Judge freezes assets of famed L.A. lawyer Tom Girardi, citing millions unpaid to clients

A federal judge in Chicago has frozen the assets of prominent Los Angeles attorney Thomas Girardi, 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. At a contempt hearing Monday morning, U.S. District Judge Thomas M. Durkin called Girardi’s conduct “unconscionable” and said he was referring him to the U.S. attorney’s office for criminal investigation. “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,” said Durkin, calling it “ethics 101.” “You learn that in law school,” the judge said, “and someone as experienced as Mr. Girardi knows that as well as anyone.” Girardi, 81, is one of the nation’s preeminent civil lawyers, thanks to his role in the case that inspired the film “Erin Brockovich” and, more recently, appearances on “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” alongside his now-estranged third wife, a 49-year-old pop singer known as Erika Jayne. Another lawyer for the plane crash victims’ families called those assertions “a sham.” Attorney Jay Edelson, whose firm alerted the judge to the misappropriated funds, told Durkin that, as recently as last week, Girardi was offering him money in an attempt to stave off the contempt hearing. Last week, Edelson’s law firm filed a separate lawsuit against Girardi, accusing him of diverting the Lion Air settlement money to finance his “public image of obscene wealth” for him and his wife.