The legal troubles surrounding Downtown LA Law Group (DTLA) continue to mount. The State Bar of California has expanded its disciplinary case against the prominent personal injury firm, filing new charges against founding partners Daniel Azizi and Farid Yaghoubtil, as well as litigation attorney Igor Fradkin. Daily Journal had the scoop.
The charges allege the firm operated a personal injury practice across multiple states including Texas, Florida, Maryland, Arizona, Iowa, Michigan, Tennessee, and Virginia despite lacking properly licensed attorneys in those jurisdictions or failing to secure local counsel in a timely manner. The allegations largely track charges filed in March against former DTLA partner Salar Hendizadeh.
According to the State Bar’s Office of Chief Trial Counsel, DTLA and affiliated brands including “Union Injury Law Firm, Normandie Law Firm and Lone Star Injury Law Firm–marketed themselves as capable of handling personal injury matters in multiple states while much of the legal work was performed from California.” The firm even advertised itself as “Texas’s #1 Injury Law Firm” and promoted multiple Texas office locations, despite handling approximately 40 to 45 Texas matters without properly licensed Texas attorneys. The charges further allege that Azizi continued using a former Texas attorney’s name and credentials in firm marketing even after that attorney left the firm in 2022, creating the false impression that a licensed Texas lawyer remained involved in firm operations.
State Bar Chief Trial Counsel George Cardona was direct about the stakes for consumers:
“When attorneys extend their practice into jurisdictions where they are not licensed or allow staff to engage in unauthorized legal work in those jurisdictions, they put clients at risk.”
These disciplinary charges are separate from a growing criminal probe involving DTLA’s role in the AB 218 litigation, a landmark settlement that resulted in a $4 billion agreement with Los Angeles County over childhood sexual abuse claims. Previous reporting has cited multiple individuals who alleged that DTLA recruiters paid them to file lawsuits and, in some cases, instructed them to fabricate claims of abuse they never experienced, being promised big payouts.
Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman confirmed this week that his office is actively investigating these allegations.
In reference to the landmark settlement, Hochman said that “a huge number of these claims are valid claims. … But it sadly attracted fraudsters.” He described those “fraudsters” as people who “never suffered sexual abuse at the hands of Los Angeles County” and saw the settlement as an opportunity to seek “free” money.
“And not only did the claimants get involved with this … every one of these claimants has an attorney that’s representing them,” Hochman added.
“With respect to these fraudsters – and we estimate that there are a significant number of fraudsters involved – we’re going to go after them aggressively. We’re going to go after them to put them behind bars. We’re going to go after them to send a message to any potential fraudulent claimants in the future, including the lawyers and law firms, that if you want to try and rip off Los Angeles County … and rip off sex abuse survivors, you will be arrested, you will be prosecuted and you will be punished,” Hochman said.
These developments are consistent with a troubling pattern PACT has documented at length. A Los Angeles Times investigation found that more than 60 DTLA clients had medical bills that exceeded their settlement amounts after the firm took its cut, with lawyers in some cases claiming more than three-quarters of the total recovery. Former clients described being pressured into unnecessary surgeries, referred to medical providers with undisclosed financial relationships to the firm, and promised large settlements that never materialized. Former client Jacqueline McClelland turned down a $1 million offer from an insurer after her DTLA attorney promised far more, as long as she followed the firm’s medical recommendations. Her case ultimately settled for $350,000. After the firm took 46% and medical bills were paid, she was left fighting in court for whatever remained. She told a judge directly:
“Downtown LA Law just gave me to the wolves.”
Internal communications reviewed by the Los Angeles Times made the firm’s priorities clear. One DTLA partner told staff in a message:
“Our sx [sic] numbers for the month of May were very low. Many were unable to produce even a single procedure. This is not acceptable.”
The settlement itself attracted outside investors treating mass litigation as a financial asset class, prompting Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger to warn:
“I understand people want to make money, but I feel like this is so predatory.”
This is not an isolated story about one law firm. It is the inevitable result of a legal system that lacks adequate transparency, licensing enforcement, and consumer protections. Billboard attorneys have long advertised aggressively, recruited clients through runners, directed them to affiliated medical providers, and taken the lion’s share of settlements while leaving injured people in debt. When those same firms operate across state lines without proper licensure, the harm compounds further. Clients in Texas, Florida, Maryland, and elsewhere believed they were being represented by attorneys accountable to local bar rules. They were not, and it’s important to know this before you call your lawyer.
Policymakers and regulators across the country must treat the State Bar’s expanding case against DTLA as a warning sign and not an isolated enforcement action. Commonsense reforms that require transparency in attorney fee arrangements, disclosure of third-party litigation funding, and meaningful oversight of multistate personal injury practices are urgently needed to protect consumers and ensure that real victims receive the justice they deserve.