![]() ![]() Layton made as little as $42,000 a year at the bar, where he was one of about 40 investigators who looked into complaints against lawyers by clients, judges and others. Girardi was an influential campaign donor, and the men were often seen together at Morton’s Steakhouse in downtown L.A., Madeo in Beverly Hills and political fundraisers. During a 2016 episode of "Real Housewives," Girardi and his wife were greeted at the Palm steakhouse by Beck, who told them, "Just having lunch with Layton." Though he never rose beyond the rank of deputy, he was active in the union’s political endorsements and became close with former Sheriff Lee Baca and eventually other high-level law enforcement officials throughout the state. Layton started at the bar in 1999 after his career in the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department was cut short by injury. Girardi and Layton, who is 20 years younger, have run in the same political circles for decades and have been close since at least the early 2000s. Layton did not return messages seeking comment. In the wake of the story, the bar conducted an internal review of past investigations of Girardi and found “mistakes made.” The agency’s board of trustees has refused to release detailed information about the nature of the errors, or whether they were related to Girardi’s close ties with agency personnel. The emails, provided to The Times by the bar in response to a public records request, shed further light on how the bar’s oversight of Girardi, one of the nation’s most prominent civil attorneys, failed.Ī Times investigation previously revealed that Girardi treated Layton and other bar officials to private plane rides and fancy dinners and employed their children at his firm. “I’ll CC Tom Layton so he can arrange to transport you all to the Chief’s Office,” Beck’s aide wrote to Girardi’s secretary in advance of a 2014 photo op for Girardi, his wife, Erika - a “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” star - and a police running team they sponsored. (Los Angeles Times)Īs an investigator for the State Bar of California, Tom Layton was responsible for policing the legal profession for rogue attorneys.īut while collecting a salary as a watchdog for the public, Layton spent work hours advancing the interests and political connections of a lawyer with a long record of misconduct complaints: the now-disgraced trial attorney Tom Girardi, emails obtained by the Los Angeles Times show.ĭuring years when clients accused the attorney of stealing from them, Layton, the most high-profile investigator at the agency, was arranging dinner dates for Girardi with civic elites, such as then-Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck and billionaire developer Ed Roski, and otherwise acting as his personal assistant, political operative and, at times, chauffeur, according to the emails. Tom Girardi, Erika Girardi, former LAPD Chief Charlie Beck and former Sheriff Lee Baca. ![]()
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