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An out-of-town friend recently visited L.A. and made an observation about braving our freeway system that had nothing to do with gridlock. Why are there so many billboard ads for lawyers? I got curious too, counting at least a dozen while driving up the 710 Freeway recently from Long Beach to Los Angeles. My colleague Caroline Petrow-Cohen explained the business reasons, including growing market demand, for the bonanza, quoting one expert as saying “there’s probably more ads for lawyers now than ever.” But do all these billboards say something larger about L.A. and our civil courts? Over the last few years, The Times has devoted quite a bit of investigative reporting muscle to the dark side of the civil bar and those who exploit it for personal gain. Everybody hates lawyers until they need them. Lawyers can meaningfully bring about justice especially in a socially and economically stratified place like Los Angeles. But a string of bad headlines does little to advance fairness for the little guy. Times reporter Rebecca Ellis spent two weeks outside a county social services office and found people who said they were paid to join a massive sex abuse settlement. Four now say they were told to make up their claims. The stories are wild. Just consider this one: Austin Beagle, 31, and Nevada Barker, 30, said they were trying to sign up for food stamps when a man approached them to see if they would be extras in a movie being filmed at a downtown law firm. The pair, who had recently arrived in Southern California from Texas, agreed. But when they got to the firm offices in downtown, there was no film crew. Instead, they said they were recruited to sue the county over sex abuse. Ellis’ expose has prompted an investigation into the county’s sexual abuse litigation, which is set to pay out a record $4 billion. The Times found seven people who said they were paid by recruiters to sue. County officials are now trying to find out how much higher that number goes. The firm involved, Downtown LA Law Group, filed roughly 2,700 cases and has strongly denied any wrongdoing. The Times could not reach the recruiters. Does this sound a little familiar? Times readers have heard a lot about another huge L.A. law scandal, this one involving super-lawyer Tom Girardi. Times reporters Matt Hamilton and Harriet Ryan exposed shocking details about how Girardi — a pillar of the L.A. bar and “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" cast member — siphoned what prosecutors later said was up to $100 million from clients. But even more shocking is what they discovered about a system that repeatedly failed to stop the fraud: The State Bar of California, which is the watchdog agency for lawyers, admitted in response to a Times lawsuit that it had received 205 complaints alleging Girardi misappropriated settlement money, abandoned clients and committed other serious ethical violations over 40 years. Girardi managed to seduce State Bar officials, including executives, investigators, prosecutors and judges, with free legal representation, private plane rides and invitations to gala parties. Other attorneys knew of his wrongdoing but did not report it to authorities. Trial lawyers have long been one of the most powerful groups in California politics. But these scandals underscore that meaningful oversight is essential. In the wake of Hamilton and Ryan’s Girardi reporting, California regulators imposed new rules requiring attorneys to report misconduct by their peers or face fines and discipline. L.A. County officials earlier this month vowed a larger investigation into the legitimacy of the sex abuse settlements and set up a hotline where the public can leave tips. Elllis' reporting has also put new scrutiny on “high volume" law firms. The sex abuse scandal has also forced a reassessment by some officials of a California law that when it was passed seemed like a meaningful way for victims to finally find some closure. The law allowed survivors of childhood sexual abuse to sue the perpetrator even though the statute of limitations had passed on their cases. This brought a flood of lawsuits, with some incidents dating back to the 1950s, leaving government agencies with few avenues to evaluate most claims. 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Movie theaters: The 13 best horror movies to see in L.A. from now until Halloween.Art and museums: While Trump restores Confederate monuments, this bold L.A. art exhibition confronts them.Reality TV: "Love is Blind" Season 9 finale ends with a dramatic first. Here’s what happened. Books: Susan Straight’s "Sacrament" — her best novel yet — is an ode to California nurses during COVID surge.Recipe: Here's a recipe for pasta all' Amatriciana.✏️ Get our free daily crossword puzzle, sudoku, word search and jigsaw games. A selection of the very best reads from The Times’ 143-year archive. Jim Rainey, staff reporter Hugo Martín, assistant editor, fast break desk Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editor Andrew Campa, Sunday writer Karim Doumar, head of newsletters How can we make this newsletter more useful? Send comments to essentialcalifornia@latimes.com. Check our top stories, topics and the latest articles on latimes.com.
