While a young (too young) lady is indeed one of his problems, 50-year-old James Mazi Parsa is beset by the other 99 problems… and then an additional 1,074. That’s right, 1,173 people have filed complaints against Parsa, including 43 who have already managed to convince a judge that he should be disbarred.
It’s been a bit of a rough decade or so for the California attorney:
Parsa was convicted in 2001 of two misdemeanor counts of unlawful sexual intercourse with a 17-year-old. In 2009, bar officials gave him an interim suspension while they decided how to discipline him for the conviction. He ultimately received a two-year suspension of his law license in 2014.
AI Is Reshaping Legal Practice—But Tools Aren’t The Real Differentiator.
Explore the mindset, cultural shifts, and training strategies that define the AI‑savvy lawyer, revealing why human judgment, standardized competence, and integrated learning—not technology alone—will shape the future of the profession.
As bad as that all sounds, the trouble really compounded for Parsa when, according to the State Bar, he failed to disclose to his clients that he would soon be unable to practice law because of his suspension. He even actively solicited new clients knowing he was about to be sidelined! See, that was just tempting fate. And once the suspension hit, Parsa just quietly shuttered his practice — with about 100 employees and roughly 4,500 clients — and walked off with the money. Now, a judge with the State Bar ordered Parsa to stop practicing — which seems unnecessary since he’s still suspended — based on complaints from 43 former clients that Parsa dropped them without notice and refused to refund their fees. The judge also thinks Parsa should be disbarred — a call the California Supreme Court must make — and one which some people were looking for as far back as 2012.
The California Supreme Court exercised restraint back then. But does everyone deserve a… 1,174th chance?
O.C. lawyer convicted of having sex with minor is facing disbarment [Los Angeles Times]
Earlier: Morning Docket: 8.31.12