State Bar hires law firm to probe handling of Girardi complaints

The California State Bar board announced Monday it hired Halpern May Ybarra Gelbert LLP to investigate its handling of complaints against Thomas V. Girardi -- an action that surprised even the most skeptical of observers on whether the influence of the now-disgraced plaintiffs' attorney would ever come to light.

"I think this is absolutely, positively the right thing for the State Bar to do," said Antonio Sarabia of IP Business Law Inc. and an outspoken critic of Girardi's alleged ties to State Bar officials.

"I cannot recall a (prior) board-initiated investigation into whether the Office of Chief Trial Counsel, or individuals within the office, did not investigate or discipline a particular attorney," said Heather L. Rosing, CEO and president of Klinedinst PC in San Diego.

Rosing, who previously was a bar trustees for four years, cautioned that identifying conduct that rises to the level of malfeasance will likely be challenging.

"If the complaints against Mr. Girardi went through this regular intake system, and, after the standard review, decisions were made not to pursue the matter, I think it would be very difficult to prove malfeasance." she said. "The OCTC gets tens of thousands of complaints every year, and discretion needs to be afforded to the office in deciding when to make an inquiry of an attorney, when to prosecute, etc."

Rosing added that "Many complaints are without merit or do not fall within the disciplinary authority of the agency."

"If, however, someone within the office intentionally diverted the complaints against Mr. Girardi from the regular intake process, then there certainly would be an issue," Rosing said.

Attorneys with Halpern May Ybarra Gelbert referred questions about the investigation to the State Bar.

Board of Trustees Chair Ruben Duran stated in Monday's news release, "The State Bar Board leadership and staff take very seriously the immense harm done by Thomas Girardi to innocent victims."

Girardi, who gained widespread notoriety after he helped sue Pacific Gas & Electric Co. over contaminated groundwater in Hinkley, is accused of embezzling millions of dollars in settlement funds from his clients' trust accounts, most notably families of people who died in the crash of Lion Air Flight 610 from Jakarta in October 2018.

Outside observers and attorneys who have worked with Girardi have publicly stated that Girardi's penchant for lavish spending and withholding trust account funds from clients has been discussed widely within the legal community for years.

"We are all mystified as to why it took so long," Sarabia said.

Duran stated in the announcement, "We have been proactively doing everything in our power to learn from the past and do better in the future to prevent harms like this from recurring. This necessarily includes assessing whether intentional wrongdoing by anyone associated with the State Bar may have influenced how complaints against Girardi were handled. Details of the investigation, including details of past closed complaints and investigations, must remain confidential to comply with the law and to give this investigation the greatest chance of success."

But Duran added a warning: "Mark our words, we will go wherever the evidence leads us."