Thomas Girardi

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Thomas Girardi
EducationLoyola Marymount University (BA, JD)
New York University School of Law (LLM)
OccupationLawyer
Spouse(s)Karen Weitzul (m. 1964-?)
Kathy Risner (m. 1993-?)
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(m. 2000;  2021)​

Thomas "Tom" Girardi is a former attorney and co-founder of Girardi & Keese,[1] a downtown Los Angeles law firm.

Career[]

Girardi graduated from Loyola High School (Los Angeles) in 1957.[2] 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 notable case against Pacific Gas & Electric, the utility company agreed to pay $460 million to 650 residents of the desert community of Hinkley, California.[3] The residents blamed incidents of cancer and other diseases on contaminated water leaked from a gas pumping station.[1] This case was the inspiration for the film Erin Brockovich (2000) starring Julia Roberts. “That particular case revolutionized people’s thinking about all the toxic things they are exposed to,” he told Attorney at Law magazine.[4] Girardi also served as an adviser on the film. In 2003, he received the honor of being inducted into the Trial Lawyer Hall of Fame by the California State Bar.[1] According to his website, he is a Member of the Board of Directors and former President of the prestigious International Academy of Trial Lawyers, an invitation-only worldwide organization, limited to 500 trial lawyers.[1] Girardi is also the first trial lawyer to be appointed to the California Judicial Council, the policymaking body of the state courts.[1]

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 in regard to judicial appointments.[5]

Legal issues and license revocation[]

In 2010, Girardi was among a group of lawyers who attempted to enforce in U.S. courts a $489 million default judgment entered by a court in Nicaragua, allegedly against Dole Food and Shell Chemicals based on the effects of the pesticide DBCP upon exposed workers. The U.S. courts found that Girardi and others had submitted a translation of the pertinent Nicaraguan documents that was flawed in crucial respects. Girardi and others were formally reprimanded and their law firm was fined for violation of their duty of candor to the courts.[6]

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"[7] by the Boeing 737 MAX Lion Air Flight 610 crash in Indonesia.[8][9]

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.[10]

In March 2021 the Los Angeles Times reported that Girardi had been sued more than 100 times, and multiple complaints had been filed against him with the California State Bar, yet his Bar license had remained pristine due to alleged 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][11]

On March 9, 2021 the State Bar of California revoked Girardi's license to practice law. [12]

Personal life[]

In August 1964, Girardi married his first wife Karen Weitzul. They later split in 1983. Girardi then married Kathy Risner in September 1993, and they split in the late 1990s.[13]

In January 2000, Girardi married his third wife, singer and actress Erika Jayne, who later became known as a star of the reality-television series The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.[14][15] He has appeared in several episodes of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills alongside his wife.[5][16] In November 2020, Erika Girardi announced the couple had separated and that she had filed for divorce.[11][17] 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.[18]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h Girardi & Keese member bio
  2. ^ Alum gives Loyola HS $1 million | The-Tidings.com Archived 2008-10-12 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ lawbuzz.com
  4. ^ "Attorney of the Month Tom Girardi | Attorney at Law Magazine Downtown L.A. - Attorney at Law Magazine Downtown L.A." www.attorneyatlawmagazine.com. Retrieved 2018-09-05.
  5. ^ Jump up to: 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. ^ Martin, Shaun (July 13, 2010). "In Re Girardi (9th Cir. - July 13, 2010)". California Appellate Report. Retrieved September 12, 2011.
  7. ^ "Judge freezes assets of famed L.A. lawyer Tom Girardi, citing millions unpaid to clients", by Matt Hamilton and Harriet Ryan, Los Angeles Times, December 14, 2020. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
  8. ^ "‘Real Housewives’ star Erika Jayne accused in scheme to embezzle from Lion Air settlements", by Jon Seidel, Chicago Sun-Times, December 2, 2020. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
  9. ^ Tom Girardi sued by Indonesia's Lion air crash families over claims US lawyer embezzled millions of their settlement funds ABC News, 5 June 2021. Retrieved 5 June 2021.
  10. ^ "At 1st Bankruptcy Hearing, Embattled Attorney Tom Girardi Is a No-Show", by Amanda Bronstad, The Recorder, January 5, 2021.
  11. ^ Jump up to: 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.
  12. ^ https://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/news/erika-jaynes-ex-tom-girardi-loses-law-license-amid-legal-battle/
  13. ^ "Tom Girardi: 5 Things to Know about Erika Jayne's Estranged Husband". Retrieved January 15, 2021. Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)
  14. ^ 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.
  15. ^ Chen, Joyce (August 8, 2015). "Erika Jayne Joins Cast of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills for Season 6". Us Weekly.
  16. ^ "RHOBH: A Look Into Erika Jayne's 'Unconventional' Marriage With Thomas Girardi". ScreenRant. 2020-11-13. Retrieved 2021-05-03.
  17. ^ 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.
  18. ^ 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[]

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