Downtown LA Law Group moves to block state bar record review in sex abuse probe
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A State Bar of California probe into Downtown LA Law Group, the firm at the center of the scandal that has engulfed Los Angeles County’s $4-billion sex abuse settlement, is in limbo as the firm fights to keep thousands of legal filings out of the hands of investigators.The bar subpoenaed the records four months ago as it began an investigation into the firm, also known as DTLA, after The Times reported that nine clients said they’d been paid by recruiters to sue the county over alleged sex abuse.Some said they were instructed to make up the claims.At a Thursday court hearing, Andrew Morrow, an attorney with DTLA, argued he didn’t trust the bar to keep private the “very, very sensitive” records, which detail accounts from thousands of alleged sex abuse victims.
The bar’s investigation into his firm, he noted, was supposed to be kept confidential as well.“This is why the state bar can’t be trusted,” Morrow said.“They have placed a confidential investigation in the public domain.” California A Times investigation examines how Downtown LA Law Group, a firm at the center of L.A.
County’s historic settlement over sex abuse in government facilities, rapidly amassed thousands of clients and became a subject of a district attorney’s probe into alleged misconduct.Morrow said he had filed a Feb.20 motion with the bar to invalidate the subpoena, arguing that turning over reams of documents would violate the privacy of the roughly 2,700 sex abuse victims DTLA represents.
The firm, which is also the subject of a criminal probe, has denied all wrongdoing.The court hearing provided an unusual peek into hidden state bar proceedings, which are highly confidential and typically only burst into public view if an attorney is disciplined.But this probe is unusual as state bar investigators are seeking documents under a sweeping protective order meant to shield the identity ...