DTLA law firm co-founder faces California State Bar charges for alleged out-of-state practice
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The California State Bar has charged a founding partner of Downtown LA Law Group, a law firm at the center of a scandal that has embroiled Los Angeles County’s historic sex abuse settlement, with signing up dozens of clients in states where none of the firm’s lawyers were licensed to practice.The bar charged Salar Hendizadeh, who left the firm this fall, on March 5 with helping one of Southern California’s largest personal injury law firms sign accident victims across the country, despite lacking attorneys who could litigate the cases in other states.Hendizadeh was charged with eleven counts, including deceptive advertising and charging illegal fees.State Bar Chief Trial Counsel George Cardona said in a statement the allegations, if proved, “represent dishonest and illegal conduct.” Hendizadeh and a spokesperson for Downtown LA Law Group did not provide a comment Monday.
The firm had roughly 40 clients in Texas, where it operated under the name “Lone Star Injury Law Firm” and branded itself “Texas’s #1 Injury Law Firm,” according to the complaint.The firm had one L.A.-based attorney licensed to practice in Texas, Darren McBratney, but he left the firm in early 2022.The bar claims the firm refused to remove the attorney’s name from its website for years, ignoring a cease and desist letter from McBratney’s new employer.Typically, attorneys can take cases in states where they’re not licensed, but they need to partner with local counsel or get permission from the court.
In many cases, the bar alleged, DTLA made no effort to do so and left their out-of-state clients in the lurch.The firm told a Maryland car crash victim her case was worth $1 million and encouraged her to see a California spinal surgeon who charged roughly $300,000 for surgery, according to the complaint.She fired the firm after she got a settlement offer of $160,000 — not enough, she beli...