Attorney Complaints News
Attorney Complaints
11 California attorneys disbarred in third quarter, State Bar reports
A total of 11 California attorneys were expelled from their profession in the third quarter of this year, while another 15 were either suspended, put on probation or both, according to new data released by the California State Bar.
Attorney Complaints
Rapper Tory Lanez files ethics complaint with State Bar against former attorney
Jailed rapper Tory Lanez has filed an ethics complaint against the Los Angeles attorney who represented him during his 2022 trial before a jury that found him guilty of shooting fellow musician Megan Thee Stallion in the foot.
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Attorney Complaints
California high court disbars Manhattan Beach attorney who mishandled client funds
The California Supreme Court has disbarred a Manhattan Beach attorney who misappropriated client funds to the tune of about $117,000 and allegedly used some of the money to support his gambling activities.
Attorney Complaints
Lawyer's suspension casts uncertainty over gang member's attempted murder sentence
The 2023 suspension of a criminal defense attorney from practicing law has led to a court review of his client’s conviction for attempted murder during a gang-related shooting spree in Fresno four years ago.
Attorney Complaints
State Bar seizes immigration services office in El Cajon, alleges unauthorized practice of law
An immigration services office in El Cajon has been seized by the State Bar of California, which alleges that the owner of the business has been misrepresenting herself as an attorney on immigration and family law issues.
Attorney Complaints
L.A. district attorney: Lawyer facing felony embezzling charge undermined 'integrity of entire legal profession'
A Los Angeles divorce attorney has been charged with four felony counts after allegedly embezzling $4.8 million from a client trust fund during a two-year period between the fall of 2015 and spring of 2017.
Attorney Complaints
California lawmakers OK attorney licensing fee hike to better police attorneys in the state
Funding and program reforms coupled with an $88 hike in the annual dues for California attorneys will allow the State Bar of California to better protect clients’ trust funds and mete out appropriate discipline to lawyers who defy ethics rules.
Attorney Complaints
State Bar chief trial counsel: Former L.A. deputy city attorney 'authorized scheme of collusion'
A former Los Angeles chief deputy city attorney has been charged with dishonesty and collusion in the State Bar of California’s investigation of legal skullduggery related to a failed Department of Water and Power billing system upgrade in 2013.
Attorney Complaints
Chief trial counsel: L.A. attorney offered 'false hope' to inmates seeking sentencing relief
A Los Angeles attorney specializing in criminal appeals faces 18 disciplinary charges after the California State Bar accused him of misleading inmates and their families about their chances of resentencing relief under a state law.
Attorney Complaints
U.S. attorney: Guilty verdict means L.A. personal-injury lawyer’s ‘game is up’
A former Los Angeles plaintiff attorney whose involvement in a groundwater-contamination lawsuit in the 1990s inspired the movie “Erin Brockovich” has been found guilty of embezzling tens of millions of dollars from his clients.
Attorney Complaints
Judge: Former State Bar executive director culpable for lying about funding of Mongolia trip
A former California State Bar executive director should be placed on one year of probation for allegedly misleading the State Bar’s Board of Trustees by falsely saying that no State Bar funds would be used for a 2014 trip to Mongolia, a judge has decided.
Attorney Complaints
State Bar's chief trial counsel: Tustin attorney's misappropriation of client funds 'stunning'
A Tustin attorney is facing 27 ethics charges and possible disbarment as a result of an investigation by the state’s Office of Chief Trial Counsel (OCTC) that found him liable for misappropriating $282 million belonging to as many as 60,000 clients.
Attorney Complaints
Judicial discipline panel: L.A. judge's remarks to litigants were 'disparaging, gratuitous'
The state’s Commission on Judicial Performance has publicly admonished a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge for engaging in a pattern of making “discourteous, disparaging and gratuitous” remarks to litigants, creating the appearance of bias.
Attorney Complaints
State Bar: Former Los Angeles DWP official engaged in 'dishonesty, corruption'
The California State Bar is accusing a former Los Angeles Department of Water and Power commissioner of violations of attorney ethics for allegedly engaging in a quid pro quo deal leading up to a vote on a city contract.
Attorney Complaints
Alhambra family-law lawyer acknowledges misappropriating nearly $5 million in client funds
An Alhambra attorney has acknowledged in a court filing that she misappropriated nearly $5 million in client funds, falsified bank records and failed to disclose a 2023 court judgment against her to the State Bar of California.
Attorney Complaints
Disbarred California attorney guilty of promoting $9.5 million cryptocurrency scheme
A disbarred Southern California attorney has pleaded guilty to inducing people to take part in a cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme involving artificial-intelligence trading bots – a plot that led to investors being defrauded out of $9.5 million.
Attorney Complaints
L.A. trial attorney faces charges of attempting to hack into judge's email account
The California State Bar has accused a Los Angeles-area attorney of attempting to recruit Israeli hackers to steal personal emails and text messages belonging to a local judge and a California consumer lawyer. A lawyer for the accused attorney calls the accusations "absurd" and baseless.
Attorney Complaints
L.A. judge publicly censured over texts about potential witness sent to D.A.'s office
A Los Angeles Superior Court judge has received a “severe” reprimand for sending text messages that the state Commission on Judicial Performance found were antithetical to her role as an impartial arbiter during the course of a murder trial.
Attorney Complaints
Consumer Watchdog sees insurer-backed reforms as gateway to price gouging in California
California’s insurance commissioner is spearheading a plan this year billed as the “largest insurance reform since Proposition 103,” but consumer advocates dismiss the reform as a fast track to price gouging.
Attorney Complaints
Allstate could resume writing homeowner policies in California— if future risks are considered
Allstate is signaling that it is willing to write new homeowner policies in California once again, provided that regulators implement reforms such as allowing future wildfire modeling– a position that dovetails with the insurance commissioners' reform plans for 2024.