California’s state bar has retained the former leader of the state Senate for “strategic consulting” on a controversial proposal that would allow nonlawyers to offer a limited range of legal services—even as a bar official said the agency is now “reassessing” his hiring.

Darrell Steinberg, a former Hanson Bridgett attorney and the current mayor of Sacramento, said his work for the bar will help shape a paraprofessional program “to assist in criminal record clearing for people, assist people with housing conflicts, and also those dealing with debt repayment issues.”