Calif. bar investigates alone over ‘Real Housewives’ spouse Girardi

Thomas Girardi. REUTERS/Irfan Khan

(Reuters) – Legal professional regulators in California on Monday claimed they have employed a regulation agency to investigate the point out bar association’s managing of past problems towards popular plaintiffs’ attorney Thomas Girardi.

Girardi and his spouse, “Serious Housewives of Beverly Hills” star Erika Jayne Girardi, have made lawful headlines considering that December 2020, when a rival legislation company accused them of working with settlement funds meant for the people of victims of the 2018 Lion Air crash to bankroll a glitzy Hollywood way of living.

The California condition bar has employed Halpern May possibly Ybarra Gelberg, a Los Angeles-based mostly litigation agency, to assess “irrespective of whether intentional wrongdoing by everyone connected with the Point out bar may perhaps have affected how grievances versus Girardi ended up managed,” Ruben Duran, chair of the bar’s board of trustees, claimed in a assertion.

Aaron May well, 1 of the founding partners of Halpern May perhaps, declined to remark.

The Los Angeles Situations has noted that Girardi’s chummy connection with point out bar officers enabled him to sustain a very clear disciplinary document inspite of previous allegations of misconduct.

“We have been proactively performing all the things in our electrical power to understand from the earlier and do greater in the long run to protect against harms like this from recurring,” Duran stated in Monday’s assertion.

The condition bar has accused Girardi, whose scenario towards Pacific Fuel & Electric Co that motivated the Oscar-successful movie “Erin Brockovich,” of misappropriating revenue owed to clientele in 3 scenarios. A bar tribunal previously this month recommended his disbarment. The California Supreme Court docket has not ruled on the suggestion however.

Girardi has not responded to the bar’s allegations and did not participate in the disciplinary proceedings. Girardi’s legal and personalized affairs are dealt with by his brother and conservator, Robert. Robert Girardi did not respond to a request for remark.

Attorneys for Girardi and his defunct regulation company Girardi Keese have acknowledged in federal court docket that $2 million in settlement cash in the Lion Air scenario ended up not dispersed. An legal professional for Erika Girardi claimed you can find very little showing she received the money.

“There’s definitely no evidence that Erika, an entertainer with no regulation diploma, had nearly anything to do with the conclusions and actions of Tom Girardi and Girardi Keese similar to the Lion Air settlement funds,” Evan Borges, a associate at Greenberg Gross, explained in a statement.

The state bar claimed in June that it done a private audit of past problems towards Tom Girardi. Duran mentioned the new investigation will also be private.

(Observe: This tale has been current with responses from a lawyer for Erika Jayne Girardi and data about the legislation company hired by the condition bar.)

Go through a lot more:

Far too minimal or also late, bar costs continue to wanted versus Girardi, industry experts say

California condition bar pulls Tom Girardi’s law license, citing guardianship status

Tom Girardi and truth star spouse sued for alleged theft of Lion Air settlement cash

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