News Releases

Board of Trustees Announces Actions Following Special Disciplinary Audit

Following review of an audit of past complaints filed against attorney Thomas V. Girardi, the State Bar Board of Trustees is announcing measures responsive to the confidential audit’s findings. Mr. Girardi is the subject of pending disciplinary charges resulting from complaints filed in late 2020 regarding misappropriation of client funds.

In light of public interest in this matter, the Board and State Bar leadership concluded that it is important to provide some information to the public regarding the outcome of the audit and reforms that have been or will be undertaken as a result.

The audit, commissioned by Interim Chief Trial Counsel Melanie Lawrence, revealed mistakes made in some investigations over the many decades of Mr. Girardi’s career going back some 40 years and spanning the tenure of many Chief Trial Counsels. In particular, the audit identified significant issues regarding the Office of Chief Trial Counsel’s investigation and evaluation of high-dollar, high-volume trust accounts. Among immediate actions the Office of Chief Trial Counsel (OCTC) is considering in response to the audit, with input from the Board, is retention of accounting experts to examine high-volume, high-dollar client trust accounts to detect improprieties. The audit also signaled the need for automated tools to assist OCTC in identifying patterns of behavior that could signal possible misconduct.

In addition, Board leadership has asked staff to investigate new and innovative means of regulating and monitoring attorney-client trust accounts to prevent misappropriations from occurring in the first place. These enhanced measures could include requiring regular independent audits of attorney-client trust accounts and/or required use of monitored escrow accounts. The results of this study will be presented to the Board for consideration.

“Since I joined the Board in 2016, it has been committed to reexamining and changing the State Bar’s practices and procedures when necessary to protect the public,” said Sean SeLegue, Board Chair. “This is such an occasion. We must use lessons learned to strengthen the State Bar’s rules, policies, and procedures to avoid replicating problems of the past. The Board, its leadership, executive management, and the Office of Chief Trial Counsel are committed to implementing important and significant reforms to improve the State Bar’s oversight of attorney-client trust accounts and the discipline system as a whole.”

Other reform efforts and improvements the Board of Trustees and OCTC have initiated over the past several years include:

• Formation of the Ad Hoc Commission on the Discipline System, chaired by Board Vice-Chair Ruben Duran, charged with a broad examination of the discipline system, including elimination of bias.
• Profoundly reforming management of the OCTC’s disciplinary caseload, shifting the focus from working the oldest cases first to prioritizing cases with the greatest potential impact on public protection.
• Examination of proactive approaches to protect the public from misconduct and help attorneys avoid disciplinary issues, including creating a self-assessment for attorneys regarding trust accounting practices, and an online course to equip attorneys with knowledge about trust accounting.

“The breadth of experience on the Ad Hoc Commission provides a real opportunity to take a deep dive into the workings of the discipline system to improve its fairness and effectiveness for all participants,” said Mr. Duran. “Because the work of the commission has just gotten under way, the Board’s review of this special audit was a necessary step to identify what can and should be done more immediately to improve the discipline system.”

The State Bar regularly audits disciplinary files to identify issues and areas for improvement. Since 2012, the State Bar has enlisted an external independent auditor to review semiannually a random selection of closed cases and provide recommendations to improve OCTC’s handling of discipline matters. Details of the case information studied in these audits are confidential under Business and Professions Code section 6086.1. 

Going forward, the Board, its Regulation and Discipline Committee (RAD), and/or leadership of the Board and RAD will review these semiannual audits to enhance oversight of, and dialogue with, OCTC and to strive to put in place the best policies and procedures for protecting the public.

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The State Bar of California'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.