Podcast: The Downfall of Tom Girardi: How a Celebrity Lawyer Became a Fraudster | Jay Edelson | @theBar

You may have seen Tom Girardi’s name in multiple places—once, as a famous and respected plaintiff’s attorney; notably, as a Real Housewives of Beverly Hills husband; and, notoriously, as a swindler who spent decades embezzling millions from his clients. How did he finally get caught? Maggie Mendenhall Casey and Tracy Brammeier talk with attorney Jay Edelson about how his firm’s work with the Girardi & Keese law firm led them to discover the ongoing exploitation of personal injury clients.

Jay shares insights into the details of his firm’s detection and investigation of Girardi’s actions and the eventual court case against him. They also discuss broader instances of fraud in the plaintiff’s bar and Jay’s efforts to create more protections for clients.

Jay Edelson is the founder of Edelson PC. Special thanks to our sponsor Chicago Bar Association.

Chapters
0:00 Introducing Jay Edelson
2:09 Who Is Tom Girardi?
5:41 How Jay Started Working with Tom’s Firm
6:08 Girardi & Keese Law Firm
8:22 Where’d The Money Go?
10:05 Filing Lawsuits Against Tom
12:16 Tom’s Phone Call Confession
13:51 The Investigation
16:01 Attempted Bribery
19:53 Contract Breach Lawsui
t
21:47 Erika Jayne
23:45 Compensation for Widows & Orphans
30:12 How We Can Prevent Future Incidents
35:54 The Sentencing
36:52 End Credits