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Disbarred lawyer married to ‘Real Housewives’ star found competent to stand trial for alleged $15M embezzlement

By Debra Cassens Weiss

January 4, 2024, 2:24 pm CST

Disbarred plaintiffs lawyer Tom Girardi has been found competent to stand trial in Los Angeles for allegedly stealing $15 million from clients.

U.S. District Judge Josephine Staton of the Central District of California noted the competency finding in a docket entry, report Law.com, Law360 and Reuters. His lawyers have said he suffers from dementia.

Girardi, 84, is the estranged husband of Erika Girardi, who appeared on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills reality TV show. He was also an adviser to the movie Erin Brockovich and part of the successful legal team portrayed in the film that sued over contaminated groundwater. He currently lives in an assisted living facility.

Girardi is accused of stealing more than $15 million in Los Angeles. In Chicago, he is accused of misappropriating more than $3 million in settlement funds for five relatives of victims killed in the October 2018 crash of Indonesia’s Lion Air Flight 610.

Staton’s competency order is under seal. She has asked the parties to identify which parts of her order should remain sealed.

Girardi and his former law firm, Girardi Keese, have been forced into bankruptcy, according to Law360.

“Since Girardi Keese went bankrupt,” the article reports, “the trustee has filed over 100 complaints against casinos, former Girardi Keese employees and other law firms and companies, seeking a total of more than $140 million.”

See also:

“Ex-lawyer Tom Girardi lashes out at prosecutor in competency hearing; brain shrinkage reported”

“State bar finds ‘shocking past culture of unethical and unacceptable behavior’ in its handling of Girardi complaints”

“More than 1,700 California lawyers suspended for failure to comply with new trust account rules”