Tom Girardi
Born
Thomas Vincent Girardi

(1939-06-03) June 3, 1939 (age 84)
Denver, Colorado
EducationLoyola Marymount University (BA, JD)
New York University School of Law (LLM)
OccupationFormer lawyer
Spouses
Karen Weitzul
​
​
(m. 1964; div. 1983)​
Kathy Risner
​
​
(m. 1993; div. 1998)​
​
​
(m. 2000; sep. 2020)​

Thomas Girardi (born June 3, 1939) is a former attorney and co-founder of the now-defunct Girardi & Keese,[1] a downtown Los Angeles law firm. He was disbarred in 2022 after accusations of defrauding clients.[2]

Career

Girardi graduated from Loyola High School (Los Angeles) in 1957.[3] He received his undergraduate degree from Loyola Marymount University in 1961, his J.D. degree from Loyola Law School in 1964, and an LL.M. from New York University in 1965.[1] In 1970, Girardi became the first attorney in the state of California to win a $1 million-plus award for a medical malpractice case.[1] Girardi has handled major cases against the former Lockheed Corp (now the Lockheed Martin Corp.), Pacific Gas & Electric Co, Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, and Hollywood's seven major movie studios.[1]

In a case against Pacific Gas & Electric, the utility company agreed to pay $460 million to 650 residents of the desert community of Hinkley, California.[4] The residents blamed incidents of cancer and other diseases on contaminated water leaked from a gas pumping station.[1]

In 2003, Girardi was inducted into the Trial Lawyer Hall of Fame by the California State Bar.[citation needed] According to his website, he is a Member of the Board of Directors and former President of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers.[citation needed] He was also the first trial lawyer to be appointed to the California Judicial Council, the policymaking body of the state courts.[citation needed]

Girardi was known for his work in Democratic party politics, donating millions of dollars to campaigns, playing a role in fundraising events, and giving advice to governors regarding judicial appointments.[5]

Legal issues and disbarment

In December 2020, a federal judge in Chicago froze Girardi's assets, citing that he had "misappropriated at least $2 million in client funds that were due to the families of those killed"[6] by the Boeing 737 MAX Lion Air Flight 610 crash in Indonesia.[7][8]

No one from the Girardi Keese law firm, including Girardi, appeared at the first bankruptcy hearing, in January 2021, for two Chapter 7 involuntary bankruptcy petitions filed in December 2020.[9]

In March 2021 the Los Angeles Times reported that Girardi had been sued more than 100 times. Multiple complaints had been filed against him with the California State Bar. Nevertheless, his Bar license had remained pristine, it was alleged, due to improper relationships between Girardi and Bar officials.[5] Many of the Bar complaints involved alleged financial malfeasance, including allegations of theft by two dozen women who won $17 million in a lawsuit claiming that hormone replacement therapy caused their cancer along with the alleged misappropriation of millions of dollars in a burn victim lawsuit.[5][10]

On March 9, 2021, the State Bar of California changed Girardi's status to "not eligible to practice law in [California]".[11] On June 1, 2022, a court ordered Girardi disbarred and to pay $2,300,000 in restitution, [12] and the State Bar of California changed Girardi's status to "Disbarred".[13]

A February 2023 internal investigation conducted on the State Bar of California by an outside firm found that its employees had accepted gifts, travel, meals, and other items of value from Girardi & Keese,[14] influencing the State Bar to block complaints against the law firm. The Bar disclosed that, across four decades, during which it had received 205 complaints against Girardi, the Bar took no action against the attorney and dismissed all cases.[15][16]

Personal life

In August 1964, Girardi married his first wife Karen Weitzul. She filed for divorce in October 1983. Girardi married Kathy Risner in September 1993; she filed for divorce in January 1998.[17] Kathy died in May 2018.[18]

In January 2000, 60-year-old Girardi married his third wife, 28-year-old singer and actress Erika Jayne, who later became known as a star of the reality-television series The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.[19][20] He has appeared in several episodes of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills alongside his wife.[5][21] In November 2020, Erika Girardi announced the couple had separated and that she had filed for divorce.[10][22]

In February 2021, Girardi was placed in a conservatorship due to short-term memory loss,[5] and in March 2021 he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.[23]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Girardi & Keese member bio
  2. ^ "Tom Girardi, disgraced L.A. lawyer and 'Real Housewives' spouse, indicted on fraud charges". Los Angeles Times. 2023-02-01. Retrieved 2023-02-02.
  3. ^ Alum gives Loyola HS $1 million | The-Tidings.com Archived 2008-10-12 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ lawbuzz.com
  5. ^ a b c d e Ryan, Harriet; Hamilton, Matt (March 6, 2021). "Vegas parties, celebrities and boozy lunches: How legal titan Tom Girardi seduced the State Bar". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 7, 2021.
  6. ^ Hamilton, Matt; Ryan, Harriet (2020-12-14). "Judge freezes assets of famed L.A. lawyer Tom Girardi, citing millions unpaid to clients". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2023-06-30.
  7. ^ Seidel, Jon (2020-12-02). "'Real Housewives' star Erika Jayne accused in scheme to embezzle from Lion Air settlements". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 2023-06-30.
  8. ^ Barker, Anne (2021-06-04). "Having sued for compensation after a plane crash, these families noticed money was missing. Then they saw their lawyer on The Real Housewives". ABC News. Retrieved 2023-06-30.
  9. ^ Bronstad, Amanda (January 5, 2021). "At 1st Bankruptcy Hearing, Embattled Attorney Tom Girardi Is a No-Show". The Recorder. Retrieved 2023-06-30.
  10. ^ a b Hamilton, Matt; Ryan, Harriet (December 17, 2020). "The legal titan and the 'Real Housewife': The rise and fall of Tom Girardi and Erika Jayne". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 7, 2021.
  11. ^ "Thomas Vincent Girardi # 36603 - Attorney Licensee Search".
  12. ^ Cutler, Joyce E. (June 2, 2022). "Tom Girardi Disbarred, Court Orders $2.3 Million Restitution (1)". Bloomberg Law. Retrieved 2023-06-30.
  13. ^ "Thomas Vincent Girardi # 36603 - Attorney Licensee Search".
  14. ^ Cutler, Joyce E. (2023-03-13). "Girardi Probe Shows Internally Corrupt California State Bar". Bloomberg Law News. Retrieved 2024-02-08.
  15. ^ Ryan, Harriet; Hamilton, Matt (2022-11-03). "Tom Girardi faced more than 150 complaints before State Bar took action, records show". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2024-02-02.
  16. ^ Weiss, Debra Cassens (2023-03-13). "State bar finds 'shocking past culture of unethical and unacceptable behavior' in its handling of Girardi complaints". ABA Journal. Retrieved 2024-02-02.
  17. ^ "Tom Girardi: 5 Things to Know about Erika Jayne's Estranged Husband". Retrieved January 15, 2021. ((cite magazine)): Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)
  18. ^ "Kathy Risner Obituary". Retrieved March 3, 2022.
  19. ^ Vacco-Bolanos, Jessica (February 13, 2019). "RHOBH's Erika Jayne Is Unfazed by Husband Tom Girardi's $15 Million Lawsuit: 'It's Part of the Job'". Us Weekly. Retrieved November 4, 2020.
  20. ^ Chen, Joyce (August 8, 2015). "Erika Jayne Joins Cast of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills for Season 6". Us Weekly.
  21. ^ "RHOBH: A Look Into Erika Jayne's 'Unconventional' Marriage With Thomas Girardi". ScreenRant. 2020-11-13. Retrieved 2021-05-03.
  22. ^ Sobol, Beth; Williams, Amanda (November 3, 2020). "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills' Erika Jayne and Tom Girardi Break Up After 21 Years Together". United States: E! News. Archived from the original on November 3, 2020. Retrieved November 3, 2020.
  23. ^ Hamilton, Matt; Ryan, Harriet (March 10, 2021). "Tom Girardi has Alzheimer's disease, psychiatrist tells L.A. court". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 11, 2021.

External links

Erika Jayne
Categories