Will The State Bar Ever Get It Right?
Are you finding a disconnect between what the California State Bar says and what it does?
What lawyer regulatory agency is synonymous with corruption? Yup, you guessed it. The State Bar of California.
The results of two investigation ordered by the California State Bar into what happened or didn’t happen while celebrity personal injury attorney Tom Girardi ran amok is not, by any means, the end of this sordid story.
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One report audited files containing complaints against Girardi and State Bar staff assigned or involved in the various investigations.
The other report outlines in exhaustive detail the cozy relationships between Girardi and staff members, including the former executive director, Joseph Dunn, and discipline investigator Thomas Layton. The report details that the relationship between Girardi and Layton was not just cozy, but that they were figuratively joined at the hip. Reading it is like watching a train wreck: you can’t avert your eyes.
Once again, the investigation results were front page news in the Los Angeles Times. The vast majority of California lawyers cringe whenever Girardi’s name is mentioned. It’s the sleaze that doesn’t wash away.
It’s also clear that ironically the California State Bar, which has the responsibility for disciplining lawyers who find themselves in conflicts of interest, didn’t seem to recognize the conflicts in their own organization. What does that say about the very people responsible for enforcement? What do you think? Is this a case of people who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones?
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Some examples:
“Former State Bar employee Tom Layton, who was terminated in 2015, (and his wife) received gifts and payments estimated at over $1 million from Girardi, through his firm, while Layton was employed at the State Bar. Those payments and gifts were never properly disclosed.
Other State Bar employees and Board members accepted and failed to report gifts and other items of value from Girardi.
Relatives of staff members were employed by Girardi’s firm.
Staff in the Office of Chief Trial Counsel (OCTC) were improperly involved in matters assigned to outside conflict counsel.
Eight Girardi cases were closed by individuals who were determined had conflicts of interest at the time they worked on the cases. The report found that their conflicts tainted their decisions to close the cases.
Interim Executive Director Bob Hawley ghostwrote decisions in matters assigned to outside conflict counsel without disclosing that fact, including a decision to recommend closure of a complaint against Girardi.
Between 2013 and 2015, both the Executive Director’s Office and Office of General Counsel received reports about Girardi’s influence at the State Bar and connection to Layton and others but failed to investigate.
Former Executive Director Joe Dunn, who was terminated in 2014, and Hawley made questionable terminations of two OCTC attorneys who were advocating for disciplinary actions against Girardi.
On at least one occasion, Girardi successfully deployed his connections at the State Bar to discourage people from making complaints against him.”
Had enough? The Legislature has and it controls the bar’s allowance, aka budget. One state senator, Tom Umberg, commented in the Los Angeles Times article that “he would ‘withhold making any decision on what amount, if any’ the State Bar could collect from California’s 260,000 attorneys next year to fund its budget.” Umberg said he was confident “in the bar’s current leadership but said he needed to ‘focus the bar’s attention’ by threatening its budget.” This situation is far worse than parents withholding a kid’s allowance because she didn’t do her chores. Which will come first: the California State Bar showing that it’s up to doing what it’s supposed to do, or the Legislature giving it enough funds to do the job it’s supposed to do? You choose.
Parts of the report of the external investigation are as fascinating as some of the contretemps on the reality TV show, “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills,” which features Girardi’s estranged wife and on whom he purportedly lavished millions of dollars to launch her career.
What’s also fascinating in the report is the unrestrained greediness of bar investigator Layton, whom Girardi showered with goodies. As one example, Girardi furnished Layton with an American Express card; originally Girardi’s firm name was below Layton’s. Layton asked that the firm name be deleted, and it was. Girardi’s firm paid the Amex bills.
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In a mea culpa email sent to all California lawyers, the chair of the State Bar Board of Trustees advised that “We are now using what we have learned from these reports to ensure that a massive failure of this nature never happens again.” A bit of an understatement.
Chair Ruben Duran also wrote that the board has formed an ad hoc committee to “recommend additional changes that may need to be made at the State Bar, including reforms designed to strengthen governance and oversight of the discipline system and prevent conflicts of interest from influencing the State Bar’s work. Most recently, we have taken steps to strengthen oversight, reporting, and training regarding potential conflicts of interest.”
Is it only me who finds a disconnect between what the California State Bar says and what it does?
Let’s see if the State Bar gets it right, for once. Outsiders from other public agencies will be telling the State Bar board of trustees about how ethics and compliance are handled in their agencies. If not best practices, at least better practices than what the State Bar has right now.
We lawyers are taught to avoid even the appearance of impropriety. My recommendation to the State Bar: clean up your own house first. It’s hard to have any respect for an institution that says, “Do what we say, not what we do.” Wink, wink, nod, nod.
Jill Switzer has been an active member of the State Bar of California for over 40 years. She remembers practicing law in a kinder, gentler time. She’s had a diverse legal career, including stints as a deputy district attorney, a solo practice, and several senior in-house gigs. She now mediates full-time, which gives her the opportunity to see dinosaurs, millennials, and those in-between interact — it’s not always civil. You can reach her by email at [email protected].
