Photo:Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times/Getty
Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times/Getty
Thomas Girardionce portrayed a picture of power, wealth and fame.
The former attorney, who ran the Los Angeles law firm Girardi Keese for 55 years, was known for taking on “David v. Goliath” cases, suing large corporations — including Pacific Gas and Electric, Lockheed Martin and Boeing, among others — and extracting huge settlements for his clients.
“Tom did not grow up with a silver spoon in his mouth,” Erika told PEOPLE in 2018. “We both came up the hard way. And we appreciate growth.”
Since that shocking turn of events, Girardi has been disbarred and charged with federal crimes related to his mistreatment of client funds. In March 2021, he was diagnosed withdementia and late-onset Alzheimer’s diseaseand was latermoved into an assisted living home. He has been residing in amemory care facilitysince October 2022 due to declining cognitive functions.
So how did Tom Girardi get here? Here’s a closer look at the former attorney’s fall from grace, from his career beginnings to the current charges against him.
Girardi founded his now-defunct law firm Girardi Keese in 1965
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“Initially I relied on friends who were a couple of years ahead of me who would send me cases,” Girardi toldAttorney at Law Magazinein 2015. “Every once in a while, criminal defense attorney Bob Courtney would get a dog bite or slip-and-fall case and would send those to me. … This is how I built my early practice.”
Girardi quickly made a name for himself, particularly in medical malpractice cases. By 1970, he had secured a malpractice verdict of $1.4 million — the largest of its kind in California at that time,L.A. Magazinereported.
Girardi won millions in settlements for his clients
“Lots of times, insurance companies would settle with him on reputation alone,” attorney Philip Sheldon toldL.A. Magazine.
Girardi’s case against Pacific Gas and Electric inspired the 2000 filmErin Brockovich
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The PG&E case inspired the 2000 movieErin Brockovich, which starredJulia Robertsas Brockovich, the paralegal and environmental activist who helped originate the lawsuit. Besideswinning Roberts an Academy Awardin 2001, the film also greatly boosted Girardi’s profile.
“All of a sudden, I was part of a very public win that a lot of people understood,” Girardi said in 2020, according to theL.A. Times. “The case did me an awful lot of good, to put me into a category that, ‘Hey, you know this guy can handle these big cases.’ ”
He marriedRHOBHstar Erika Girardi in January 2000
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Girardi met Erika in the late 1990s at Chasen’s — a Beverly Hills restaurant where Girardi was a regular, and Erika was a waitress. At the time, she was in her late 20s, newly divorced with a young son; Girardi was 32 years older.
“Marriage was the furthest thingfrom my mind,” Erika later told PEOPLE about meeting Girardi. But the pair developed a fast friendship, and just months after their first date, she had moved in with the attorney.
The two married in January 2000 at the Los Angeles Country Club, theL.A. Timesreported. It was Erika’s second marriage and Girardi’s third — and despite Girardi’s success as an attorney and his previous acrimonious divorces, he did not sign a prenuptial agreement.
But according to Erika,their love was genuine. “It really was two people coming together who really enjoy each other’s company,” she added.
Erika filed for divorce in November 2020 — and the former couple were sued for embezzlement a month later
Steve Eichner/AP
Girardi’s personal and professional life began to crumble near the end of 2020 when Erikafiled for divorce.
She continued: “It is my absolute wish to proceed through this process with respect and with the privacy that both Tom and I deserved. I request others give us that privacy as well.”
One month after Erika filed for divorce, the former couple weresued for allegedly embezzling moneymeant for Girardi’s clients. The lawsuit, brought on behalf of several families who lost loved ones in the Lion Air Flight 610 crash, claimed that Girardi and Erikaembezzled at least $2 millionin settlement funds meant for families of those killed in the crash — a case Girardi settled against Boeing in 2019.
The suit also alleged that Girardi and his law firm were on the “verge of financial collapse” and that Girardi’s divorce was “simply a sham” to protect their money from those looking to collect debts.
Girardi was placed under a conservatorship after being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s
Girardi’s younger brother Robert Girardibecame the official conservatorof Girardi’s person and estate in July 2021.
Four months earlier, Girardi was diagnosed withdementia and late-onset Alzheimer’sdisease after undergoing a mental assessment as part of Robert’s petition to become his brother’s conservator.
During a June 2021 hearing, Girardispoke out against the conservatorship.
“Obviously, I disagree with the conservatorship altogether,” the attorney told the court, according toLaw360.
But despite those statements, the judge later found that Girardi “consents and does not object” to the conservatorship, which left Robert responsible for his brother’s care and estate.
“It’s obviously a heartbreaking situation for Robert, but we agree with the court’s rulings,” Robert’s lawyer, Nicholas Van Brunt, said in a statement to PEOPLE at the time.
Girardi was disbarred in August 2021 amid numerous claims of stealing clients’ funds
Damian Dovarganes/AP
In 2013, Girardi settled the multimillion-dollar lawsuit for the Ruigomez family and Ruigomez claimed he suggested they place the funds in one of his investments and dispense the money monthly, according to the documentary. By 2017, Ruigomez claimed the payments had “disappeared completely,” and the family sued Girardi for the rest of the money. In a deposition with Ruigomez’s new lawyer in September 2020, Girardi admitted he was broke.
“At one point, I had about 80 million or 50 million in cash,” Girardi said in the deposition. “That’s all gone. I also had a stock portfolio of about 50 million, and that’s all gone.”
In another instance, Girardi won a $17 million settlement for 138 women who claimed they developed cancer after taking hormone replacement therapy. In 2014, 28 of those women or their families sued Girardi and his law firm, claiming they had not disclosed the terms of the settlement and misappropriated more than $10 million of their settlement funds, theL.A. Timesreported. Girardi borrowed $17 million from two different lenders before settling with the plaintiffs.
“Taking your client’s funds is the professional equivalent of touching an electrified rail,” Shanin Specter, a Philadelphia trial attorney who once served as co-counsel with Girardi, toldTheNew York Times. “It’s professional suicide.”
Girardi’s former law firm owes over $500 million to creditors
As of March 2022, the Girardi Keese firmowed its creditorsmore than half a billion dollars.
Girardi Keese beganauctioning off itemsin August 2021 to help pay off their creditors. The items included a Cadillac, vintage books, a piano, wine, art, Oriental rugs, sports and music memorabilia and furniture. A poster of Julia Roberts fromErin Brockovichwas also slated to be auctioned off.
Erika was also named in the bankruptcy petitions. In June 2021, creditors accused theReal Housewivesstar ofrefusing to turn over bank recordsand other financial documents to the bankruptcy trustees. The court ruled in favor of the creditors, and Erika was required to submit any “key documents,” including pay stubs, bank statements and any emails and text messages pertaining to her finances.
Girardi was investigated for over 200 disciplinary matters before being disbarred
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Though Girardi was once considered one of the top trial lawyers in the country, the State Bar of California revealed in November 2022 that the former attorney was investigated formore than 200 disciplinary mattersover the past 40 years.
According to an open letter from the agency, those “disciplinary matters” included allegations of client trust account violations, misrepresentations to courts and clients, failure to communicate with clients and failure to perform, among other claims.
“Over the past 40 years, the State Bar opened 205 disciplinary matters about Girardi,” the letter read. “Of the 205 matters, approximately 120 involved allegations relating to client trust account violations."
“Of these 205 disciplinary matters, the State Bar received 69 complaints on or after December 18, 2020, when a petition was filed to force Girardi’s law firm into bankruptcy. Nearly 60 of those recent complaints alleged client trust account violations,” the letter continued.
The letter also highlighted “serious failures” in the State Bar’s attorney disciplinary system, acknowledging the organization’s role in Girardi’s wrongdoings.
“Girardi caused irreparable harm to hundreds of his clients, and the State Bar could have done more to protect the public,” the letter read.
AnL.A. Timesinvestigation showed that Girardi had close relationships and connections with several bar officials — which allegedly allowed him to stay in the State Bar’s good graces, despite the numerous complaints against him. According to sworn testimonies, Girardi provided bar officials and their families with expensive meals, private jet rides, free legal work and even jobs at Girardi Keese.
Girardi was indicted on federal fraud charges in February 2023
The disgraced former lawyer wasindicted on fraud chargesfor allegedly stealing from the families of the Lion Air Flight 610 crash victims.
Girardi, Lira and Kamon were accused ofstealing more than $3 millionof the settlement funds meant for the victims’ families and using it for “improper purposes, including paying the firm’s payroll and operating expenses, and funding settlements to other Girardi Keese clients,” according to a press release fromthe U.S. Attorney’s Officein the Northern District of Illinois.
Despite Girardi’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis, a neuropsychologist found Girardi competent to stand trial in June 2023, according totheL.A. Times. A hearing was scheduled for Aug. 23, 2023, to further determine the former lawyer’s competency.
source: people.com
