Investigation Could Lead to Gloria Allred Being Disbarred
Gloria Allred is a high-profile celebrity lawyer who takes on cases that often make front-page news. She is known to be the queen of press conferences when representing her clients. This time around, the lawyer herself has made the news, due to her being investigated for possible misconduct that could result in Gloria Allred being disbarred.
Being engaged in misconduct is often a career-ending move for a lawyer; it could result in never being allowed to practice law again.
Allred is aware of the allegations being made against her, but she is running her business as usual. She is representing one of the individuals who has made allegations against Republican senate candidate Roy Moore. What would this mean for the case?
In addition, Allred is involved in outstanding lawsuits filed against Donald Trump. If Gloria Allred is disbarred, are Trump’s problems all gone?
Let’s take a look at why Allred could potentially be disbarred, and what could happen to the cases involving Moore and Trump.
Allegations Against Gloria Allred
In 2010, Gloria Allred was hired by Kyle Hunter, who, at the time was a local meteorologist (weatherman) employed by CBS. Hunter approached Allred because of her reputation for being a hard worker, being honest, and having a vast amount of experience. Hunter felt discriminated against toward the end of his work tenure at CBS. He alleged that he had been passed over for promotions in favor of younger, attractive females.
Hunter felt that Allred mishandled his case and didn’t work in his best interest. After a court dismissed his claims in 2016, Hunter was on the brink of bankruptcy, and he couldn’t pay the $800,000 judgment in favor of CBS. The network was successful in the lawsuit because it had been consistent in its stance that Hunter did not have the talent and skill set required for a promotion.
When the case was thrown out, Hunter looked back and felt that Allred brought him more problems than solutions. He alleges that she did not live up to her duties as his lawyer, and that she looked out for her own best interests instead. In his lawsuit against Allred, Hunter is alleging that she botched the case and was not working in her full capacity.
It turns out that Allred had an existing relationship with CBS. While Hunter’s case against the network was open, Allred was in the middle of negotiating a deal with CBS to produce a television show based on her life. Hunter argues that this created a conflict of interest, which is a major issue in the law world. This is why Allred is being investigated and why there is a possibility of her being disbarred as a lawyer.
What Does the Lawsuit Mean? Can Gloria Allred Be Disbarred from the California Law Society?
Hunter’s allegations against Allred must now be investigated by the bar association. There are two aspects that are being looked into: 1) whether there was any misconduct by Allred, and 2) whether there was any legal malpractice by Allred.
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If either one or both are found to be true, it could result in multiple consequences, such as a fine, probation, or even disbarment from the California Law Society. This would mean that Allred would not be able to practice law or represent any clients. Being disbarred from the law society would also mean that Allred would not be able to obtain other law-related positions, such as judge, research associate, or licensed representative at a law firm.
What Would Happen to Allred’s Current Clients?
With an investigation into Allred by the California Law Society, there are only two possible outcomes: innocent or guilty.
If Allred is found innocent, it either means there was a settlement, a trial took place, or the case was simply thrown out. Regardless of the method, if Allred is found innocent, she can legally conduct her business as if nothing negative had happened.
There could, however, be one negative impact in the short and long term to Allred’s reputation. Even if she is found innocent, when individuals are looking for a lawyer, they may overlook Allred.
If she is found guilty, Gloria Allred is disbarred and is not allowed to practice law anymore.
What Would This Mean for the Allegations Against Roy Moore and Donald Trump?
Currently, Allred is representing Beverly Young Nelson, who has alleged that she was sexually harassed by Roy Moore when she was 16 years of age, about 40 years ago.
These allegations are not only impacting Moore in his race for a U.S. Senate seat in Alabama; they are affecting the whole Republican Party. Moore is the party’s candidate in the special election to fill Jeff Sessions’s former seat, which he gave up to become part of the Trump administration.
Also, before Donald Trump became president, there were allegations that he sexually harassed Summer Zervos, who was a contestant on Trump’s reality TV show The Apprentice. Allred has been representing Zervos in that case.
If Gloria Allred is disbarred, she can no longer work on either of those two cases. This would be regardless of the amount of time or money spent on each case. Once a law license is disbarred, it is no longer active.
If Allred is disbarred, and those lawsuits are still open, Zervos and Nelson would need to hire another lawyer in order to continue their cases. They would get no special treatment; if their cases ended up going to court, they would be treated as if there was no change in their lawyers.
If Gloria Allred Is Disbarred, Would It Be Positive or Negative for Donald Trump and Roy Moore?
The allegations against Allred are good news for Trump and Moore. It means that Allred must spend time dealing with her own allegations, and less time representing her clients. Now that there is an investigation into Allred, it gives Trump and Moore the possibility of seeing a disturbance in their cases.
Let’s just say that if Gloria Allred is disbarred from the law society, the new lawyers taking on her cases could be facing uphill battles.