California toughens penalties for lawyers who pay people to recruit clients
California has increased its punishment for lawyers who pay people to help them recruit clients. (Image from Shutterstock)
California has increased its punishment for lawyers who pay people to help them recruit clients, adopting a new law that imposes a $25,000 penalty for each violation and requires the State Bar of California to seek disbarment of offenders.
Assembly Bill 2039, which California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed on Sunday, was introduced after allegations surfaced that the Downtown LA Law Group, a plaintiffs law firm, used intermediaries to solicit people to submit false claims under a $4 billion sexual abuse settlement with Los Angeles County, according to a story by Reuters.
The Downtown LA Law Group reportedly has denied wrongdoing.
California already had a law that prohibited “capping,” as the practice is known, and barred lawyers from hiring people to help them recruit clients in hospitals and prisons, Reuters also reports.
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