Tom Girardi Disbarred From Central California Federal Court

On Friday, a California federal judge disbarred embattled trial lawyer Thomas V. Girardi, according to reporting in Law360. Girardi is now forbidden from practicing law in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, which includes Los Angeles and the surrounding region.

At the same time, the State Bar of California is seeking to formally strip Girardi of his license to practice law, over claims that he stole money from former clients. Girardi’s license is already effectively suspended, following his diagnosis with Alzheimer’s in March and his subsequent placement in a conservatorship.  

Girardi’s well-known firm, Girardi Keese, collapsed at the end of last year after a Chicago federal judge found that it had taken millions from a settlement meant for widows and orphans of plane crash victims. This revelation spurred claims from many other clients that Girardi had stolen from them as well.