Leah Wilson, State Bar of California (Photo: Courtesy Photo)

Leah Wilson, the California state bar's executive director for the last two years, will resign next month to "pursue other career interests," the bar said in a statement Friday.

Wilson, who will step down Jan. 17, she said she will have a "transition contract" to continue work on certain bar initiatives. Donna Hershkowitz, the bar's programs director and a former Judicial Council lobbyist, will serve as interim director.

Wilson said she plans next year to work on a venture mixing public and private dollars with philanthropy. She called her departure "bittersweet" but said the institution of a strategic plan for the agency and a metrics system for measuring successes has put the bar on a strong footing.

"I certainly feel confident that I'm leaving [the bar] in better condition than I found it," Wilson said in an interview with The Recorder.

The bar's board of trustees in November conducted a closed-door performance review of Wilson but did not disclose any results or action in the open session of its meeting. Wilson said Friday the meeting was mostly an opportunity for her to offer her thoughts on a previously completed review and played no role in her decision to leave.

Wilson joined bar leadership in 2015 as chief operating officer with the understanding that she would succeed then-executive director Elizabeth Parker. She had earlier served as executive officer at the Alameda County Superior Court and as a manager at the Judicial Council.

"Leah has been a standout leader of the state bar, and we are sorry to see her go," Alan Steinbrecher, chair of the board of trustees, said in a prepared statement "She has ably led the agency through an unprecedented period of restructuring and reform. We are immensely grateful for all that she has helped the board accomplish, and for her unquestionable talent as an innovative and transformative leader."

Wilson led the bar during a tumultuous period, starting with the agency's split from the professional sections in 2018. The same year brought new pressure from law deans and other bar exam critics as the pass rates for the 2018 tests plummeted to historic lows.

The bar in 2017 named a new chief trial counsel, Steven Moawad, only to withdraw his appointment in 2018 amid opposition in the California Senate. The position has still not been permanently filled, although Wilson said she expects the board of trustees to announce a hire "very soon."

Year-end statistics are expected to show an increase in the bar's backlog of open disciplinary cases, which Wilson credited to the advent of an online complaint system. Complaints are up 15% since the public has been able to file them online, she said.

The state bar made national headlines again this year when an employee accidentally disclosed the topics on the July bar exam days before its administration. Wilson had to recuse herself from the emergency scramble that followed because her son was registered to take the test.

A report on the event issued in November concluded that "some at the state bar have not adapted well" to recently increased oversight by the California Supreme Court.

Wilson also helped shepherd the bar's first licensing fee increase in 20 years through the Legislature this summer. The new revenue is slated to fill a chronic deficit and fund new projects, including technology upgrades.

It's unclear what will happen to many of the policies Wilson championed, from overhauling rules governing the practice of law in California to revamping the bar exam. But Wilson said staff members "all the way up and down the organization" are situated to ensure "that work should continue."

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