Our History

In April 2018, the Stanford Criminal Justice Center (SCJC) hosted a first-of-its-kind event - “Roundtable on Law School and Bar Admission for People with Criminal Records.” The gathering brought together academics, practitioners, State Bar of California officials, and a number of formerly incarcerated or system involved individuals.

Organized by SCJC’s Executive Director - Debbie Mukamal and SCJC’s Faculty Co-Director - Robert Weisberg, the roundtable focused on expanding access to the legal profession for those with criminal convictions and featured preliminary results of SCJC’s groundbreaking report on the topic - “Unlocking the Bar: Expanding Access to the Legal Profession for People with Criminal Records in California.” James Binnall and Frankie Guzman, both formerly incarcerated attorneys, were invited experts at SCJC’s convening.

From this event, CSIBA was born. In summer 2018, James Binnall and Frankie Guzman began the process of establishing a statewide bar association dedicated to advancing the interests of prospective and current attorneys who are formerly incarcerated or system involved. That planning and those preliminary discussions ultimately led to the formation of the California System-Involved Bar Association in January 2019.

In March, 2020, we hosted our 1st Annual Convening at the UCLA School of Law. Over 150 people attended (See 1st Annual Conference), making it an incredibly impactful event.

CSIBA is currently working to expand its membership and to plan its 2nd Annual Conference, tentatively scheduled for May 2021. As part of these efforts, we are in the process of organizing several Law School Mixers during academic year 2020-2021 and working toward becoming a recognized 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.

So, the future of CSIBA is bright! As we strive to remove barriers to the legal profession for those who are formerly incarcerated or system involved, we hope you will join us.