Erika Jayne's Bankruptcy Lawyer Has Dropped Her As a Client

The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star's counsel withdrawing legal representation

By Joan Summers | June 16, 2021 | 3:50pm

Celebrities News

Erika Jayne's Bankruptcy Lawyer Has Dropped Her As a Client

Erika Jayne’s lawyers at Dinsmore and Shohl LLP have filed a motion to withdraw as the embattled reality television star’s counsel, according to a new filing in Central California’s bankruptcy court Tuesday.

Us Weekly reports that Dinsmore and Shohl LLP claim there has been a fundamental breakdown in the trust between them and client Erika Jayne, who they are representing in bankruptcy court in the ongoing litigation surrounding her ex-husband, Tom Girardi. Late last year, the law firm Edelson PC filed suit against Girardi and his firm, Girardi Keese, that claimed the once-powerhouse Los Angeles attorney had stolen settlement money from clients and used it to pay for his and his ex-wife’s lavish lifestyle as depicted on the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. Among those clients were families of victims on Lion Air Flight 610, according to Edelson PC, which crashed in 2018, killing 157 people.

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In the filing, Dinsmore and Shohl LLP write: “The relationship of trust and confidence that is essential to a properly functioning attorney-client relationship has broken down and, in the good-faith assessment of counsel, the relationship is irreparable.” Her lawyers add: “Withdrawal is appropriate under the circumstances.”

Jayne’s reps did not respond to Jezebel’s request for comment.

Jayne’s lawyers claim in the filing that they cannot reveal the reasoning behind the motion without potentially breaking attorney-client privilege. But “if the court concludes that additional information regarding the breakdown is necessary,” they will, however, “present such evidence in camera to protect the confidential nature of the relationship.” (Here, “in camera” refers to legal proceedings where a judge will privately review material deemed too sensitive for open court or the press; in this case, information that might threaten the attorney-client privilege Jayne is afforded.)

Dinsmore and Shohl LLP claim that their withdrawal as Jayne’s counsel will “not delay or prejudice these proceedings.” Peter J. Mastan, a partner at the firm, is also presented as a witness to the “facts set forth herein” who will testify if necessary. His declaration as a witness to the motion repeats that there has been a “fundamental and material breakdown” in his firm’s relationship with Jayne.

The filing comes after ABC aired its shocking special on Jayne and husband Girardi, The Housewife and the Hustler, which includes private emails, voicemails, and even deposition footage, as well as interviews with past clients. Concurrently, Jayne’s divorce and subsequent legal scandals are being documented on the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, of which she is still a cast member.