News Releases

State Bar Seizes Practice of Porter Ranch Man Who Impersonated Attorneys

In a joint effort with the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office and the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB), the State Bar recently seized the practice of Peter Shah, a Porter Ranch resident who repeatedly engaged in the unauthorized practice of law (UPL), announced George Cardona, State Bar Chief Trial Counsel, today.  

“I thank our local and federal partners for their assistance in this action,” said Cardona. “Unauthorized practice of law can do extensive damage, and this collective effort will limit future harm to the public and the legal profession. The Office of Chief Trial Counsel will continue to enforce the laws prohibiting unauthorized practice of law as part of our mission to protect the public.” 

Shah, also known as Peter Sharokhi and Pedram Sharokhi, operated more than a dozen different legal businesses, where he brazenly stole the identities of licensed attorneys and forged attorneys’ and clients’ signatures on legal documents. Shah also lied to clients about the status of their cases and, in some instances, never paid clients funds that he received in their names.

Shah has a long history of engaging in UPL. Prior to this action, he received cease and desist notices from the Office of Chief Trial Counsel (OCTC) warning that the State Bar would seek a court order authorizing the seizure of his businesses if he did not stop. His suspect practices also drew the attention of the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office’s Auto Insurance Fraud Task Force and the NICB. The District Attorney’s office executed search warrants in tandem with the State Bar’s seizure of Shah’s practice, which was authorized by an interim order from the Los Angeles County Superior Court. The NICB assisted the State Bar in identifying other attorneys that might have had interactions with Shah. The joint warrant and assumption effort took place on October 19, at Shah’s Porter Ranch home and at his Granada Hills office.  

In December 2020, Shah hired California attorney Peter Hakim to work at his JR Law Group. Hakim was unaware at the time that Shah was not an attorney. During Hakim’s interview, Shah told him that he also owned the Hakimi and Shahriari Law Group. Hakim grew suspicious of Shah when he later realized that Shah did not look like any of the partners listed on the Hakimi and Shahriari website. On December 21, 2020, Hakim resigned from the JR Law Group. 

Between December 2020 and March 2022, Hakim received notices from multiple insurance carriers that Shah was presenting himself as Hakim on claims and correspondences, without Hakim’s knowledge or consent. Hakim also learned that Shah had listed Hakim as the attorney of record for a case and forged his signature on documents, after Hakim had resigned from the JR Law Group. 

Other complaints came from Shah’s handling of two personal injury cases. One client claimed that when her case settled out of court, she received demands from her insurance company to repay $5,000 in medical reimbursements. The client asked Shah to resolve the issue, but Shah never responded. When the insurance company filed a lawsuit against the client to collect the $5,000, Shah told her that he had filed a motion to stop the lawsuit when, in fact, he never did. 

Another personal injury client claimed that he hired Shah to represent him. Shah negotiated a $25,000 settlement for his client but failed to inform the client that the settlement was approved and never disbursed the settlement funds to the client. State Bar records show that Shah forged the client’s signature on the check and deposited the funds into a bank account that did not belong to the client.

Shah also did business as Plaintiff Advocate Law Group, J&R Law Group, JR Law Group, Top Notch Law Group, Trillium Law Group, and Valley Accidents, among others. The State Bar seized approximately 13 boxes of files at both San Fernando Valley locations. Clients or former clients of Peter Shah seeking the return of their files may contact the State Bar’s dedicated bilingual phone number at 213-765-1746. 

The State Bar has a unit dedicated to investigating and addressing the unauthorized practice of law. People who have been targeted by someone who is not licensed to practice law can file an unauthorized practice of law complaint with the State Bar. There is no cost, and U.S. citizenship is not required; the State Bar will not ask complainants about their citizenship or immigration status. The online complaint form is available in English, Spanish, Russian, Chinese, Korean, and Vietnamese. 

 

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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.