Inside the courtroom with Tom Girardi

The disbarred octogenarian super lawyer was arraigned Monday in Los Angeles.

Disbarred lawyer Tom Girardi (center) leaves his arraignment Monday in downtown Los Angeles with deputy federal defender Craig Harbaugh (left) and a caretaker (right). (Photo by Meghann M. Cuniff)

Everyone you’d expect was in the courtroom for Tom Girardi’s arraignment on Monday. His brother and court-appointed conservator. The caretaker who’s been seen in tabloid photos. His new public defenders. Girardi himself.

But Girardi drew a couple others to the 8th floor of the Roybal federal building for his 1 p.m. appearance: Rick Kraemer, a longtime trial services professional, and prominent trial lawyer Tom Nolan.

Nolan sat perched on the edge of the pew with his hands folded over the pew in front of him, watching as his longtime friend and colleague in L.A’s elite legal circles sat at the defendant's table with his public defenders, looking dazed. Kraemer sat in another section of the gallery, less than two months removed from attending Michael Avenatti’s fraud sentencing in Santa Ana.

It was a stark reminder of Girardi’s influence, which extended from the mass torts and plaintiff’s personal injury arena to the power-broking world of judicial appointments.

When I mentioned to a friend that Nolan went to the arraignment, he replied, “Tom Girardi counted as his friends two US Presidents, numerous Senators, Judges and other famous people. I don’t blame Tom Nolan one bit for being his friend.“

I met Nolan in December 2019 when he left Latham & Watkins LLP for the boutique anti-trust litigation powerhouse Pearson, Simon & Warshaw, LLP. I wrote an article about the move for the Los Angeles Daily Journal, and Girardi was one of the people who spoke with me for the article. It was a brief but memorable phone call, with Girardi saying this about Nolan: “This is better than when the Patriots signed Tom Brady. This is better than when the Lakers got Jerry West. And this is better than when the Dodgers got Jackie Robinson.”

That was one year before Girardi’s life unraveled in epic fashion, including his marriage to Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Erika Jayne. Monday was the 83-year-old’s first public appearance outside tabloid photos, and he said nothing through the 15-minute or so hearing. U.S. Magistrate Judge Karen Stevenson ordered him to undergo a mental competency evaluation, agreeing with his newly appointed public defenders that the accused embezzler “may be presently suffering from mental disease or defect.”

Prosecutors didn’t object: Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott Paetty told Stevenson they knew Girardi’s competency would be an immediate issue when they filed the indictment against Girardi last week.

The charges accuse him of embezzling more than $15 million from five clients between 2010 and 2020. The California State Bar disclosed in November that it had received 136 complaints about Girardi between August 1982 and before the scandal erupted in December 2020, most involving client trust accounts, but the statute of limitations for federal wire fraud charges is 10 years.

Given Girardi’s tenuous competency status, Stevenson on Monday entered a plea of not guilty on his behalf instead of allowing him to do so himself.

His physical appearance was a far cry from the polished schmoozer who charmed his way through decades of misconduct allegations. But he also was not as frail as he’s appeared in tabloid photos. Deputy federal defender Craig Harbaugh and Girardi’s caretaker helped him slowly walk up a staircase to the courthouse. Both guided him toward the correct entrance, but Girardi never stumbled or required serious physical assistance.

He wore a black mask, baggy black slacks and a baggy purple sweater over a collared shirt. He walked slowly through a throng of media, answering no questions but also not fielding many, either.

Girardi’s brother Robert Girardi, a dentist in Seal Beach, California, will back a $250,000 bond that Stevenson imposed. The judge determined electronic monitoring isn’t needed given Girardi’s current living situation, which court documents describe as a memory care facility. Harbaugh said Girardi can’t find his passport but will turn it over if he does.

Meghann Cuniff@meghanncuniff

Here’s Girardi leaving court. His brother Robert is signing for his $250,000 bond. He’ll remain out of jail. (Robert is wearing the plaid shirt and jeans.)

9:42 PM · Feb 6, 2023

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5 Reposts · 83 Likes

A psychiatrist said in separate court proceedings in 2021 that Girardi has dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. But other doctors will evaluate him now, and his competency will ultimately be determined by U.S. District Judge Josephine Staton. Attorneys are to consult with her to decide on a schedule for their written briefs, and to possibly schedule a hearing. (Unless the law requires Staton to hold a hearing, it’s very likely she won’t and Monday may be the one and only time Girardi ever appears in court.)

Staton also is overseeing a separate criminal fraud case against former Girardi financial officer Christopher Kamon, so the new case was assigned to her after prosecutors said the two are related. Kamon is a co-defendant in Girardi’s indictment, but his arraignment has not yet been scheduled.

Tom Girardi breezed through courthouse security like he’d done it many times before. Here is afterward, with partial reflection from me and the building across the way. (Photo by Meghann M. Cuniff)

The California charges were announced the same day prosecutors in Chicago filed a separate indictment alleging Girardi and Kamon embezzled more than $3 million from lawsuit settlements over the 2018 Lion Air plane crash in the Java Sea. Girardi’s former law partner and son-in-law from a previous marriage, David Lira, also is charged.

Before Stevenson formally appointed them Monday, Harbaugh and deputy federal defender Georgina Wakefield filed information about Girardi’s financial status that will remain sealed from public view.

But his financial state is documented through his personal bankruptcy case and that of his former law firm. A court-appointed trustee has arranged the sale of many of his belongings, including his Pasadena mansion, with the proceeds meant to pay a long list of creditors owed more than $500 million.

Thank you for reading Legal Affairs and Trials with Meghann Cuniff. I am experimenting with my publishing schedule that may involve more frequent posts, but the weekly round up on Fridays will remain. Your support means everything; thank you!