RANDALL A. MILLER

Randall A. Miller and his firm handle most every kind of matter in the realm of legal professional responsibility, from defending lawyers sued for malpractice to conducting ethics audits of law firms to representing judges brought up before the Commission on Judicial Performance.

Recently, he took on what may well prove to be his most high-profile matter, tentatively set for trial in the State Bar Court in May. Miller is representing John C. Eastman, the onetime Chapman University law dean widely considered to be a key architect of legal theories designed to keep former President Donald J. Trump in office.

On Jan. 26, the State Bar filed 11 disciplinary charges against Eastman for “executing a strategy, unsupported by facts or law, to overturn the legitimate results of the 2020 presidential election by obstructing the count of electoral votes of certain states.” Under State Bar rules, trial of the charges must begin within 125 days of that filing, which is May 25.

The State Bar Court could extend the deadline, but in the meantime, “we’re on the fast track in this,” Miller said.

The case raises interesting issues involving the First Amendment and a lawyer’s obligation of advocacy, he added, and the charges are “all over the map.”

They deal with Eastman’s involvement on behalf of Trump in litigation in Texas, Georgia and Wisconsin, as well as his many public statements and his behind-the-scenes advice to the then-president, including concerning Vice President Mike Pence.

“The main thrust of our defense would be that these were actions that were taken in good faith or had some viability,” Miller said. Eastman has argued he was justified in presenting his opinions because they had a good-faith basis in fact and in law.

“It would be helpful to have that backed up by others,” Miller said.

He anticipates that many experts will be called to testify in a very lengthy State Bar trial. “I’m starting to envision who we would need to recruit to get all that together,” he said. “There’s literally dozens if not hundreds of other lawyers and witnesses that were involved in these other cases, and there were discussions and memos and so on.”

Separately, a large portion of Miller’s caseload deals with helping lawyers try to mitigate potential losses from claims. For instance, if a client’s transaction goes bad, Miller and his firm find ways to repair it before a lawsuit is filed. They might bring in new counsel to assist, seek a court order to repair a fumbled document or simply reach a pre-litigation settlement. “It takes a fairly deft touch to figure out how to put that Humpty Dumpty back together again,” he said.

And as he has for many years, he heads a committee that oversees malpractice, life and other insurance offerings sponsored by ChangeLawyers. He held a similar post from 2010 to 2018 with the State Bar.

– Don DeBenedictis