The file
person

Thomas Girardi

American lawyer

Entries
8
On the record
4
Stories
1
Latest entry
Jun 3, 2025

The record

Compiled by the MrScandal desk from the documents below · Desk editor Kristaps Siliņš · Nov 9, 2026

Thomas Vincent Girardi was admitted to the State Bar of California on January 13, 1965, after Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, and practiced from Girardi Keese on Wilshire Boulevard, a firm of which he was the sole owner until it collapsed in 2020. Among his firm's results was a $333 million settlement against Pacific Gas & Electric, the case featured in the film Erin Brockovich.

His license record shows how late discipline arrived. The State Bar acknowledged receiving more than 200 complaints against him dating to the 1980s, none of which led to discipline until after his firm collapsed, the Los Angeles Times reported. He was ordered inactive in March 2021, charged in State Bar Court that month, and disbarred effective July 1, 2022. In 2022 the State Bar told the State Auditor that its board had formed a special audit committee over those failings.

After his 2024 wire fraud conviction in Los Angeles, U.S. District Judge Josephine Staton sentenced him in June 2025 to seven years in prison; prosecutors had asked for 14. He told the court that poor accounting explained the unpaid clients and that he had not profited personally. A month earlier, federal prosecutors in Chicago had dropped a separate case against him over Lion Air crash settlements.

Roles and honours on the record

  • 1965-2022 Attorney licensed by the State Bar of California, No. 36603; disbarred effective July 1, 2022 source
  • to 2020 Sole owner of the Los Angeles law firm Girardi Keese source

Every entry, newest first

Last entry Aug 31, 2022
  1. Ruled

    Civil fraud lawsuit ruling finding no evidence Erika Jayne knew of the fraud (reported by the Los Angeles Times; the exact ruling date is not stated in the sour Tom Girardi convicted of wire fraud over his clients' millions

  2. Ruled

    California Supreme Court order disbarring Thomas Girardi, with about $2.3 million in restitution Tom Girardi convicted of wire fraud over his clients' millions

Stories in this file

Dark wooden gavel with a gold band on its sound block beside black binders: CONVICTEDReality TV · 8d ago

⚖️ Tom Girardi convicted of wire fraud over his clients' millions

A federal jury convicted him on four counts in 2024. A 2022 civil ruling found no proof Erika Jayne knew about the scheme. 📌

The record, entry by entry

  1. 1965-01-13 Official Girardi was admitted to the State Bar of California under license number 36603. The bar lists Loyola Law School in Los Angeles as his law school. State Bar of California, attorney profile No. 36603
  2. 2021-03-09 Official The State Bar's record shows he was ordered inactive, leaving him not eligible to practice law in California. State Bar of California, attorney profile No. 36603
  3. 2021-03-30 Filed Disciplinary charges were filed against him in State Bar Court in case 21-O-30192. The bar's record lists the same case number for his disbarment, effective July 1, 2022. State Bar of California, attorney profile No. 36603
  4. 2022-04-14 Official Responding to State Auditor report 2022-030 on attorney discipline, the State Bar said its board had convened a special discipline case audit committee in response to "clear failings in responding to complaints" about Girardi. California State Auditor, report 2022-030, with the State Bar's response
  5. 2025-05 Reported Federal prosecutors in Chicago dropped the case they had brought against Girardi over settlement funds owed to clients whose relatives died in the 2018 Lion Air crash, the Los Angeles Times reported. Los Angeles Times report
  6. 2025-06-03 Ruled U.S. District Judge Josephine Staton sentenced Girardi to seven years in prison for stealing from clients and ordered him to report by July 17; prosecutors had sought 14 years. He told the court that poor accounting was to blame and that he had not profited personally, the Los Angeles Times reported. Los Angeles Times report on the sentencing

Documents

Sources behind this file

  1. Los Angeles Times report (via Yahoo News): federal jury convicts Girardi of four counts of wire fraud · Report, Aug 27, 2024
  2. Los Angeles Times / ABC News Studios announcement of the second Hulu documentary, with Jayne meeting Girardi's victims · Report, Jan 31, 2024
  3. Los Angeles Times report: judge finds no evidence Erika Jayne knew of the fraud in a $5 million civil suit · Report, Sep 1, 2022
  4. Bloomberg Law report on the California Supreme Court order disbarring Girardi and requiring $2.3 million in restitution · Report, Jun 2, 2022
  5. Los Angeles Times investigation: Girardi sued more than 100 times while his State Bar record stayed clean · Report, Mar 6, 2021
  6. Los Angeles Times report on more than $20 million allegedly funneled to Jayne's entertainment company · Report, Dec 17, 2020
  7. Los Angeles Times report: federal judge freezes Girardi's assets over at least $2 million owed to Lion Air families · Report, Dec 14, 2020