The State Bar of California

I filed a complaint against Judge Lucy Armendariz and the Office of Chief Trial Counsel, related to withholding of exculpable evidence. In retaliation, I received two voice messages from Mark Torres-​Gil, Deputy Chief Trial Counsel. The first message stated, «CRAIG THE NIGGER MARTIN» the second message stated, «FUCK YOU NIGGER.» The messages were send using ILD CORP’s back office communication system to avoid having a «public record» of the call.
The State Bar knew as early as 2006 that Michael Keck was using his unsegregated trust account as a «PONZI» scheme in his probate practice. Keck would pay the funds owed the the beneficiaries from clients with the funds he received from new clients. he clients tended to be unsophisticated with limited english proficiency and an understanding of probate laws.
It wasn’t until 2015, when a recently released attorney from prison filed a complaint that Michael Keck had misappropriated funds. The State Bar had to disclosed that Michael Keck had used the funds to pay his dues at the Olympic Club in San Francisco, had paid his child’s tuition at a catholic school and his gym membership. The State Bar allow this to go on for more than 10 years because, they did not want the public to know that the interest on probate funds belonged to the client and not the State Bar. QUERY: How much interest does the State Bar earned from unsuspecting clients?
The State Bar circles the wagons to protect the bigots and racists on their staff. One would think that Mark Torres-​Gil would be shouting from the mountain top that he did not place the voice messages. Silence speaks volumes. Not claim that the race card was being use to smear his reputation. Why is that.

Can’t afford to pay the Bars outrageous fees while I am unemployed, have little income, yet they continue to bill me hundreds of dollars under threat of being placed on «ineligible» status. Love how these fees supposedly go to help the poor, yet no relief for unemployed lawyers. Thanks for nothing Cal Bar!

I am the plaintiff in a legal matter and the defendant’s attorney is a man that also did some legal business (attorney/​client privilege) for my family. When I complained to the judge that this attorney should be recused, the judge ruled in favor of the man remaining as attorney for the defendant. I officially complained to the bar about this particular attorney and had evidence that had not been presented to the judge when he ruled. The Bar representative, reviewing the case, supported the judges ruling, even though, I had provided additional information. I appealed and the bar representative again denied my complaint. This defendant’s attorney also approached me and asked me a few questions which concerned the case in the courtyard outside the courthouse building. I provided 3 statements of proof. The bar did not even respond to that complaint. Then I filed a third complaint because this same attorney was violating corporation code rules and again, the bar did not even acknowledge that complaint. So, it is my opinion that the bar is just a figurehead and they just look out for their fraternity brothers. You will not get a fair shake. This is my first time in the legal system and I have been exposed now to several attorneys, and you cannot win no matter. It is a sad system. In my opinion the State Bar of California is useless.

The State Bar of California helps many people with attorney problems and disciplines attorneys. Many complaints submitted lack proof, or apply a standard of the client which is not the standard by law. If you look at the statistics of the number of complainst received, and the discipline from warnings to disbarments, the numbers prove that the Bar takes a lot of action. Many complaints, such as not returning a file, are also resolved by a phone call to the attorney by the Bar for resolution. Compare the stats on action of the Bar to other regulatory agencies and their numbers are favorable by comparison. But individuals who didn’t get what they wanted will not consider these factors because it didn’t work out for them. Statistically it is worth contacting the Bar for help.

Worthless organization that looks after its members. I filed a complaint about my attorney, because he lied to me about when he received some important documents. My attorney claimed that he received my ex-wife’s employment record, just couple of days before the trial, then proceeded to share those documents with the opposing attorney just 30 minutes before the trial. He then proceeded present it as «new discovery.» He based the entire case based his hasty analysis of the employment records and came off looking dumb and clueless.
Later, when I got my files, I was shocked to see the postmark indicating that this guy had the documents for five months. Yet, this guy was acting like some hot new evidence popped up just before the trial.
I provided all this evidence, including the court transcripts where my lawyer claims «new discovery» over and over. The State Bar concluded that my contention can’t be substantiated, because I don’t have a written record where he states his lie. WTF… Aaron Hernandez got convicted of murder without the gun ever being found, yet these guys not only require that I provide the gun, but it be hot and smoking. If that is the standard, why do we need lawyers to review complaints? Any high school student can apply that no-​brainer standard.
The problem is that there is an inherent conflict of interest. The Bar Association is funded by the fees paid by its members. It cannot be trusted to discipline its member.
What a joke.

Corrupt organization that looks the other way at the unethical behavior of its members. Fails to investigate complaints in their entirety, just pushing papers through a bogus investigation process. Attorneys know this, and are able to get away with every variety of fraud, theft, dishonesty and acts of moral terpitude. What our attorney did should have landed him in jail, but the state bar is not even going to give him a slap on the wrist. Disgusting. The State Bar, like most other self-​governing organizations needs to be torn down and rebuilt.

The State Bar is not good at enforcing state law against unethical attorneys. In particular, they are worthless in holding family law attorneys accountable for misconduct, including criminal conduct. Some examples:
Misconduct by Sacramento family law attorney Charlotte Keeley has been documented by court records and other evidence:
Sacramento Superior Court records and other evidence indicate that attorney Paula Salinger committed obstruction of justice crimes against a disabled, domestic violence victim in a family court case. For details:
Salinger also committed fraud on the court, more than once, yet has never been held accountable. For details:
Court records also indicate that attorney Richard Sokol committed fraud on the court:
Attorney Tim Zeff also committed fraud on the court according to court records:
Family law lawyer Elaine Van Beveren has been caught violating ethics rules:
The 2014 documentary film Divorce Corp has documented serial misconduct by divorce attorneys in California, yet virtually none of the attorneys connected to the court cases profiled in the movie have ever been disciplined by the State Bar Office of Chief Trial Counsel. Visit the Divorce Corp website for more information:
The Divorce Corp YouTube Channel is here:
For more YouTube videos about California divorce lawyer misconduct:
Videos at Vimeo:
At a minimum, the documented misconduct of these attorneys constitutes multiple violations of the State Bar Rules of Professional Conduct and the State Bar Act, codified in the Business and Professions Code. Yet each of these lawyers have clean State Bar records, due to the absence of oversight by the State Bar Office of Chief Trial Counsel, and Chief Trial Counsel Jayne Kim.
The problem seems to be some kind of tacit immunity provided to family law attorneys. Lawyers who practice in other areas of law, such as immigration or personal injury law, have been disbarred for far less serious misconduct than that engaged in by these divorce attorneys.

I interviewed at the State Bar for an administrative position with Michelle Cramton. It was back handed comment after another with her. She needs to come down from her Ivory Tower as she seemed incompetent to even conduct an interview. She was sarcastic, condescending and antagonistic during the whole process. Towards the end of the interview, she made a comment basically telling me I wasn’t getting the job? Really? Her loss. I found a great role since then and she is still stuck in a rut! If you are scheduled to interview with her, run the other way!!!

As noted by everyone else, The State Bar of California protects corruption rather than expose it. I wrote a detailed complaint letter regarding my perniciously incompetent attorney. I provided overwhelming written documentation and carefully correlated it to state statutes. The California Bar ignored everything. I was treated sub-​human by a dismissive and unprofessional evaluator who failed to consider the evidence or provide a thoughtful evaluation. Everything was rubber stamped to protect the Bar’s members rather than serve the public. This organization is a shameful disgrace to the judicial system.

Justice has been served! I don’t normally post any reviews but feel compelled to do so. I was a victim of an attorney, i lost my house, and my wife b/​c of the stress of the situation we had found ourselves in. The people on the phone told me to submit my info and were actually helpful. It took a while, but the a-​hole who ruined my life has finally lost his license and i heard i will be receiving a reimbursement for the money that was paid to him. Many people have the misconception that attorneys can get away with everything, but these dudes are held accountable for their actions.
I’m really surprised about the negative feedback, i guess you can’t please everyone.

Pretty useless as everyone has stated. These people get paid to look the other way for corrupt attorneys. It’s been well known for a while the corruption inside the State Bar of California, but yeah they are not even subtle about it.
Essentially, whatever evidence you provide they will ignore it. Their bad reputation is well deserved. One of those government institutions that gets paid to rip the tax payer off.
I wrote to them about James Kosnett a lawyer who absolutely did nothing on my case. I asked them to provide proof he did anything on my file. They could not provide evidence and simply ignored anymore inquiries on the matter. This is your tax money paying an institution that looks the other way.

Absolutely useless institution, unless you are an attorney, of course! I have yet to hear of them actually finding fault with an attorney that a client has complained about.
I had the misfortune of my complaint being «analyzed» by one Rosemary Almaguer — an incompetent, arrogant and rude person who not only talked down to me on the phone and insulted me, but eventually found no «willful misconduct» on behalf of the attorney I was complaining about despite the ample documentation I submitted. The Bar’s written response avoided addressing the most obvious misconduct — as if I had never mentioned it or provided supporting evidence.
Complaint Analyst Rosemary Almaguer actually hung up on me and failed to respond to my fax request to have her supervisor contact me. My phone request left with another Bar employee also remains unanswered and I have not had the opportunity to voice my concern about Almaguer’s incompetence and unprofessional behavior.
I thought everybody had a supervisor, but I guess I was wrong.
If you are considering filing a Bar complaint, save yourself some time and stress. Even though when I first called them, their intake person urged me to file, it turns out the analysts can do whatever they want to protect dishonest lawyers with long-​standing careers.

Formally, The Office of the Chief Trial Counsel/​Intake, State Bar Of California.
I mailed in written complaint about attorney John Wilmar Jensen– Modesto CA.
I sent copies of letters from the attorney to me, copies of letters i had mailed to the attorney, copies of letters the attorney had mailed to other individuals involved with my deceased father’s estate (Louie Clemmens Larsen Sr.), a copy of the trust and the will. I wrote out a lengthy complaint listing everything that had happened in my attempts to be treated properly according to CA state trust and probate law. I sent via Federal Express, what amounted to a half a pound of documented material.
Even though I did provide documented proof of this attorney’s inappropriate and dubious behavior as a professional,
the Complaint Unit determined this attorney to not have committed any «willful misconduct».
Excuse me! The letter I received in response to my complaint carefully avoided any documented response to
the misrepresentation and lies this attorney did do and that I had provided documented proof of.
Apparently, because I am economically impoverished, I count for nothing.
I was well aware the state bar could do nothing about the contingent trustee’s flagrant disregard of Ca State Trust and Probate Law. However, I provided considerable information about Mrs. Norma Geraldine Atkin’s failure to fulfill the duties of a trustee in a lawful manner. I did this to bring forward what the attorney was promoting/​supporting/​participating in.
This attorney did after all claim the last monies from the estate for his «services», even though he also stated in writing that my father had not in effect hired him. Did the contingent trustee hire him? if so, where is the proof.
It is clear to me the Ca State Bar Association complaint unit is yet another example of how there is no such thing in this country as «Equal Justice For All».