High Profile Lawyer Gloria Allred Under State Bar Investigation for Possible Misconduct

[SirLinksALot]

SOURCE: LAW NEWZ

URL: http://lawnewz.com/uncategorized/exclusive-gloria-allred-under-state-bar-investigation-for-possible-misconduct/

by Rachel Stockman




LawNewz.com has confirmed that the State Bar of California has opened up an investigation into possible misconduct by high profile California attorney Gloria Allred.

Allred is a renowned civil rights attorney, who is known for getting involved in controversial celebrity cases, especially those involving allegations of sexual assault and discrimination. Most recently, she announced a defamation lawsuit against President Donald Trump on behalf of Summer Zervos, a former Apprentice contestant who claims Trump groped her. She is also representing several women who have accused comedian Bill Cosby of sexual assault.  According a letter from the State Bar of California viewed by LawNewz.com, her case has been forwarded to the State Bar’s Enforcement Unit for further investigation and possible prosecution.

It is not clear specifically what the State bar is investigating, but they typically only open investigations after receiving complaints from consumers, other attorneys, or former clients. According to the State Bar’s website, not all complaints are sent to the Enforcement Unit for further investigation.

“If it appears, however, that the attorney may be a repeat offender or have committed a violation where there is a serious likelihood of discipline being imposed, an investigator and a Bar prosecutor from the Enforcement Unit take over the investigation,” the California Bar’s website states. According to records, Allred has no disciplinary history with the State Bar of California, but experts say the fact the complaint was “taken up the chain” could be significant.

“There could be many reasons why the complaint was set to the Enforcement Unit,” Zachary Wechsler, a California attorney who represents other lawyers during bar investigations told LawNewz.com. “I would be reluctant to read in that she is in serious trouble … she could be if there are charges eventually filed.” So far, no formal charges have been filed against Allred.  The range of possible discipline in bar investigations includes reproval to disbarment.

According to a report, the California State Bar received more than 15,000 bar complaints against California lawyers in 2015. Of those, formal discipline was imposed in 990 cases, and 421 lawyers were suspended or disbarred.

The State Bar can not confirm or deny the existence of an investigation, and a complaint only becomes public when disciplinary charges have been filed in State Bar Court. So far, Allred has not responded to a LawNewz.com request for a response to this story.

LawNewz.com will update this story if we receive more information.

UPDATE March 31,2017 5:28 PM. Statement from Gloria Allred:

Someone has attempted to shake me down by threatening to report me to the State Bar unless I paid him a large sum of money. I have refused to pay this individual any amount of money.  I will not be threatened or bullied by false accusations.

The State Bar is required to notify lawyers in the event of any investigation.  We have not been notified by the State Bar of any complaint or any investigation.

I have a spotless record with the State Bar in the more than 40 years that I have been an attorney.  I have no intention of allowing anyone to harm my reputation by making allegations against me which have no merit.

[SirLinksALot]

Gloria Allred is (for me ) also known as the lawyer who brought forth women in the 2012 Presidential campaign to accuse then candidate, Herman Cain , who was on top of the polls, of sexual harassment.

He eventually dropped out of the race.

Too bad, I really wanted to know more about his 9-9-9 plan.

[Applewood]

Not a big fan of flashy, publicity seeking, character assassinating lawyers like her.  I used to work for lawyers, and attorneys like Alred give lawyers a bad name. Seems to me she is always going after celebrities, possibly because she knows where the deep pockets are.  There are too many attorneys like Ms. Alred who are sue-happy.  To me, they are not practicing law -- they are running an extortion racket.

[Applewood]

Gloria Allred is (for me ) also known as the lawyer who brought forth women in the 2012 Presidential campaign to accuse then candidate, Herman Cain , who was on top of the polls, of sexual harassment.

He eventually dropped out of the race.

Too bad, I really wanted to know more about his 9-9-9 plan.

I want to know who was behind the plot to remove Cain from the running.  I doubt these broads hired Ms. Alred on their own.

[jmyrlefuller]

Gloria Allred is (for me ) also known as the lawyer who brought forth women in the 2012 Presidential campaign to accuse then candidate, Herman Cain , who was on top of the polls, of sexual harassment.

He eventually dropped out of the race.

Too bad, I really wanted to know more about his 9-9-9 plan.

If Donald Trump showed us anything this past election cycle, in regard to sex scandals, it was that they don't really matter in the long run and that Cain dropped out of the race too soon. (That is, if he really wanted the nomination, he could have still won it. There are plenty who believe he didn't expect to actually win.) He was still in contention at the time he dropped out; I mean, Mitt Romney wasn't exactly lighting the party on fire.

[Mom MD]

Not a big fan of flashy, publicity seeking, character assassinating lawyers like her.  I used to work for lawyers, and attorneys like Alred give lawyers a bad name. Seems to me she is always going after celebrities, possibly because she knows where the deep pockets are.  There are too many attorneys like Ms. Alred who are sue-happy.  To me, they are not practicing law -- they are running an extortion racket.

Couldn't happen to a better witch....

[Cripplecreek]

She's a sleazeball but that's what most attorneys are. They draw misconduct charges like rotten flesh draws flies.

[Applewood]

If Donald Trump showed us anything this past election cycle, in regard to sex scandals, it was that they don't really matter in the long run and that Cain dropped out of the race too soon. (That is, if he really wanted the nomination, he could have still won it. There are plenty who believe he didn't expect to actually win.) He was still in contention at the time he dropped out; I mean, Mitt Romney wasn't exactly lighting the party on fire.

Unfortunately, when Cain was running, the media made sex scandals matter.  Couldn't turn on the news without seeing some news reader or pundit carrying on hysterically about Cain's alleged infidelities. I still believe that wholed mess was coordinated by someone or some entity who wanted Cain out. 

Cain may or may not have made a good president.  I don't know.   But at the time he was in the race -- while Romney and the rest of the bums in the running were crying over the economy and assuring us they would have a plan to fix it, -- Cain was the only one who actually had a plan to fix it and he was telling the world all about it.  Would 9-9-9 have worked?  Again  I don't know.  But I believe Cain, in actually having a strategy, showed up his rivals and antagonized others in the Republican Party. So they had to force Cain out of the race.  And they worked with Alred , the media and others to make it happen.

[Victoria33]

I followed the cases against Cain when Allred represented those women, and then he quit due to them.  My feeling about that was he paid them off to keep from going to court.  I have followed Allred over the years and she wins most of her cases representing women and they make the news.  That is why women go to her when sexual harassment/assault, etc., is the case.  This is the first complaint against her after being a lawyer for many years.  That is an excellent record. 

[Applewood]

@Cripplecreek

No, not most.  The ones I know and worked with are honest, decent, hardworking individuals who provide a necessary service.  In a perfect world, there would be no crime, no accidents, no defective products, no medical malpractice and everyone would get along a d work out disputes on their own.  Unfortunately, we don't live in a perfect world, so for many situations, we do need attorneys. 

It's the shysters like Alred, the ambulance chasers and the crooks who give the profession a largely undeserved bad rap.

[Cripplecreek]

I followed the cases against Cain when Allred represented those women, and then he quit due to them.  My feeling about that was he paid them off to keep from going to court.  I have followed Allred over the years and she wins most of her cases representing women and they make the news.  That is why women go to her when sexual harassment/assault, etc., is the case.  This is the first complaint against her after being a lawyer for many years.  That is an excellent record.

If this is the first complaint that is a very good record. I've known far more ethical attorneys who have faced multiple ethics complaints over the years (usually the result of disgruntled clients in losing cases).

I once had an attorney (the sleazy kind) who picked me up at work, took me to court in the next county and got the case tossed out. When he dropped me off at work that afternoon he handed me a card for another attorney. He said I should go to that attorney if I needed one in the next 2 to 5 years. When I gave him a questioning look he said "I have to report to the prison for the next 2 to 5 years but should be out in under 18 months". 

He was part owner of a strip club and got caught in a drugs and prostitution sting.