%%EOF (Added, According to Plaintiff's experience and the, PRESS RELEASE THE STATE BAR OF CALIFORNIA, Plaintiff alleges lawyers licensed and controlled by the State Bar associated with Catanzarite Law Corporation namely Kenneth Joseph Catanzarite (, (a) failing to make reasonable operational decisions in response to changes in statutory duty for State Bar and public employees acting in their official capacity for State Bar (, California Auditor's official reports from 2009 through 2022, Public employees acting officially for The State Bar of California have engaged in repeated violations of duty, corruption, fraud, systemic corruption, with at least reckless disregard for injury or emotional harm to members of the public whom they are bound to protect by law. The founder of StopCorruptLawyers.com filed the lawsuit. Even in extreme circumstances of willful misconduct, Plaintiff alleges the State Bar knowingly enables licensees to wield State Bar credentials as "weapon[s] of extortion". Maintaining the Integrity of the Profession, Compendium on Professional Responsibility Index, MCLE Requirements for Certified Specialists, Instructions for Essay Questions and Performance Test, Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination, Further Investigation and Informal Conferences, Multijurisdictional Practice (MJP) Program, Out-of-State Attorney Arbitration Counsel (OSAAC), Volunteer Opportunities to Assist Veterans and Service Members, Supreme Court Makes Appointments to Board of Trustees, Video Explainer: Rule 1.16on End of Attorney-Client Relationships, Notice: Unauthorized Posting of Admissions Confidential Data on Third-Party Website, State Bar Charges Attorney John Eastman with Multiple Disciplinary Counts, Introducing the Client Trust Account Protection Program. The main mission of the agency, an arm of the state Supreme Court, is to protect the public by setting licensing standards for California's 250,000 lawyers and disciplining those who violate. The State Bar's mission is to protect the public and includes the primary functions of licensing, regulation and discipline of attorneys; the advancement of the ethical and competent practice of law; and support of efforts for greater access to, and inclusion in, the legal system. I have filed complaints to the State BAR of California against Sarah Talei and her brother Nathan Talei. Visit the Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions of StopCorruptLawyers.com for more information. (e) through Defendants negligent operational decisions as alleged, where Defendants are aware that their licensed agents with Catanzarite have already caused, together with Defendants as alleged in special relationships with Plaintiff as victim, more than one hundred million dollars ($100,000,000) in damages under Defendants control, and Plaintiff alleges that government licensee or agents associated with Catanzarite have directed or engaged its clients in criminal acts including felonies that are known to State Bar, Nunley, Kumar, Morgenstern, and DOES, but that each of them unreasonably use their positions of authority over Plaintiff to protect Catanzarite, and not public interest, outrageously, in violation of law, and in violation of their mandatory or affirmative duty to protect, and that this is but a symptom of State Bars flawed pattern of negligent operational decisions; (f) that State Bar and DOES failed to align its staffing with its mission, and that State Bar discontinued operational changes that improved capacity, has engaged in understaffing, and has willfully abandoned plans to benchmark attorney discipline systems to cover up its negligence, recklessness, and corruption; (g) that State Bar has failed to sufficiently fix the conditions of its licensing, regulatory, and discipline systems in the face of overwhelming evidence that State Bar fails to protect public interest, and that public interest relies upon State Bar to protect; (h) that DOES have failed to design or implement a reasonable system of licensing, regulation, and discipline through a series of negligent, reckless, and/or corrupt operational decisions that systemically fail to protect the public, including Plaintiff, amidst a series of conflicted transactions for all times relevant; (i) that State Bar has willfully and recklessly ignored the law, enactments, and duties imposed by Catanzarite Cases, and that this evidences systemic recklessness together with the Auditor findings from 2009 to present and Tom Girardi case; (j) that State Bar does not understand CTCA [Government Claims Act] or its history applied to Defendants, and has operated as if it State Bar and public employees serving State Bar are immune from any and all liability resulting from any and all decisions, including those involving operational negligence, gross negligence, corruption, and violations of general, mandatory, affirmative, and special duties to protect, and that this reckless assumption was discarded as mistaken [and] unjust since 1961 in California. (Complaint, p. 15). Find out how to resolve a problem without going to court, file a complaint against a lawyer and how to get money back from an unethical attorney. The Bar has ethics panels to see if each attorney is working within the oath they took to become an attorney. From 2010 to 2021, the bar used confidential letters or warnings to attorneys twice as often as it sought public discipline. There is no fee for filing a complaint and you do not have to be a U.S. citizen. 9. ". Transactions with Persons Other than Clients, Chapter 7. In re Kelley (1990) 52 Cal.3d 487 [276 Cal.Rptr. The California State Bar is supposed to protect consumers, but a recent state audit found the agency put people at "significant risk" after failing to keep watch over attorneys across. G. There are limits on direct campaign contributions, but none on behested payments. A graduate of Boston College and the University of Southern California, he joined The Times in 2013. Lets look at the Ethics Hotline. Plaintiff relies upon April 2022 Auditor findings: 022-030 ("The State Bar of California's Attorney Discipline Process") and "Plaintiff seeks a trial by jury of any facts that are in dispute as to Plaintiff's allegations, the reasonableness of conduct under any specific duty, fraud, or corruption alleged by Plaintiff." Sarah Talei & Nathan Talei have not protected my best interests in my mothers trusts as California Probate Statues require. After the State Bar acknowledged its mistakes in handling complaints against Girardi that spanned four decades, the Legislature mandated the public examination of the attorney discipline system. May 20, 2022 10:47 ET He became Tom Girardis broker to L.A.s rich, powerful, Before and after photos from space show storms effect on California reservoirs, 19 cafes that make L.A. a world-class coffee destination, Before and after photos from space show epic snow blanketing SoCal mountains, Shocking, impossible gas bills push restaurants to the brink of closures, The chance of a lifetime: Five friends ski the tallest mountain in Los Angeles, Im visiting all 600 L.A. spots on the National Register. Better defined as, Foxes Guarding the Chicken Coop. You may also call the State Bar's intake hotline at 800-843-9053 (in California) or 213-765-1200 (outside California) to discuss the complaint-filing process. Information About Legal Services, Chapter 8. StopCorruptLawyers.com and its affiliates by any definition expressly disclaim any reliance upon any Writing (as defined by Cal. 9. Her law firm teamed her up with her stupid lying brother Nathan Talei in my case. The audit found that the State Bar had also prematurely closed cases that needed further investigation or potential discipline, often through a host of confidential methods, like issuing private warning letters that are not knowable to the public. In some states, you may be able to lodge your complaint over the phone or online. Then they refuse to prosecute them. Interest groups curry favor by making contributions to politicians favorite charities that sometimes employ the politicians relatives, as CalMatters writer Laurel Rosenhall has detailed. When police use deadly force on someone, they can be charged with a crime. The elder Ridley-Thomas was a county supervisor when the alleged transaction took place. When the State Bar finally examined the attorneys bank records, it found that the attorney had misappropriated nearly $41,000 from several clients, Tilden wrote. In her interview, Kim said that Tom Layton came to her when she first became Chief Trial Counsel to offer assistance from Tom Girardi in helping her to become a judge or to achieve some other professional goal. By clicking subscribe, you agree to the Terms. Visit the Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions of StopCorruptLawyers.com for more information. I wonder how long before the State Bar would revoke. Vasconcellos, who died in 2014, wasnt a target of the investigation, nor should he have been. Nothing in this communication or any communication including this press release or Writing, any other Writing, or any documents from StopCorruptLawyers.com, the owner, Plaintiff, is legal advice or accounting advice. Girardi was once a top plaintiffs attorney and Democratic powerbroker who gained reality TV fame on Real Housewives of Beverly Hills alongside his third wife, Erika. License plate readers can be an effective crime-fighting tool. The Board should instruct senior management how important it is to cultivate and maintain a public perception that the Bar represents all attorneys, and that no one law firm or segment of the bar has a special position. In January 2014, Dunn, Bar employee Thomas Layton, and former State Bar President Howard Miller of the Girardi Keese law firm traveled to Mongolia in response to a request from the Mongolian government for help in implementing a new regulatory system for lawyers, 30. In more than one-third of the cases we reviewed, the State Bar did not document its consideration of conflicts before it closed these cases., 26. Now-disgraced attorney Tom Girardi, speaking to the media in 2014, was the subject of a Times investigation that led to an audit of the State Bar. Submit Evidence Related to The State Bar of Californias Alleged Corruption and Failures to Protect the Public Here, The Complaint seeks compensatory damages, punitive damages, and extraordinary relief ordering the State Bar to conform to the law and for an order establishing a fund to reimburse members of the public who are victims of allegedly tortious conduct of The State Bar of California, public employees acting officially for The State Bar of California, or The State Bar of Californias recklessly licensed attorneys acting under control of The State Bar of California. They continue to lie to the probate court! This is a toll free number FOR ATTORNEYS ONLY that an attorney can call to see if either something they did, or plan to do, could get them a warning letter from The Club. ` 2X For the foregoing reasons, and as outlined herein, irreparable damage will be caused Plaintiff, ROES 1-150,000, and the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA unless a three-judge panel is assigned to this case. The federal indictment of Los Angeles City Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas alleges another wrinkle in the corruption game. The Complaint seeks a jury trial and relief expressly provided by statute for injury and other intentional torts underlying Plaintiffs [sufficient government claim]. (Complaint, p. 2), According to the Complaint State Bar and DOES know that [State Bars] entire licensing, regulatory, and disciplinary system is broken due to a series of negligent operational decisions that conflict with statutory duties but fails to address the issues due to un-waivable conflicts that it is concurrently bound to enforce, which is not sustainable. (Complaint, p. 31), State Bar and DOES have engaged in fraud and/or corruption, and that the public, courts, and legal profession are at an acute risk of further injuries without extraordinary relief and imposition of liabilityas a matter of public policy. Gavin Newsom displays a state bill signed by him shielding abortion providers and volunteers in California from . At 8:31AM PST on Thursday, December 29, 2022, Plaintiff did deliver an email containing advance[] notice of a forthcoming complaint under the Political Reform Act of 1974 related to materially conflicted transactions of The State Bar of California, an ongoing lack of disclosure of material claims against the government, and related party transactions with actual conflicts of financial interest in violation of state and federal law to, 20. Sarah Talei worked at the Probate Department of the Los Angeles Superior Court, where the probate attorneys and judges supervised her. public v. the state bar of california and STATE, key filings against the state bar of california enterprise, THE STATE BAR OF CALIFORNIA FACES FEDERAL RICO LAWSUIT, Justice Ketanji Brown-Jackson in dissent (. CalMatters writer Laurel Rosenhall has detailed, Los Angeles City Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas, Proudly powered by Newspack by Automattic. His case is still pending in federal court.. Matt Hamilton is a reporter for the Los Angeles Times. 212 0 obj <>stream California has been seeing a surge of political corruption cases in recent years, mostly involving veteran politicians who have a possessive attitude about their positions. illegal eviction against me back in 2017! Its not uncommon for members of the public to declare that all politicians are crooks. (First Amended Complaint generally)(California Auditor Reports) By accepting our use of cookies, your data will be aggregated with all other user data. Information About Legal Services, Chapter 8. StopCorruptLawyers.com. Assemblymember Mark Stone (D-Scotts Valley), who is chair of the Assemblys Judiciary Committee, said the audit was profoundly eye-opening., Victims of unscrupulous lawyers should not be re-victimized by a State Bar that too often has protected those lawyers from full scrutiny, Stone said in a statement. Find a lawyer referral service or free legal help. The attorney turned over bank statements but left out the month when the trust account was overdrawn. Plaintiff filed an antitrust petition in California Supreme Court, after which Office of General Counsel for THE STATE BAR OF CALIFORNIA was instructed to make a decision for itself by California Supreme Court before removing all evidence, citing, 46. " Nathan Talei gave false testimony (lied) at the eviction trial initiated by the court-appointed temporary trustee over my mother's trust Jeffery Siegel, in an illegal eviction against me back in 2017! Tom Girardi and his firm were sued more than a hundred times between the 1980s and last year, with at least half of those cases asserting misconduct in his law practice. Find out how to resolve a problem without going to court, file a complaint against a lawyer and how to get money back from an unethical attorney. However, there have been several corruption cases since, including a state senator convicted of involvement in an international gunrunning scheme. Even in extreme circumstances of willful misconduct, Plaintiff alleges the State Bar knowingly enables licensees to wield State Bar credentials as "weapon[s] of extortion". One Hundred Dollar Banknotes. Find out about the State Bars Client Security Fund and what you can do to recover lost money or property. Kline declined to specify what was behind the reliance on weak evidence, but said: There is this focus on closing cases quickly in order to keep the backlog under the control.. StopCorruptLawyers.com and its affiliates may not update any Writing after it is published. 1983 and, 40. Call the State Bar's multilingual intake hotline (800-843-9053) for help. The audit found inconsistencies in the use of nonpublic methods, and indicated the agency had relied too much on such secretive forms of discipline. Another unidentified attorney had been the subject of several complaints alleging a failure to give clients money from their settlements. The state has about 1,800 judges, and generally fewer than 50 each year receive some form of reprimand. Please Contact Us. Please refer any injury claims you may have against The State Bar of California to their official claim form. [4] A lawyer may be disciplined under Business and Professions Code section 6106 for acts involving moral turpitude, dishonesty, or corruption, whether intentional, reckless, or grossly negligent. Kenneth Jones, Nadine Ezzie, Esq. She is also a member of the Los Angeles County Bar Association, San Fernando Valley Bar Association, and the Iranian Bar Association. February 21, 2023. The public relies on The State Bar of California and its public employees to exercise reasonable care in controlling attorneys - especially those who violate the public trust. The investigation is intended to identify actions by anyone with ties to the State Bar that may constitute malfeasance in how discipline complaints against Girardi were handled., According to Michael S. Tilden, CPA Acting State Auditor for California, the State Bar should create a formal process for determining whether its staff is able to objectively assess cases and document this assessment in its case files when conflicts exist. (Complaint, p. 75), Read Official Reports from the California State Auditor to Legislature (Warning: Results Are Shocking). In California, lawyers are treated as superior to the public, and are protected unjustly, thereby harming the United States where (b) [d]iscrimination [is] so unjustifiable as to be violative of due process. The State Bar of California has important sounding titles for their fellow attorney members that discipline each other. A team of auditors pored over the State Bars internal data and identified examples of specific lawyers with disturbing track records who received little or no discipline. M any Californians grow concerned when they hear of the so-called "exodus" of middle-class residents, even though the actual number departing this state over the last five years amounts to less than one-half of 1% of the populace. His downfall in December 2020 was in part triggered by a judge finding that he had misappropriated millions from families of those killed in an Indonesian plane crash. 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