). The articles of incorporation stated that THC’s purpose was “to
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provide housing law education and information to low-income tenants in San
Francisco, CA.” The bylaws added to that purpose “the preservation of the
Tenderloin community as a residential neighborhood, the preservation and
improvement of housing, particularly residential hotels, assisting tenants to assert
their legal rights, using legal skills as necessary to serve the low and moderate
income residents of the Tenderloin community.”
THC’s bylaws directed that a majority of the directors of the corporation
should reside in or have familiarity with issues in the Tenderloin neighborhood
and that the board of directors should reflect the neighborhood’s diverse
population.
THC employed several attorneys, all of whom were active members of the
State Bar of California. The attorneys represented tenants in administrative and
court proceedings and were required to convey to THC any legal fees they
received in the course of providing such representation.
The record does not detail THC’s activities over the entire period of the
present litigation, but does indicate that THC undertook a number of
responsibilities in addition to representing clients in litigation. According to a
THC attorney, THC provided various services for homeless persons and,
beginning in 1993, its nonlegal services constituted more than 50 percent of its
activities. For the 1996 tax year, THC received substantial government funding
for providing housing and other general social services such as counseling
involving substance abuse and employment for persons of limited means. In a
contract entered into with the City and County of San Francisco (the City) for the
period July 1, 1998 to June 30, 2000, THC agreed to provide “comprehensive
housing services for the homeless and other low-income adults.” It appears THC
administered an element of the City’s housing program for homeless persons,
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assigning needy persons to shelters as they became available and offering other
social services.
In April 1993, THC entered into a retainer agreement with Roy M. Frye2
and several other tenants of a residential hotel in the Tenderloin neighborhood of
San Francisco for THC to represent the tenants in an action against their landlords
alleging defective conditions at the hotel. The agreement contained the following
language concerning attorney fees: “A client shall pay the attorney, as attorney[]
fee[s] for such representation, thirty-three and one-third percent (33-1/3%) of any
settlement reached prior to the original date set for trial in the matter, or forty
percent (40%) of any recovery by settlement or trial judgment achieved on or after
the original date set for trial. . . . [¶] . . . [¶] If the Clinic’s work results in the
client or the Clinic being awarded attorneys fees either by statute or by a provision
in a rental agreement, the Clinic shall recover whatever amount is greater between
the attorneys fee award and the amount of the contingency fee.” THC Attorney
Stephen Collier and Frye both signed the agreement.
In May 1993, Collier filed a complaint on behalf of Frye and 14 other
tenants. (Frye et al. v. Skyline Realty et al., Superior Ct. SF. City and County,
1994, No. 952016.) At various times during the pendency of the action, Collier
and other THC attorneys appeared on behalf of Frye and the other tenants.
After a one-month trial in May 1994, the jury awarded the 15 tenants
$239,005.00 in damages. Of this amount, $10,355.00 was awarded to Frye. By
stipulation, the court deducted amounts that the San Francisco Rent Board
previously had awarded, reducing the total award to $236,943.85 and Frye’s award

2
Roy M. Frye died on August 22, 2001. His son, Steven Frye, was
substituted as his successor in interest and was designated as plaintiff in this action
on November 6, 2002.
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to $10,242.50. The landlords subsequently appealed from the judgment, which
was affirmed in its entirety, and the landlords’ petition for review was denied by
this court.
The tenants petitioned for attorney fees and costs, relying upon Civil Code
section 1942.4 and the attorney-fee provisions in nine of the 15 pertinent rental
agreements.3
The trial court awarded attorney fees in the amount of $96,000.00 for
services provided at the trial and $35,560 for the appeal, for a total of
$131,560.00. The court also awarded costs of $10,164.45 through trial and
$332.88 for the appeal. In December 1996, the landlords paid a total of
$464,723.33 to satisfy the judgment, consisting of $296,179.45 in damages plus
interest and $168,543.88 in attorney fees and costs plus interest. Defendants
satisfied the judgment by issuing checks made payable to THC and to each
plaintiff tenant. Frye’s check was made out in the amount of $12,803.00. THC
deposited all of the checks and deducted costs in the amount of $10,497.33 and
attorney fees in the amount of $185,889.33, the latter figure representing its
contingency fee of 40 percent of the total judgment of $464,723.33, because 40
percent of the total award, including attorney fees, costs, and interest, proved to be
greater than the award of statutory attorney fees plus interest ($168,543.88).
THC retained $1,203.96 from Frye’s share of the damages award to satisfy
the balance of attorney fees he owed under the contingency agreement and
remitted $11,599.04 to Frye. Shortly thereafter, Frye demanded an accounting.

3
Civil Code section 1942.4, subdivision (b)(2) provides that the prevailing
party in cases involving substandard dwellings is entitled to reasonable attorney
fees and costs.
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Collier provided Frye with a detailed explanation of THC’s calculations in
distributing the judgment award.
In January 1998, Frye filed the present action against THC, alleging five
causes of action: (1) money had and received; (2) fraud and negligent
misrepresentation; (3) breach of fiduciary duty; (4) breach of contract; and (5)
unfair business practices.
In his first cause of action, for money had and received, Frye alleged that
THC was not licensed to practice law in California or to represent the plaintiff
tenants in the underlying action, with the result that the contract between THC and
Frye was void, and therefore that THC was not entitled to retain attorney fees or
costs. Frye alleged that the reasonable value of THC’s services was zero. In his
second cause of action, for fraud and negligent misrepresentation, Frye alleged
that THC falsely represented that it would provide free legal services, that it was
licensed to practice law and was authorized to enter into contracts for legal
services, and that it had authority to charge attorney fees. Frye claimed that he
relied on these representations, and that had they not been made, Frye would not
have paid THC attorney fees and costs. In his third cause of action, for breach of
fiduciary duty, Frye alleged that the nature of the underlying action “did not justify
the amounts collected by [THC]” and that the amounts collected were
“unreasonable, used an impermissible compounding of fees, and were in violation
of defendant’s fiduciary duty to plaintiff[].” In his fourth cause of action, for
breach of contract, plaintiff alleged that THC retained attorney fees in excess of
the amount allowable under the agreement. In his fifth cause of action, Frye
alleged THC engaged in a pattern and practice of unfair and illegal practices in
violation of the Business and Professions Code, damaging both Frye and the
public. Frye claimed that THC was not entitled to receive or retain unlawful fees
and costs it collected during the litigation. Frye’s prayer for relief sought the
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return of a specified amount of fees and costs from THC and disgorgement of “all
of [THC’s] unlawfully collected fees and costs and [] restitution to each member
of the general public who has paid unlawful fees and costs,” along with statutory
and punitive damages and an injunction against further unfair business practices.
In February 1998, THC moved for summary judgment or, in the alternative,
summary adjudication of each cause of action. In April 1998, the trial court
(David A. Garcia, judge) denied the motion as to the first, third, fourth, and fifth
causes of action, finding that triable issues of material fact remained concerning
the “amount of fees due under the contract.” The trial court granted THC’s
motion as to the second cause of action for fraud and negligent misrepresentation,
determining that no remaining triable issues of material fact remained, and
explaining that, contrary to Frye’s claim, nonprofit corporations are not required to
register as professional law corporations. Accordingly, the trial court concluded,
THC had not “expressly or impliedly misrepresented its authority to provide legal
services or to recover attorney[] fees and costs” and had not committed fraud as a
matter of law.
In June 1998, Frye entered into a stipulation with THC to settle his fourth
and fifth causes of action (for breach of contract and unfair business practices) for
$1,390.06, an amount representing the contingency fee that THC had deducted
from Frye’s award, plus interest. The parties stipulated that the court (Thomas J.
Mellon, judge) would determine certain issues raised by the pleadings on the
remaining causes of action for money had and received and breach of fiduciary
duty, and that the matter would be tried to the court rather than before a jury.
In September 1998, the parties stipulated to provide supplemental briefing
with respect to various legal issues raised by the pleadings, including (despite the
earlier disposition by Judge Garcia) whether THC was required to register with the
State Bar as a professional law corporation, whether THC was required to
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disgorge fees to Frye, whether THC was entitled to fees in quantum meruit,
whether individual THC attorneys were indispensable parties, and whether further
discovery was required.
In December 1998, four employees of THC, including Stephen L. Collier,
moved to intervene on the basis that they were entitled to attorney fees even if
THC was not entitled to them. The court granted the motion, and a complaint in
intervention was filed.
In October 1999, Frye requested that the trial court issue a statement of
decision on certain issues identified in the earlier stipulation. In December 1999,
the trial court (Judge Mellon) filed a notice of intended decision. The trial court
concluded that the relevant statutes did not require every nonprofit corporation or
legal services project that employs attorneys practicing law on behalf of clients of
the corporation to register with the State Bar. The court, however, was unable to
determine, based solely upon the pleadings, whether the nature of THC’s activities
required that it register, or whether the agreement was unenforceable. The court
pointed out that, by virtue of the First Amendment of the United States
Constitution, organizations such as THC might be exempt from statutes requiring
registration but that the record at the pleading stage was not adequate to determine
whether THC was entitled to such an exemption. The court also tentatively ruled
that Frye’s contract was with THC rather than with the individual attorneys
employed by THC, that the attorney-fee award granted fees to Frye, but that THC
might have a claim in quantum meruit.
In October 2001, following limited discovery, THC and the intervenors
filed a notice of motion and motion for reconsideration of the trial court’s decision
that the attorney fees had been awarded to Frye rather than THC, and for judgment
on the pleadings on Frye’s two remaining causes of action for money had and
received and for breach of fiduciary duty. THC and the interveners contended this
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court’s decision in Flannery v. Prentice (2001) 26 Cal.4th 572, 575 (Flannery)4
established that the attorney fees belonged to THC, thereby entitling THC to
judgment on the pleadings, because THC owed no debt to Frye and was under no
fiduciary duty to convey the attorney fees to Frye.
In February 2002, the trial court granted the motion to reconsider, but
denied the motion for judgment on the pleadings on the ground that it believed the
Flannery decision should not apply retroactively.
In April 2003, THC moved again for judgment on the pleadings as to
Frye’s two remaining causes of actions (for money had and received, and breach
of fiduciary duty) in light of the Court of Appeal’s decision in Olson v. Cohen
(2003) 106 Cal.App.4th 1209 (Olson). That case held that the plaintiff client was
not injured by the failure of a for-profit law corporation to register with the State
Bar and was not equitably entitled to disgorgement of fees. (Olson, supra, 106
Cal.App.4th at p. 1211)
In June 2003, the trial court granted THC’s motion for judgment on the
pleadings, concluding that, even assuming without deciding that evidence
regarding THC’s activities would establish that it was required to register with the
State Bar as a professional law corporation, Frye was not entitled to any remedy.
The trial court held that the Olson decision disposed of Frye’s disgorgement claim.
The court entered judgment in favor of THC and ordered the interveners’
complaint dismissed as moot.

4
In Flannery, supra, 26 Cal.4th 572, 575, we held that statutory attorneys
fees awarded in an action brought pursuant to the California Fair Employment and
Housing Act belong to the attorneys whose labor earned them the fees, absent an
enforceable agreement to the contrary.
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On appeal from the judgment, Frye contended that the first trial court erred
in granting summary adjudication of his second cause of action for fraud and
negligent misrepresentation, because “THC represented to Frye that it was an
attorney but was actually not licensed with the State Bar or otherwise entitled to
practice law.” Frye further contended that the second trial court erred in granting
judgment on the pleadings as to the remaining two causes of action, because THC
“is not authorized to practice law, entered into an illegal agreement with . . . Frye,
and retained money to which i[t] was not entitled.”
In July 2004, the Court of Appeal reversed in part and affirmed in part the
rulings of the trial court. The appellate court affirmed the order granting summary
adjudication as to the second cause of action for fraud and misrepresentation,
determining that, although the trial court erred in deciding that THC was not under
any obligation to register with the State Bar as a professional law corporation,
plaintiff suffered no damages. The Court of Appeal reversed, however, the trial
court’s order granting judgment on the pleadings as to the causes of action for
money had and received, and breach of fiduciary duty. The court concluded that
THC had a duty to register with the State Bar and otherwise to comply with the
provisions of section 13406(b) and that THC’s refusal to do so necessitated
disgorgement of the statutory attorney fees awarded in the underlying action. The
court also remanded the matter to the trial court to determine “whether and in what
amounts Frye or the individual attorneys should be entitled to the awarded fees.”
This court granted THC’s petition for review. Numerous organizations,
including the Pacific Legal Foundation and the Los Angeles County Bar
Association—all told representing more than 70 nonprofit organizations—have
filed amicus curiae briefs contending that section 13406(b) does not apply to
organizations such as THC and that such organizations cannot serve in their
present form if they are required to conform to the requirements of that statute.
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The State Bar filed an amicus curiae brief asserting that it never has required
organizations such as THC to register and to comply with section 13406(b), and
that only five of the hundreds of nonprofit corporations that offer legal services to
third parties in this state have registered and organized themselves pursuant to the
statute.
II
A
Section 13406(b), which was added to the Professional Corporation Act
(the 1968 Moscone-Knox Professional Corporation Act (Professional Corporation
Act) § 13400 et seq.) in 1993, provides in pertinent part: “A professional law
corporation [5] may be incorporated as a nonprofit public benefit corporation under
the Nonprofit Public Benefit Corporation Law under either of the following
circumstances: [¶] (1) The corporation is a qualified legal services project or a
qualified support center within the meaning of subdivisions (a) and (b) of Section
6213 of the Business and Professions Code. [¶] (2) The professional law
corporation otherwise meets all of the requirements and complies with all of the
provisions of the Nonprofit Public Benefit Corporation Law, as well as all of the
following requirements: [¶] (A) All of the members of the corporation, if it is a
membership organization as described in the Nonprofit Corporation Law, are
persons licensed to practice law in California. [¶] (B) All of the members of the

5
Under the Professional Corporation Act, a professional corporation is an
entity “organized under the General Corporation law or pursuant to subdivision (b)
section 13406 that is engaged in rendering professional services in a single
profession . . . pursuant to a certificate of registration issued by the governmental
agency regulating the profession . . . .” (§ 13401, subd. (b) [also establishing
exceptions to the registration requirement that are inapplicable to the legal
profession].)
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professional law corporation’s board of directors are persons licensed to practice
law in California. [¶] (C) Seventy percent of the clients to whom the corporation
provides legal services are lower income persons . . . and . . . other persons who
would not otherwise have access to legal services. [¶] (D) The corporation shall
not enter into contingency fee contracts with clients.” This subdivision was added
to the 1968 Professional Corporations Act by an amendment that became effective
in 1994. (Stats. 1993, ch. 955, § 7.5, pp. 5499-5500.)
Related statues require professional law corporations organized for profit
and those organized pursuant to Corporations Code section 13406(b) to register
with the State Bar of California. (§ 13401, subd (b); Bus. & Prof. Code, § 6160.)
All directors, shareholders, and officers must be licensed to practice law. (Bus. &
Prof. Code, § 6165.) Registration permits the State Bar to enforce the statutory
conditions on the practice of law that apply to for-profit law corporations and also
permits the State Bar to enforce section 13406(b). 6
In essence, section 13406(b) provides that a professional law corporation
may be organized as a nonprofit public benefit corporation if it falls within either
of two categories: (1) it is a qualified legal services project or a qualified support
center as defined by statute ⎯ essentially, a legal aid program ⎯ or (2) all of its
members and directors are licensed attorneys; 70 percent of its clients are lower
income individuals or “other persons who would not otherwise have access to

6
As a condition of registration, the State Bar requires the applicant to
demonstrate that each shareholder, director, and officer of the corporation is
licensed to practice law and that the corporation maintains security for claims
against it for errors and omissions. (State Bar Law Corp. Rules, rule IV.) In
addition, when the applicant law corporation is a nonprofit public benefit
corporation, the conditions of registration include those set out in section
13406(b). (State Bar Law Corp. Rules, rule IV.)
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legal services”; and it refrains from entering into contingency fee agreements.
THC evidently did not fall within either exception while it was representing Frye.
It did not register with the State Bar as a professional corporation pursuant to
Business and Professions Code section 6160 and, contrary to section 13406(b), its
board and membership included nonlawyers; it did not at all times have a policy
restricting its practice primarily to low-income persons; and it entered into
contingent fee agreements.
B
The Court of Appeal began its analysis with the premise that corporations
ordinarily are not permitted to practice law. The appellate court stated its belief
that, until section 13406(b) was enacted, the sole statute permitting the corporate
practice of law was the 1968 Professional Corporation Act, which authorized for-
profit corporations to practice law under certain restrictions. (§ 13400 et seq.,
added by Stats. 1968, ch. 1375, § 9, p. 2704.) The court concluded that although
the 1993 amendments adding section 13406(b) to the Professional Corporation Act
granted nonprofit corporations statutory authority to practice law, the authority of
nonprofit corporations in general to practice law necessarily was circumscribed by
the conditions set forth in section 13406(b). In essence, the Court of Appeal held
that this statute occupies the entire field of law governing the authority of
nonprofit corporations to practice law.
The Court of Appeal summarily rejected the contention that the conditions
set out in section 13406(b) are permissive. “The only thing ‘permissive’ about
section 13406, subdivision (b) is that a corporation practicing law may be
incorporated as a for-profit or a nonprofit corporation, provided that it complies
with code requirements pertaining to each. Either way, however, registration is
required.” The Court of Appeal concluded that, because THC chose to practice
law as a nonprofit corporation, in order to be authorized to practice law it not only
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would be required to register with the State Bar pursuant to Business and
Professions Code section 6160, but it also would be subject to the other limitations
imposed by section 13406(b).
THC contended on appeal that section 13406(b), which became effective in
1994, did not apply retroactively to the retainer agreement it entered into with Frye
in 1993. The Court of Appeal disagreed. On the one hand, as we have seen, that
court treated section 13406(b) as the sole source of authority under which a
nonprofit corporation may practice law. On the other hand, responding to THC’s
retroactivity claim, the court seemed to acknowledge that, in some instances prior
to the enactment of section 13406(b), a corporation could enjoy protection under
the First Amendment from state regulation that impaired the ability of the
organization to practice law. The Court of Appeal concluded, however, that THC
had failed to prove that its activities and purpose in practicing law invoked the
protection of the First Amendment.
C
We now consider the Court of Appeal’s conclusion that section 13406(b)
serves as the sole source of authority under which a nonprofit corporation may
practice law. We conclude, for the reasons that follow, that the Court of Appeal’s
reasoning on this point is flawed, largely because that court failed to take into
account the history of the rule against corporate practice of law and the absence of
any evidence that the Legislature intended to overturn preexisting authority
permitting legal aid, mutual benefit, and advocacy groups to practice law in the
corporate form.
Historically, judicial decisions in California and most other states
proscribed the corporate practice of law. (People v. Merchants Protective Corp.
(1922) 189 Cal. 531, 537-538 (Merchants Protective Corp.); In re Co-operative
Law Co. (1910) 198 N.4. 479 [92 N.E. 15, 16]; Giesel, Corporations Practicing
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Law Through Lawyers: Why the Unauthorized Practice of Law Doctrine Should
Not Apply (2000) 65 Mo. L.Rev. 151, 172 (Geisel).) In the exercise of their
authority to regulate the practice of law, courts concluded the interests of clients
required that corporations not be authorized to practice law themselves or hire
attorneys for the purpose of representing third parties. (See Merchants Protective
Corp., supra, 189 Cal. at pp. 538-539; see also In re Attorney Discipline System
(1998) 19 Cal.4th 582, 592-593 [regulation of the practice of law constitutes a
core judicial function].)
This court set forth the proscription on the corporate practice of law in a
decision relying upon our inherent authority to regulate the practice of law.
(Merchants Protective Corp., supra, 189 Cal. at pp. 537-538, 540.) In that case,
the Attorney General challenged the authority to practice law of an incorporated
trade association that employed attorneys to represent its members. We held that
the corporation was engaged in the unauthorized practice of law and that a
corporation could neither practice law nor employ lawyers to represent third
parties. (Ibid.; see also Hildebrand v. State Bar (1950) 36 Cal.2d 504, 509-510.)
We reasoned that the profit motive created an inherent conflict of interest
for attorneys and would foster inappropriate commercialization of the profession.
(Merchants Protective Corp., supra, 189 Cal. at p. 539.) It was this court’s view
that the corporate practice of law posed the risk that the corporation, potentially
governed by persons not versed in or bound by lawyers’ ethical obligations and
the duty of undivided loyalty owed by an attorney to his or her client, would seek
to advance its own commercial interest at the expense of the interests of clients.
(Id. at pp. 538-539.) “The essential relation of trust and confidence between
attorney and client cannot be said to arise where the attorney is employed, not by
the client, but by some corporation which has undertaken to furnish its members
with legal advice, counsel and professional services. The attorney in such a case
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owes his first allegiance to his immediate employer, the corporation, and owes, at
most, but an incidental, secondary and divided loyalty to the clientele of the
corporation.” (Ibid.)
We also were concerned that clients would possess few remedies against a
law corporation for malpractice committed by the corporation’s attorneys,
because “ ‘[t]here would be no remedy by attachment or disbarment to protect the
public from imposition or fraud, no stimulus to good conduct from the traditions
of an ancient and honorable profession, and no guide except the sordid purpose to
earn money for stockholders. The bar, which is an institution of the highest
usefulness and standing, would be degraded if even its humblest member became
subject to the orders of a money-making corporation engaged not in conducting
litigation for itself, but in the business of conducting litigation for others.’ ”
(Merchants Protective Corp., supra, 189 Cal. at p. 539.)
Notwithstanding the foregoing historical rule, a number of sources provided
for exceptions to the rule. First, legislation was enacted that eroded the broad rule
against the corporate practice of law and the practice of other professions. As
noted, the 1968 Professional Corporation Act (§ 13400 et seq.) permits the
corporate practice of law even for profit, subject to various restrictions that are
intended to safeguard client interests against the profit motive, including
registration with the State Bar and a requirement of corporate ownership and
governance solely by attorneys. (See, e.g., §§ 13401, subd. (b), 13404; Bus. &
Prof. Code, §§ 6160, 6165.) In addition, group legal services plans ⎯ whose
function is substantially similar to that of the corporation in the Merchants
Protective Corp. case ⎯ have been authorized to operate as nonprofit corporations
(§ 10830; see also § 7110 et seq.). So have lawyer referral services. (Bus. & Prof.
Code, § 6155.)
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Even more significantly, the traditional judicial rule against the corporate
practice of law has been subject to judicial exceptions for nonprofit corporate
practice that developed both prior to and subsequent to the enactment of the
Professional Corporation Act. Under the authority of this case law, legal aid,
mutual benefit, and advocacy groups have practiced law in the corporate form, and
we find no indication that the Legislature intended to abrogate or challenge these
decisions when it enacted section 13406(b).
In order to supply a reasonable solution to the continuing problem of access
to justice for the poor and the economically disadvantaged, legal aid societies have
been permitted to practice in a nonprofit corporate form. Courts have accepted the
premises that legal aid societies serve an important public interest, and that the
nonprofit nature of the enterprise reduces or eliminates the risk that the entity will
compromise the loyalty of attorney-employees to clients or otherwise threaten
clients’ interests. (See Azzarello v. Legal Aid Society of Cleveland (Ohio Ct.App.
1962) 185 N.E.2d 566, 570; Touchy v. Houston Legal Foundation (Tex. 1968) 432
S.W.2d 690, 694-695; Annot., Restrictions on Right of Legal Services Corporation
or “Public Interest” Law Firm to Practice (1983) 26 A.L.R.4th 614, 615 [“Many
jurisdictions . . . have carved out an exception to that rule [barring corporate
practice of law] for benevolent or charitable organizations, in order to facilitate the
activities of public interest law firms, legal aid societies, and the like”].)
A 1972 opinion of the California Attorney General, citing Azzarello v.
Legal Aid Society of Cleveland, supra, 185 N.E.2d 566, and other out-of-state
decisions, explained that the general rule against corporate practice of law does
not extend to legal aid societies in this state, principally because of the public
policy that supports efforts to provide access to justice for all members of society.
“[T]he operation of these and similar nonprofit charitable societies has been the
subject of judicial recognition and rests upon sound policy objectives” (55
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Ops.Cal.Atty.Gen. 39, 43-44 (1972)), including the important goal of ensuring that
persons of limited means retain access to the courts, a value that outweighs
concerns about potential conflicts of interest. (Id. at pp. 42-44; see also State Bar
Com. On Prof. Responsibility, formal opn. No. 1981-64 (1981) p. 3, fn. *,
reprinted in 1 Cal. Compendium on Prof. Responsibility, State Bar Formal Opn.
1981-64, p. IIA-182 [observing that legal aid organizations are authorized to
practice as nonprofit corporations in California].)
Case law provides another exception to the rule against corporate practice
of law that is of particular relevance for nonprofit organizations such as THC. The
First Amendment protects the associational and expressive rights of persons—both
lawyers and nonlawyers—to join together to employ litigation to seek redress of
grievances. (NAACP v. Button (1963) 371 U.S. 415, 428-431.) In NAACP v.
Button, statutes that would have prohibited NAACP attorneys and lay members or
supporters of the NAACP from urging others to join them in undertaking litigation
challenging discriminatory practices impermissibly “broadly curtail[ed] group
activity leading to litigation” (id. at p. 436), and threatened to “smother[] all
discussion” by NAACP lawyers, members, or supporters “looking to the eventual
institution of litigation on behalf of the rights of members of an unpopular
minority.” (Id. at p. 434.) The NAACP demonstrated that the state rules infringed
upon the fundamental First Amendment rights of its lawyers, members, and
supporters, while the state failed to demonstrate a compelling state interest in its
rules. (Id. at pp. 438-439.)
In a discussion that is relevant to the general rule prohibiting corporate
practice of law, the state evidently pointed to the danger that the NAACP as a “lay
intermediary” might “control litigation or otherwise interfere with the rendering of
legal services.” (NAACP v. Button, supra, 371 U.S. at p. 441.) The court,
however, determined that there had been no showing that such a conflict existed.
18

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Although the state interest in regulating the practice of law may justify limiting the
extent to which laypersons may interfere in the day to day conduct of litigation (In
re Primus (1978) 436 U.S. 412, 439; NAACP v. Button, supra, 371 U.S. at p. 447,
conc. & dis. opn. of White, J.), the state’s interest ordinarily does not justify
preventing persons from joining together to employ litigation to achieve the
organization’s goals. “This is so partly because no monetary stakes are involved,
and so there is no danger that the attorney will desert or subvert the paramount
interest of his client to enrich himself or an outside sponsor. And the aims and
interests of NAACP have not been shown to conflict with those of its members
and nonmember . . . litigants . . . . “ (NAACP v. Button, supra, 371 U.S. at p.
443.) 7
The broad import of the high court cases is to “uphold[] the First
Amendment principle that groups can unite to assert their legal rights as
effectively and economically as practicable.” (United Transportation Union v.
Michigan Bar (1971) 401 U.S. 576, 580.) The high court observed that rules
against solicitation of clients and the unauthorized practice of law traditionally
were directed against conduct involving some element of malicious intent, which
the court found absent from the activities of organizations exercising “First
Amendment rights to enforce constitutional rights through litigation.” (NAACP v.

7
See also In re Primus, supra, 436 U.S. at pages 426, 429-431 (overturning
discipline of an attorney who advised third parties who had been sterilized that
their rights may have been violated and offered representation by the ACLU free
of charge); American Bar Association Committee on Ethics and Professional
Responsibility, formal opn. No. 93-374 (1993), reprinted in American Bar
Association Lawyers Manual on Professional Conduct (Bur. Nat. Affairs 1991-
1995) pages 1001:183-1001:187 (“it is now well settled, as a matter of
constitutional law, that nonprofit organizations may employ staff attorneys to
provide legal representation to appropriate categories of third persons”).
19

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Button, supra, 371 U.S. at p. 440.) In addition, regulations intended to prevent
attorneys from “stirring up litigation” ordinarily are “aimed chiefly at those who
urge recourse to the courts for private gain, serving no public interest.” (Ibid.)
Finally, “[o]bjection to the intervention of a lay intermediary, who may control
litigation or otherwise interfere with the rendering of legal services in a
confidential relationship, also derives from the element of pecuniary gain.” (Id. at
p. 441.) By contrast, “[r]esort to the courts to seek vindication of constitutional
rights is a different matter from the oppressive, malicious, or avaricious use of the
legal process for purely private gain” (id. at p. 443) and, moreover, the state made
no showing of “substantive evils flowing from [NAACP’s] activities [that warrant]
the broad prohibition which it has imposed.” (Id. at p. 444; see also Mine Workers
v. Illinois Bar Assn. (1967) 389 U.S. 217, 221, 225 (Mine Workers) [rejecting the
claim that the holding of NAACP v. Button is restricted to politically motivated
advocacy]; see also United Transportation Union, supra, 401 U.S. at pp. 585-586;
Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen v. Virginia ex rel. Virginia State Bar (1964)
377 U. S. 1, 7, 8, & fn. 10.)
The Supreme Court also rejected the view that the potential award of
statutory attorney fees to the nonprofit organization would endow the organization
with a pecuniary motive likely to cause a conflict of interest. (In re Primus, supra,
436 U.S. at pp. 430-431; see also ABA formal opn. No. 93-374, reprinted in ABA
Lawyer’s Manual on Prof. Conduct, supra, at pp. 1001:187-1001:188 [a
corporation’s pecuniary interest in attorney fees is not of concern when the
corporation is not for profit and the fees are statutory and are paid by the opposing
party].)
The constitutional principles described above have been applied to
disapprove a state rule of practice that, as Frye would have us interpret section
13406(b), clearly prohibited the corporate practice of law except only for nonprofit
20

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corporations that are both (1) composed entirely of attorneys and (2) are devoted
solely to serving the poor. (In re N.H. Disabilities Rights Center (1988) 130 N.H.
328 [541 A.2d 208].) Justice Souter, then writing for the New Hampshire
Supreme Court, determined that both restrictions fell afoul of the line of cases
beginning with NAACP v. Button and could not be enforced against the Disability
Rights Center, an organization that undertook litigation to further the rights of
disabled persons. (In re N.H. Disabilities Rights Center, supra, 541 A.2d at pp.
212-215.)
According to Justice Souter, decisions by the United States Supreme Court
establish that “[o]rganizations, their members and their staff lawyers may assert a
protected first amendment right of associating for non-commercial purposes to
advocate the enforcement of legal and constitutional rights of those members, or
of others within a definite class whom the organization exists to serve. When such
advocacy may reasonably include the provision of legal advice or take the form of
litigation, the organization may itself provide legal representation to its members
or beneficiaries despite State regulations restricting legal practice and the
solicitation of clients, provided that the organization and its lawyers do not engage
in the specific evils that the general State regulations are intended to prevent.” (In
re N. H. Disability Rights Center, supra, 541 A.2d at p. 213.)
The New Hampshire decision acknowledged the state interests served by
the ban on the corporate practice of law ⎯ to ensure attorney loyalty to clients by
requiring that all directors and members of law corporations be lawyers, and to
preserve the court’s disciplinary authority over the practice of law. Nonetheless,
the court agreed with the Disability Rights Center that the salutary objectives of
the prohibition on corporate practice “must yield to first amendment values when
their enforcement is unjustified by any specific and immediate threat of the evils
the requirements are intended to insure against. . . .” (In re N. H. Disability
21

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Rights Center, supra, 541 A.2d at p. 215, italics added.) Thus, although the state
theorized that Disability Rights Center’s lawyers might experience a conflict
between the ideological goals of the directors of the organization and the interests
of the individual clients, the court concluded that the “general possibility of
conflicting interests” did not warrant enforcement of the state statute, which
“compromise[d] a demonstrated first amendment interest.” (Ibid.)
The foregoing decisions persuade us that the associational interests of
persons wishing to join together to gain meaningful access to the courts for redress
of grievances would be implicated by section 13406(b)’s requirement that the
directors and entire membership of the corporation be composed of persons who
are licensed to practice law. As the various amicus curiae briefs have explained, a
great number of advocacy organizations set objectives and define their mission
through governing boards that include constituent members, community members,
and others who may not be attorneys. (See, e.g., 45 C.F.R. § 1607.3(c) & (d)
(2005)) [corporate grantees of the Legal Services Corporation must include clients
and other nonattorney representatives of the community on their governing
boards].) These organizations turn to nonattorney board members for expertise
and advice when making the decision to undertake litigation intended to advance
the organization’s goals. Similarly, the expressive and associational interests of
attorneys, members, and supporters of advocacy groups would be implicated by a
rule that would restrict the group’s advocacy to litigation on behalf of the poor.
As several nonprofit organizations have explained in amicus curiae briefs filed on
behalf of THC, such organizations entertain many protected expressive goals other
than service to low-income persons.
We conclude that these considerations weigh against interpreting section
13406(b) in the manner adopted by the Court of Appeal. Grave First Amendment
questions would be raised by the Court of Appeal’s interpretation of section
22

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13406(b), whereas our contrary view appropriately interprets the statute so as to
avoid the conclusion that the Legislature intended to enact an unconstitutional
statute. (See Korea Supply Co. v. Lockheed Martin Corp. (2003) 29 Cal.4th 1134,
1146 [presuming that the Legislature does not intend to enact unconstitutional
provisions]; see also Ashwander v. Valley Authority (1936) 297 U.S. 288, 348;
People v. Davenport (1985) 41 Cal.3d 247, 264 [construing statutory language so
as to avoid serious constitutional questions].)8
D
We return to the issue of the intent of our own Legislature in enacting
section 13406(b). In light of the background against which the measure was
adopted and the constitutional issues that would be presented under the Court of
Appeal’s view that section 13406(b) was intended to govern all nonprofit
corporations that supply legal services to third parties, we find unpersuasive the
conclusion reached by that court. The historical development of the rule against
corporate practice of law and the rule’s exceptions make it clear that, as the
Legislature was well aware when it enacted section 13406(b), the common law

8
Contrary to Frye’s claim, section 13406(b)(2)(C) (providing an exception
when “[s]eventy percent of the clients to whom the corporation provides legal
services are lower income persons . . . . and . . . other persons who would not
otherwise have access to legal services”) does not broaden the group of permitted
clients to accommodate First Amendment concerns, because many advocacy
groups and their members are not lower income or without access to legal
services. Nor can we accept Frye’s proposal that advocacy groups can retain their
right of expression and right of access to the courts under section 13406(b) by
splitting into two groups, only one of which undertakes litigation. Under section
13406(b), the permissible aims of the proposed litigation group still would be
restricted in a manner inconsistent with the First Amendment principles we have
discussed.
23

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prohibition was not as monolithic as the Court of Appeal seems to have believed,
but rather was subject to various exceptions.
Not only does the historical background discussed above render the Court
of Appeal’s interpretation of the intended reach of the statute implausible, but the
text and legislative history of section 13406(b) fail to support that court’s view of
the preclusive effect of the statute. The Professional Corporation Act does not
require that every corporation employing an attorney to represent third parties
must be a professional corporation.9 Nor does the language of section 13406(b)
state that the statute serves as the exclusive source of authority for nonprofit
corporations to employ attorneys, or that common law sources of such authority
are abrogated. The legislative history of the enactment makes it evident that it
represented an effort to supply an explicit extension of authorization for the
corporate practice of law in order to solve a limited problem, not to overturn past
practices or to restrict nonprofit corporate practice of law by advocacy groups.
The Legislature’s intent to expand nonprofit corporate practice apparently
emanated from its desire to ensure the continued functioning of a particular
nonprofit law office. In 1992, the Community Law Center of Oakland asked the
Attorney General whether it could incorporate as a law corporation under the
nonprofit public benefit corporation provisions. The Oakland law center was
concerned that it might not be authorized to so incorporate because, unlike a pure
legal aid society practice, it accepted fees from clients who had low incomes but
were not indigent, and it engaged in a general law practice, primarily in the area of

9
See section 13402, subdivision (a) and Gafcon, Inc. v. Ponsor & Associates
(2002) 98 Cal.App.4th 1388, 1405-1406 (it did not constitute unauthorized
practice of law for an insurance company, which obviously was not organized as a
professional law corporation, to provide attorneys to defend its insureds in tort
actions).
24

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family law. The law center secured an Attorney General opinion on the question,
the validity of which is not before us in the present case. The opinion concluded
that the nonstatutory legal aid exception to the judicial prohibition on the corporate
practice of law was limited to free legal services to indigents, whereas the Oakland
law center did not limit its services to indigent persons and charged for its
services. (75 Ops.Cal.Atty.Gen. 92, 93 (1992).) In the Attorney General’s
opinion, the center also did not constitute a membership organization serving the
common interests of its members. The opinion concluded that “the Center is not
engaged in any form of political expression in terms of advocating the unique
legal or constitutional interests of the poor. Instead, it is engaged in a general law
practice, primarily in the family law field.” (Id. at p. 96.)
The Legislature enacted section 13406(b) in response to the Oakland law
center’s predicament, taking into account the 1992 Attorney General opinion.
(Assem. Com. on Judiciary, Analysis of Sen. Bill No. 312 (1993-1994 Reg. Sess.)
as amended June 22, 1993.) The Legislature intended to ensure that the Oakland
law center was authorized to practice law as a nonprofit corporation despite its
deviation from the pure legal aid model in that its services were not always free
and it served persons who were not indigent. (Ibid.)
We agree with THC that the Legislature intended to broaden rather than
restrict the existing legal aid exception to the ban on corporate practice of law to
include organizations providing legal services to the working poor for a fee.
Evidence of the Legislature’s intent to expand nonprofit practice of law includes
language such as the following: “[T]his bill will enable the Center, and similarly
situated legal providers, to provide additional legal services on a more stable
basis. [¶] There is no serious question that low-income persons, or the working
poor, are increasingly unable to afford legal services. It is critical that alternative
means of delivery of legal services to the poor be developed. SB 312 is an effort
25

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to facilitate the delivery of legal services to this presently underserved segment of
the population.” (Assem. Com. on Judiciary, analysis of Sen. Bill No. 312 (1993-
1994 Reg. Sess.) June 30, 1993, italics added; see also Sen. Rules Com., analysis
of Sen. Bill No. 312 (1993-1994 Reg. Sess.) May 3, 1993 [“There is no provision
in law for a law firm to incorporate as a nonprofit. This change would allow them
(Community Law Center) and others in the state to serve the poor and working
poor as nonprofit corporations”].)
It is significant that Frye is unable to point to any element of the legislative
history suggesting an intent to restrict the preexisting authority of nonprofit
corporations to practice law. Accordingly, the historical impetus for the
legislation and the analyses relied upon by the Legislature dispel any suggestion
that the Legislature intended the restrictive meaning attributed by the Court of
Appeal to the enactment of section 13406(b).
We conclude, on the basis of the evident legislative intent to expand the
nonprofit practice of law, the historical exceptions to the common law rule
prohibiting nonprofit law practice, and the constitutional problems that would be
presented by the Court of Appeal’s interpretation, that section 13406(b) cannot be
construed to govern all nonprofit corporations that provide legal services to third
parties.
III
A
The remaining question before us involves the authority under which THC
may practice law in the corporate form. THC claims it is an advocacy group that
must be permitted to practice law under the authority of NAACP v. Button, supra,
371 U.S. 415, and its progeny. The Court of Appeal concluded THC is not an
advocacy group but, as noted above, it did so in the unusual context of THC’s
claim that section 13406(b) could not be applied retroactively to the fee agreement
26

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between Frye and THC, which predated the measure’s 1994 effective date.
Starting with the premise that, even prior to the enactment of section 13406(b),
there was a general rule against the corporate practice of law, the Court of Appeal
found that the exceptions to that general rule ⎯ for legal aid societies, mutual
benefit groups, and advocacy organizations ⎯ were narrow. Although THC
claimed authority to practice law in the corporate form under the advocacy-group
exemption, the Court of Appeal concluded that THC’s claim extended the
rationale of NAACP v. Button, supra, 371 U.S. 415, beyond its assertedly narrow
factual setting ⎯ specifically, beyond the context of a state law prohibiting
solicitation of clients that was applied to an organization that clearly employed
litigation as a form of political expression. The Court of Appeal denied the
assertion that the relevant statutes implicated First Amendment interests. The
court’s terse conclusion was: “THC has failed to establish that the litigation it
pursues is a form of political expression. Moreover, registration with the State Bar
presents no First Amendment concerns.”
The claim that NAACP v. Button, supra, 371 U.S. 415, and its progeny
created a narrow rule that would not even be implicated by restrictions such as
those imposed by section 13406(b) and Business and Professions Code section
6160 already has been rebutted in our earlier discussion of the potential
constitutional issues that would be raised by the Court of Appeal’s conclusion that
those statutes occupy the field of nonprofit corporate law practice in this state to
the exclusion of any other rule. Contrary to the Court of Appeal’s assertion, the
issue does not merely involve the simple act of registering with the State Bar. The
registration requirement itself, under the Court of Appeal’s interpretation of
section 13406(b), would require as a condition of registration that the organization
limit its directors and members to licensed attorneys, and limit its clientele as
described in that statute.
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The Court of Appeal’s next conclusion ⎯ that, as a factual matter, THC is
not an advocacy group because the evidence does not demonstrate that it employs
litigation as a form of political expression ⎯ requires a separate analysis. Frye
expands upon the Court of Appeal’s brief discussion, asserting that THC is not an
advocacy group but simply constitutes an ordinary law firm that, in fact, is
engaged in a general landlord-tenant practice. He claims that THC’s law practice
consists not of bringing test cases or class action lawsuits, but rather of defending
individual tenants threatened with eviction or undergoing tenancy in uninhabitable
dwellings.
Contrary to the view of the Court of Appeal, the United States Supreme
Court has made it clear that the principles set out in NAACP v. Button, supra, 371
U.S. 415, are not limited to political advocacy groups. “[T]he First Amendment
does not protect speech and assembly only to the extent it can be characterized as
political.” (Mine Workers, supra, 389 U.S. at p. 223.) Justice Souter made the
same point in the previously discussed decision he authored for the New
Hampshire Supreme Court. (In re N.H. Disabilities Rights Center, supra, 541
A.2d at p. 213 [“organizations, their members and their staff lawyers may assert a
protected first amendment right of associating for non-commercial purposes to
advocate the enforcement of legal and constitutional rights of those members, or
of others within a definite class whom the organization exists to serve”].)
The conclusion of the Court of Appeal that, as a factual matter, THC does
not qualify as a protected advocacy group is questionable on the present record, in
light of the goals stated in THC’s charter and bylaws and the community of
interested persons it exists to serve, the ostensible relationship of its landlord-
tenant litigation to its broader goal of maintaining the residential nature of the
Tenderloin district and preserving low-income housing stock, and the
circumstance that, at least in the years noted in the record, THC was approved by
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the Internal Revenue Service as an organization broadly devoted to promoting the
public interest, a requirement for tax-exempt status. (See Rev.Proc. 92-59, 1992-2
C.B. 411, § 3; see also id., § 4 [permitting public interest organizations under
limited circumstances to exact fees from clients rather than from the opposing
party]; 26 C.F.R. § 601.201 (2005).)
Because of the procedural posture of the present case, however, we are not
called upon to render a final determination on the question whether THC’s
structure and activities demonstrate that it is an advocacy group within the
meaning of NAACP v. Button, supra, 371 U.S. 415. We note that in that case, the
high court examined an extensive record to determine whether the NAACP’s
activities were protected by the First Amendment to the extent that a state law
prohibiting the organization from soliciting clients could not constitutionally be
applied to it. A full record of the union’s practices was also apparently before the
court in Mine Workers, supra, 389 U.S. 217, as was a record of the ACLU’s
practices in In re Primus, supra, 436 U.S. 412. The record was useful to the court
not only to determine the nature of the advocacy group’s work but also to
determine whether the state had demonstrated a compelling need to impose its
regulations on the group.
Because of the procedural posture of the present case, a full record was not
developed. THC did not have an adequate opportunity to litigate the questions
whether it was engaged in activities warranting First Amendment protection or the
extent to which it earned a profit from the attorney fees it charged. The trial court
that granted the judgment on the pleadings under review in the present case did not
resolve the factual issue of the nature of THC’s activities. Instead, prior to the
completion of discovery on issues such as the allegedly profitable nature of THC’s
law practice, and prior to trial, the trial court concluded THC was entitled to
judgment on the pleadings upon another ground ⎯ an issue involving remedy.
29

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The trial court found that, even if Frye was correct that THC was an ordinary law
firm engaged in the unauthorized practice of law rather than an advocacy group,
and that it should have registered and complied with section 13406(b), THC’s
failure to do so did not justify the remedy of disgorgement of statutory attorney
fees to Frye, because Frye was not injured by THC’s failure to register or to
comply with section 13406(b).
Although we could remand this case to permit development of a full
evidentiary record concerning THC’s organization and activities in order to permit
an appropriate determination whether its practice falls within the protection of
NAACP v. Button, supra, 371 U.S. 415, and its progeny, we need not prolong
litigation that already has consumed many years. We agree with the trial court, on
another ground, that Frye was not entitled to relief; the remedy he sought was not
available to him, for the reasons that follow.
B
We examine the trial court’s alternative ground for granting judgment on
the pleadings. We agree with that court that THC’s failure to register with the
State Bar or to comply with section 13406(b) was not a cause of any injury to
Frye. Under no imaginable circumstance would Frye have fared better had THC
registered with the State Bar and complied with section 13406(b). The trial court
in the underlying landlord-tenant action still would have awarded the same
statutory attorney fees to compensate THC for its efforts, and THC still would
have refunded to Frye the fees it collected in excess of the statutory fees pursuant
to the contingency fee agreement. Indeed, the Court of Appeal itself, in affirming
the trial court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of THC on Frye’s causes of
action for fraud and misrepresentation, reached the conclusion that Frye had not
been injured.
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Under these circumstances, “[t]o require disgorgement of fees because of a
failure to register the corporation . . . is disproportionate to the wrong.” (Olson,
supra, 106 Cal.App.4th at p. 1215 [equitable considerations did not support an
order for disgorgement of earned fees when a licensed attorney failed to register
his for-profit law corporation as required by statute].) And with respect to any
claim for misrepresentation or concealment, there was no damage. (See id. at pp.
1216-1217; see also Ford Motor Credit Co. v. Sperry (Ill. 2005) 827 N.E.2d 422,
432 [“there is a fundamental difference between an unlicensed individual
representing a party . . . and duly licensed attorneys who happen to belong to a law
firm that has not filed its registration and paid its fees”].)
Frye responds that “nonlawyers cannot recover fees for practicing law,”
citing Birbrower, Montalbano, Condon & Frank v. Superior Court (1998) 17
Cal.4th 119. In Birbrower, we concluded that an out-of-state law firm was not
entitled to a judgment enforcing its client’s obligations under a fee agreement for
legal services rendered in California, because neither the firm nor its lawyers were
authorized to practice law in California. Birbrower is inapposite. It concerned a
law firm’s action to recover contractual fees owed by its client. The question in
the present case is whether Frye, the plaintiff tenant for whom THC won a
favorable judgment, is entitled to statutory attorney fees that the court ordered the
defendant landlords in the underlying action to pay—despite the contract
assigning such fees to THC and despite the circumstance that the defendant
landlords paid the fees without objecting that THC was not authorized to practice
law.
The Court of Appeal in the present case concluded that the contract
between Frye and THC contained a “prohibited” contingent fee provision, and
Frye reiterates his assertion that he suffered actual injury by virtue of the
assertedly prohibited contingent fee provision. THC, however, repaid Frye the
31

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contingency fee plus interest, so Frye did not suffer injury. Frye also contends
THC would not have been entitled to undertake to represent him in the underlying
action had it been properly registered, but this circumstance, even if true, does not
support his claim that he was injured by their legal representation, which resulted
in a judgment in his favor.
Frye claims that disgorgement is necessary to prevent THC from profiting
by its wrongdoing. Similarly, the Court of Appeal believed disgorgement was
necessary because, unlike the attorney in the Olson case, THC obstinately refused
to acknowledge its alleged duty to register with the State Bar.
The circumstances that the State Bar has permitted numerous nonprofit
organizations to practice law without registering or complying with section
13406(b) and that this court and other courts frequently award statutory attorney
fees to such nonprofit corporations10 demonstrate that the Court of Appeal was
misguided and that Frye’s punitive demands are misplaced. Only five of the
hundreds of nonprofit organizations that offer legal services in this state have
registered with the State Bar. Amicus curiae briefing we have received from
various of these groups, representing the full political spectrum, indicates that the
organizations share THC’s view that, under current law, they are not required to
register with the State Bar or comply with section 13406(b). The State Bar itself
urges that disgorgement would be unfair, because the State Bar has not enforced
section 13406(b).
Under the Court of Appeal’s rationale, all the statutory attorney fees that
unsuccessful defendants have paid to nonprofit corporations in this state since

10
This court has approved substantial fee awards to such organizations.
(Press v. Lucky Stores, Inc. (1983) 34 Cal.3d 311, 318-321; Serrano v. Priest
(1977) 20 Cal.3d 25, 44-47.)
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1994 should be disgorged to clients who did not pay fees and for whom the
corporation won a favorable judgment—despite this court’s recognition that the
award of attorney fees to such organizations serves the public interest by providing
financial support for the organizations. (See Serrano v. Priest, supra, 20 Cal.3d at
pp. 44-47; see also Press v. Lucky Stores, Inc., supra, 34 Cal.3d at pp. 318-321.)
As one commentator has observed, adequately funded public interest litigation
constitutes a “unique and indispensable vehicle through which citizens can
systematically sponsor and assist litigation advancing broad public interests.”
(Simon, Fee Sharing Between Lawyers and Public Interest Groups (1989) 98 Yale
L.J. 1070, 1114.) The remedy of disgorgement is grossly disproportionate to the
asserted wrongdoing on THC’s part and would constitute a totally unwarranted
windfall to Frye.
We conclude that the trial court correctly granted judgment on the
pleadings in favor of THC on the issue of remedy.
IV
This court has the authority to consider imposing registration requirements
and other restrictions on the practice of law by nonprofit corporations pursuant to
its “inherent responsibility and authority over the core functions of admission and
discipline of attorneys.” (In re Attorney Discipline System, supra, 19 Cal.4th at
pp. 603, 606-607; see also Merco Constr. Engineers, Inc. v. Municipal Court
(1978) 21 Cal.3d 724, 727, 730-731.)
In view of the State Bar’s experience in regulating the practice of law, its
knowledge of the practical problems presented by various forms of law practice,
and its ability to seek information and recommendations from the legal community
and other interested persons, we believe the matter should be referred to the State
Bar for further study, followed by a report and specific recommendations to this
court. After appropriate study and specific recommendations from the State Bar,
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we shall consider the implementation of carefully drawn regulations directed at the
practice of law by nonprofit corporations, if such regulations meet a demonstrated
danger of injury to clients without impairing First Amendment expressive and
associational rights.
Our dominant concern when we adopted the general rule prohibiting
corporations from employing attorneys to represent third parties was to protect
clients from conflicts of interest that we viewed as inevitably flowing from the
profit motive with which corporations are imbued. The profit motive being absent
in the case of nonprofit corporations, it may be that additional regulation of groups
such as THC is not needed. It is incumbent upon the State Bar to study whether
groups such as THC actually imperil client interests despite the absence of a profit
motive, and to consider how such a danger, if it exists, may be mitigated by
regulations consistent with First Amendment principles. Specifically, such
regulations must reasonably accommodate the expressive and associational
interests of nonprofit organizations and their members.
The State Bar may consider the New Jersey Supreme Court’s concern that a
nonprofit organization’s ideological motivation might pose a risk to client
interests. (See In re Education Law Center (N.J. 1981) 429 A.2d 1051, 1057.)
According to that court, concerns similar to those arising from law practice by a
for-profit law corporation might arise when nonprofit organizations controlled by
nonlawyers pursue political and ideological goals through litigation. According to
the New Jersey court, despite their personal obligations as members of the state
bar, staff attorneys hired, employed, and compensated by such organizations might
well feel that their duty to the organization conflicts with their duty to pursue the
best interest of the client. Reasonable regulation, directed at the employing
entities as well as their individual lawyers and designed to govern the day to day
conduct of litigation, may be appropriate. On the other hand, the State Bar should
34

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recognize that, in its decision, the New Jersey Supreme Court was not called upon
to comment upon potential constitutional limitations on its authority to restrict the
practice of law by advocacy groups.11
In studying the foregoing issue, reporting to this court, and proposing
specific additional regulations for this court’s consideration, the State Bar also
should consider whether existing ethical rules applicable to individual attorneys
already afford adequate safeguards to clients.
With respect to existing regulations, the State Bar possesses disciplinary
authority over all members of the bar, including those who are employed by
nonprofit corporations such as THC. (Bus. & Prof. Code, §§ 6077, 6078.) Of
particular note is rule 1-600(A) of the California Rules of Professional Conduct,
which provides: “A member shall not participate in a nongovernmental program,
activity, or organization furnishing, recommending, or paying for legal services,

11
The New Jersey Supreme Court eventually approved a proposed rule for
nonprofit organizations that imposes conditions substantially similar to those
imposed by our own rules upon individual attorneys: “Nonprofit organizations
incorporated in this or any other state for the purpose of providing legal services to
the poor or functioning as a public interest law firm, and other federally tax
exempt legal services organizations or trusts, such as those defined by 26 U.S.C.A.
120(b) and 501(c)(20), that provide legal services to a defined and limited class of
clients, may practice law in their own names through staff attorneys who are
members of the bar of the State of New Jersey, provided that: (1) the legal work
serves the intended beneficiaries of the organizational purpose, (2) the staff
attorney responsible for the matter signs all papers prepared by the organization,
and (3) the relationship between staff attorney and client meets the attorney’s
professional responsibilities to the client and is not subject to interference,
control, or direction by the organization’s board or employees except for a
supervising attorney who is a member of the New Jersey bar.” (New Jersey Rules
of Court, Rules of General Application, rule 1:21-1(e), italics added.) As noted,
however, the New Jersey high court did not consider constitutional issues in its
decision in In re Education Law Center, supra, 429 A.2d 1051, which apparently
served as the catalyst for the rule of court quoted above.
35

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which allows any third person or organization to interfere with the member’s
independence of professional judgment, or with the client-lawyer relationship, or
allows unlicensed persons to practice law, or allows any third person or
organization to receive directly or indirectly any part of the consideration paid to
the member except as permitted by these rules, or otherwise violates the State Bar
Act or these rules.” (Italics added.)
Furthermore, each attorney is under a duty to maintain client confidences
(Bus. & Prof. Code, § 6068, subd. (e); Rules of Prof. Conduct, rule 3-100), and
attorneys are required to avoid interests adverse to those of their clients. (Rules of
Prof. Conduct, rules 3-300, 3-310.) In a provision of particular relevance to
attorneys employed by organizations such as THC, the Rules of Professional
Conduct provide that attorneys may accept compensation for their services from
persons other than the client only when “[t]here is no interference with the
member’s independence of professional judgment or with the client-lawyer
relationship,” the attorney maintains client confidences and, ordinarily, the
attorney “obtains the client’s informed written consent.” (Rules of Prof. Conduct,
rule 3-310(F).)12

12
Compare American Bar Association Model Rules of Professional Conduct
(ABA Model Rules), rule 1.2(a) (requiring attorneys to “abide by a client’s
decisions concerning the objectives of representation”), rule 1.7 (prohibiting an
attorney from representing a client when the attorney owes a duty to a third party
that may create a conflict of interest), rule 1.8(f) (“A lawyer shall not accept
compensation for representing a client from one other than the client unless: [¶]
(1) The client gives informed consent; [¶] (2) there is no interference with the
lawyer’s independence of professional judgment or with the client-lawyer
relationship”), and rule 5.4 (“(a) A lawyer or law firm may not share legal fees
with a nonlawyer, except that: [¶] . . . [¶] (4) a lawyer may share court-awarded
legal fees with a nonprofit organization that employed, retained or recommended
employment of the lawyer in the matter. [¶] . . . [¶] (c) A lawyer shall not permit a
person who recommends, employs, or pays the lawyer to render legal services for
(footnote continued on following page)
36

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Finally, the Attorney General is vested with authority to bring actions to
challenge a nonprofit public benefit corporation’s failure to comply with its
charitable mission or corporate charter. (§§ 5250, 6216; see also §§ 5141, 5142.)
Nonprofit public benefit corporations are required to register with the Secretary of
State and to register annually with the Attorney General. (§ 6210; Gov. Code,
§ 12585-12587.) Annual reports must include certain financial transactions,
nonprogram expenditures, use of professional fundraisers, receipt of government
funds, and certain IRS reporting requirements. (2 Advising California Nonprofit
Corporations (Cont.Ed.Bar 2d ed. 1998) § 1140, pp. 611-612.) “Public benefit
corporations are subject to examination by the Attorney General at all times to
ascertain the extent to which they may have departed from the purposes for which
they were formed or have failed to comply with [the requirements of the]
charitable trusts they have assumed. The Attorney General may institute any
proceedings necessary to correct such a departure or noncompliance,” including

(footnote continued from preceding page)
another to direct or regulate the lawyer’s professional judgment in rendering such
legal services”); California State Bar Rules Regulating Interest-Bearing Trust
Fund Accounts for the Provision of Legal Services to Indigent Persons, rule 3
(“No provision of these rules or of the . . . Business and Professions Code shall
limit or impair in any way the professional responsibility of any attorney to his or
her client to provide such client with legal services appropriate to the client’s
needs”); see Giesel, supra, 65 Mo. L.Rev. at pages 206-207 (contending that the
ABA Model Rules adequately address concerns regarding corporate practice of
law and that the general ban on corporate practice of law should be abandoned).

We note that although California has not adopted the ABA Model Rules,
they may be “helpful and persuasive in situations where the coverage of our Rules
is unclear or inadequate.” (1 Witkin, Cal. Procedure (4th ed. 1997) Attorneys,
§ 418, p. 508; see also State Comp. Ins. Fund v. WPS, Inc. (1999) 70 Cal.App.4th
644, 656.) The ABA Model Rules are not binding, of course. (General Dynamics
Corp. v. Superior Court (1994) 7 Cal.4th 1164, 1190, fn. 6.)
37

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proceedings to compel compliance with statutes governing nonprofit corporations.
(1 Advising California Nonprofit Corporations, supra, § 8.115, pp. 397-398.) In
addition, public interest law firms seeking to maintain nonprofit status for the
purpose of compliance with 46 U.S.C. § 501(c) are subject to oversight by the
Internal Revenue Service, both with respect to their public purpose and the
circumstances under which they may accept fees from clients or through judicial
awards. (Rev. Proc. 92-59, 1992-2 C.B. 411, § 4.)
In sum, in considering the practical need for additional regulation in
California, the State Bar should reflect upon the rationale supporting the rule
against the corporate practice of law as well as the constitutional principles
discussed in this opinion, determine whether there is evidence of actual abuse or
client endangerment, and consider whether the potential for harm to clients
warrants regulation of the nonprofit entity itself.
The question whether additional regulation is required is referred to the
State Bar for further study and report to this court.
V
For the foregoing reasons, the judgment of the Court of Appeal, reversing
the trial court’s grant of judgment on the pleadings as to the causes of action for
money had and received and breach of fiduciary duty, is reversed.
GEORGE, C.J.
WE CONCUR:

KENNARD, J.
BAXTER, J.
WERDEGAR, J.
CHIN, J.
MORENO, J.
CORRIGAN, J.
38

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See last page for addresses and telephone numbers for counsel who argued in Supreme Court.

Name of Opinion Frye v. Tenderloin Housing Clinic, Inc.
__________________________________________________________________________________

Unpublished Opinion

Original Appeal
Original Proceeding
Review Granted XXX 120 Cal.App.4th 1208
Rehearing Granted
__________________________________________________________________________________

Opinion No.

S127641
Date Filed: March 9, 2006
__________________________________________________________________________________

Court:

Superior
County: San Francisco
Judge: Thomas Mellon and David A. Garcia
__________________________________________________________________________________

Attorneys for Appellant:

Law Offices of Andrew M. Zacks, Law Offices of Paul F. Utrecht, Zacks Utrecht & Leadbetter, Andrew
M. Sacks, Paul F. Utrecht and James B. Kraus for Plaintiff and Appellant.
__________________________________________________________________________________

Attorneys for Respondent:

Chapman, Popik & White, Susan M. Popik, Kyle D. Kickhaefer, Benjamin J. Riley; Tenderloin Housing
Clinic and Stephen L. Collier for Defendant and Respondent.

Heller Ehrman, Steven V. Bromse, Warrington S. Parker III, Ethan C. Glass; The Impact Fund, Brad
Seligman and Sarah Varela for the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Northern California, the
American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Southern California, the American Civil Liberties Union
Foundation of San Diego and Imperial Counties, The Impact Fund, Natural Resources Defense Council, the
Center for Biological Diversity, the Center on Race, Poverty & the Environment, Disability Rights
Advocates, the Environmental Defense Center, the Utility Reform Network, Equal Rights Advocates,
Electronic Frontier Foundation and Charles D. Weisselberg as Amici Curiae on behalf of Defendant and
Respondent.

Western Center on Law and Poverty, Richard A. Rothschild; Latham & Watkins, Amos E. Hartson,
Kathryn M. Davis, Beth A. Collins, Keith Wesley; Greines, Martin, Stein & Richland and Robin Meadow
for the Los Angles County Bar Association as Amicus Curiae on behalf of Defendant and Respondent.

Carroll, Burdick & McDonough and Don Willenburg for Eviction Defense Collaborative, Inc., as Amicus
Curiae on behalf of Defendant and Respondent.

Anthony T. Caso for Pacific Legal Foundation as Amicus Curiae on behalf of Defendant and Respondent.

1

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Page 2 - counsel continued – S127641

Attorneys for Respondent:

Legal Services of Northern California, Gary F. Smith; Western Center on Law and Poverty, Richard A.
Rothschild; and Julia R. Wilson for Legal Aid Association of California as Amicus Curiae on behalf of
Defendant and Respondent.

Marie M. Moffat, Lawrence C. Yee, Karen Segar Salty and Rachel S. Grunberg for the State Bar of
California as Amicus Curiae.

2

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Counsel who argued in Supreme Court (not intended for publication with opinion):

Paul F. Utrecht
Zacks Utrecht & Leadbetter
235 Montgomery Street, Suite 1130
San Francisco, CA 94104
(415) 956-8100

Susan M. Popik
Chapman, Popik & White
650 California Street, 19th Floor
San Francisco, CA 94108
(415) 352-3000

Brad Seligman
The Impact Fund
125 University Avenue
Berkeley, CA 94710
(510) 845-3473

3

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Opinion Information

Date:	Docket Number:
Thu, 03/09/2006	S127641

Disposition
Mar 9 2006	Opinion: Reversed

Dockets
Sep 8 2004	Petition for review filed   Respondent ( Tenderloin Housing Clinic).
Sep 8 2004	Record requested
Sep 10 2004	Request for depublication (petition for review pending)   The Bar Association of San Francisco (non-party)
Sep 10 2004	Received Court of Appeal record   file jacket/briefs/transcripts/two accordian files
Sep 22 2004	Request for extension of time filed   counsel for aplt. (Frye) requests extension of time to October 8, 2004, to file the answer to petition for review.
Sep 24 2004	Request for depublication filed (another request pending)   by non-party Directors of Clinics and Directors of Clinical Programs at California Law Schools
Sep 27 2004	Request for depublication filed (another request pending)   by non-party California Commission on Access to Justice
Sep 27 2004	Request for depublication filed (another request pending)   by non-party Eviction Defense Collaborative
Oct 1 2004	Extension of time granted   Appellant's time to serve and file the answer to petition for review is extended to and including October 8, 2004.
Oct 8 2004	Answer to petition for review filed   by counsel for (Steven Frye)
Oct 12 2004	Request for extension of time filed   counsel for respondent (Tenderloin Housing Clinic,Inc.) requests extension of time to October 28, 2004, to file the Reply to Answer to Petition for Review.
Oct 18 2004	Extension of time granted   Respondent's time to file the answer to petition for review is extended to and including October 28, 2004.
Oct 22 2004	Time extended to grant or deny review   to 12-07-04
Oct 29 2004	Reply to answer to petition filed   by counsel for resp. (Tenderloin Housing Clinic.) (40k)
Nov 10 2004	Petition for review granted (civil case)   Werdegar, J., was recused and did not participate. Votes: George, C.J., Kennard, Baxter, Chin, Brown, and Moreno, JJ.
Nov 10 2004	Order filed   In the above entitled matter, in which review was granted on November 10, 2004, the court requests the State Bar of California to file an amicus curiae brief, addressing the issues presented by the case. The brief shoule be filed no later than the date set forth in rule 29.1(f) of the California Rules of Court.
Nov 15 2004	Note:   Record sent to Cal-coord. Office RT=6, CT=6, 2, 3, 4, 7, 8, 9, Pet. for Rehrg., Depub, Req., Req. for Jud. Ntc., Confid. Envelope, accordion file (containing misc. docs. and records.)
Nov 17 2004	Order filed   Justice Werdegar recused herself from participating in the order granting review in this case, filed on November 10, 2004. Upon further opportunity to examine the materials filed in this court, and having concluded that there is no basis that requires her further recusal in this matter, Justice Werdegar will participate in all further proceedings in this matter before this court.
Nov 18 2004	Certification of interested entities or persons filed   by counsel for (Tenderloin Housing Clinic)
Nov 29 2004	Certification of interested entities or persons filed   by counsel for aplt. (Steven Frye)
Nov 30 2004	Request for extension of time filed   Counsel for resp. (Tenderloin Housing Clin.) requests extension of time to January 10, 2005, to file the opening brief on the merits.
Dec 2 2004	Extension of time granted   to 1-10-05 for resp to file the opening brief on the merits.
Jan 11 2005	Opening brief on the merits filed   by counsel for resp. (Tenderloin Housing Clinic) per rule 40.1 (b)
Jan 21 2005	Request for extension of time filed   counsel for aplt. (Frye) requests extension of time to March 4, 2005, to file the answer brief on the merits. ****granted *** order being prepared.
Jan 25 2005	Extension of time granted   Appellant's time to serve and file the answer brief on the merits is extended to and including March 4, 2005.
Mar 3 2005	Request for extension of time filed   counsel for respondent requests extension of time to March 18, 2005, to file the answer brief.
Mar 8 2005	Extension of time granted   Respondent's time to serve and file the answer brief is extended to and including March 18, 2005,.
Mar 18 2005	Answer brief on the merits filed   by counsel for resp. (S. Frye)
Mar 28 2005	Request for extension of time filed   counsel for aplt. requests extension of time to May 6, 2005, to file the reply brief on the merits.
Apr 1 2005	Extension of time granted   Appellants' time to serve and filed the reply brief on the merits is extended to and including May 6, 2005.
May 9 2005	Received:   from counsel for (Tenderloin Housing Clinic) oversized reply brief on the merits. (40.1(b)
May 9 2005	Application to file over-length brief filed   by counsel for (Tenderloin Housing Clinic)
May 10 2005	Reply brief filed (case fully briefed)   by counsel for Tenderloin Housing Clinic (with permission)
May 26 2005	Request for extension of time filed   joint application by amicus groups: LA County Bar Ann, Legal Aid Assn of Calif, & The Impact Fund, etal to 7-11-05
Jun 3 2005	Received application to file Amicus Curiae Brief   Eviction Defense Collaborative, Inc. in support of Tenderloin Housing Clinic, Inc..
Jun 6 2005	Order filed   The application of Los Angeles County Bar Association et al., for extension of time to file an amicus curiae brief is hereby DENIED without prejudice, to filing a request to file a supplemental amicus curiae brief within 20 days after the State Bar files its amicus curiae brief.
Jun 6 2005	Received application to file Amicus Curiae Brief   The American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Northern California, et al., in support of respondent (brief under same cover)
Jun 6 2005	Received:   Request for Judicial Notice by (The American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Northern California) et al.,
Jun 7 2005	Permission to file amicus curiae brief granted   Eviction Defense Collaborative, Inc. in support of Defendant and Respondent.
Jun 7 2005	Amicus curiae brief filed   Eviction Defense Collaborative, Inc. in support of Defendant and Respondent.
Jun 7 2005	Permission to file amicus curiae brief granted   The American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Northern California, et al., in support of respondent.
Jun 7 2005	Amicus curiae brief filed   The American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Northern California, et al., in support of respondent is hereby granted. An answer thereto may be served and filed by any party within twenty days of the filing of the brief.
Jun 9 2005	Received application to file Amicus Curiae Brief   Pacific Legal Foundation in support of Tenderloin Housing Clinic, Inc.
Jun 9 2005	Amicus curiae brief filed   by Office of the General Counsel, State Bar of California
Jun 14 2005	Filed:   by counsel for State Bar of Calif., Errata to Amicus Curiae brief filed on 6-9-05.
Jun 14 2005	Permission to file amicus curiae brief granted   Pacific Legal Foundation in support of Tenderloin Housing Clinic, Inc.
Jun 14 2005	Amicus curiae brief filed   Pacific Legal Foundation in support of Tenderloin Housing Clinic, Inc. Answer is due within 20 days.
Jun 20 2005	Received application to file Amicus Curiae Brief   Legal Aid Association of California ***(request to file supplemental brief)***
Jun 23 2005	Permission to file amicus curiae brief granted   Legal Aid Association of California in support of respondent.
Jun 23 2005	Amicus curiae brief filed   Legal Aid Association of California in support of respondent. An answer thereto may be served and filed by any party within twenty days of the filing of the brief.
Jun 28 2005	Request for extension of time filed   Counsel for resp. (Frye) requests extension of time to July 15, 2005, to file a single answer to all amicus briefs.
Jun 29 2005	Received application to file Amicus Curiae Brief   supplemental amicus brief [in support of respndent]>> Los Angeles County Bar Association
Jun 29 2005	Filed:   by counsel for resp. (Frye) Addendum to Request for Extension of Time.
Jun 30 2005	Extension of time granted   Respondent's time to serve and file the answer to amicus curiae briefs is extended to and including July 15, 2005.
Jun 30 2005	Request for extension of time filed   Counsel for Tenderloin Housing Clinic requests extension of time to 7-15-2005, to file the answer to amicus curiae briefs.
Jul 5 2005	Extension of time granted   Respondent's time to serve and file the answer to amicus curiae briefs is extended to and including July 15, 2005.
Jul 7 2005	Permission to file amicus curiae brief granted   Los Angeles County Bar Association in support of respondent.
Jul 7 2005	Amicus curiae brief filed   Los Angeles County Bar Association in support of respondent, An answer thereto may be served and filed by any party within twenty days of the filing of the brief.
Jul 8 2005	Request for extension of time filed   counsel for aplt. (Frye) requests extension of time to 7-27-2005 to file one answer to all amicus curiae briefs.
Jul 12 2005	Extension of time granted   Respondent's time to serve and file the answer to amicus curiae briefs is extended to and including July 27, 2005.
Jul 12 2005	Request for extension of time filed   Counsel for Tenderloin Housing Clinic requests extension of time to July 27, 2005 to file the answer to amicus curiae briefs.
Jul 14 2005	Extension of time granted   Respondent's time to serve and file the answer to amicus curiae briefs is extended to and including July 27, 2005.
Jul 27 2005	Response to amicus curiae brief filed   By counsel for appellant {Steven Frye} to AC brief.
Jul 28 2005	Response to amicus curiae brief filed   By counsel for respondent / CRC 40.1(b).
Dec 14 2005	Case ordered on calendar   January 10, 2006, 9:00 a.m., in San Francisco
Dec 15 2005	Request for judicial notice granted   The request for judicial notice filed on June 6, 2005 by amicus curiae Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Northern California, et al., is hereby granted.
Dec 19 2005	Request for Extended Media coverage Filed   John Hancock, The California Channel
Dec 21 2005	Request for Extended Media coverage Granted   subject to the conditions set forth in rule 980, California Rules of Court.
Jan 3 2006	Filed:   Application for leave to divide oral argument time; respondent asking to share 12 minutes with amicus curiae ACLU Foundation of Northern California.
Jan 4 2006	Order filed   The request of counsel for respondent in the above referenced cause to allow two counsel to argue on behalf of respondent at oral argument is hereby granted. The request of respondent to allocate to amicus curiae ACLU Foundation of Northern California 12 minutes of respondent's 30-minute allotted time for oral argument is granted.
Jan 10 2006	Filed:   stipulation of counsel regarding Justice Chin's participation in the case.
Jan 10 2006	Cause argued and submitted
Mar 9 2006	Opinion filed: Judgment reversed   OPINION BY: George, C.J. --- joined by: Kennard, Baxter, Werdegar, Chin, Moreno, Corrigan, JJ.
Apr 11 2006	Remittitur issued (civil case)
Feb 22 2007	Returned record   to the Court of Appeal, 1st Appellate District; four doghouses

Briefs
Jan 11 2005	Opening brief on the merits filed
Mar 18 2005	Answer brief on the merits filed
May 10 2005	Reply brief filed (case fully briefed)
Jun 7 2005	Amicus curiae brief filed
Jun 7 2005	Amicus curiae brief filed
Jun 9 2005	Amicus curiae brief filed
Jun 14 2005	Amicus curiae brief filed
Jun 23 2005	Amicus curiae brief filed
Jul 7 2005	Amicus curiae brief filed
Jul 27 2005	Response to amicus curiae brief filed
Jul 28 2005	Response to amicus curiae brief filed

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