Famous Lawyer's Assets Frozen by Federal Court: The settlements at issue stem from the crash of Lion Air Flight 610.... The plane was a 737 Max, the jet that Boeing subsequently grounded because of problems with its anti-stall software.

• Date: 08 March 2021
• Author: Zalma, Barry

Thomas Girardi, a prominent Los Angeles attorney faced a federal judge in Chicago who froze the assets of his firm after finding that he misappropriated at least $2 million in client funds that were due to the families of those killed in the crash of a Boeing jet in Indonesia.

Girardi is one of the nation's leading civil lawyers, and gained notoriety in 1993 for his role in a lawsuit against the Pacific Gas and Electric Company of California that went on to inspire the 2000 movie Erin Brockovich.

At a contempt hearing U.S. District Judge Thomas M. Durkin called Girardis conduct "unconscionable" and said he was referring him to the U.S. attorney's office for criminal investigation. Judge Durkin said to Girardi: "No matter what your personal financial situation is, no matter what kind of pressures you are under, if you touch client money, you are going to be disbarred and quite possibly charged criminally." The judge called the need to hold clients money inviolable "ethics 101."

Girardi, 81, is one of the nation's preeminent civil lawyers and gained fame for his recent appearances on "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" alongside his now-estranged third wife, a 49-yearold pop singer known as Erika Jayne.

During the hearing, two attorneys representing Girardi said he did not currently possess the $2 million owed his clients. Los Angeles attorney Evan Jenness told the judge her client's firm, Girardi Keese, had about $15,000 in its operating accounts and that: "They were unable to make payroll more recently." The lawyer also cited "obligations and debts," as well as an anticipated family court battle with Jayne over their assets. She filed for divorce last month after more than 20 years of marriage.

Girardi attended the court hearing by phone but did not speak beyond acknowledging his presence. His lawyers, who were hired in recent days, said Girardi had not been able to assist them in preparing a defense for the hearing. They said they had concerns about his mental competency. Meanwhile, Keith Griffin, an attorney at Girardis firm, told the court he "could not elaborate on why such an amount was still owed to certain clients or what the status of the remaining settlement proceeds was. because Girardi is the sole equity owner of [his firm Girardi Kesse] with sole and exclusive control over the firm's bank accounts, including its client trust accounts."

Griffin then claimed that Tom was"unavailable in recent weeks due to a serious illness that...