John Wali Mustafa was admitted to the California Bar 5th July 1994, but is now resigned. John graduated from UCLA SOL.
Lawyer Information
| Name | John Wali Mustafa |
|---|---|
| First Admitted | 5 July 1994 (30 years, 11 months ago) |
| Status | Resigned |
| Bar Number | 171355 |
Contact
| Current Email | [email protected] |
|---|---|
| Phone Number | 213-270-1419 |
| Fax Number | 818-569-5185 |
Schools
| Law School | UCLA SOL (Los Angeles CA) |
|---|---|
| Undergraduate School | University of California at Los Angeles (CA) |
Address
| Current Address | P O Box 1418 Redondo Beach, CA 90278-0418 |
|---|---|
| Map |
History
| 19 September 2002 | Resigned (22 years, 9 months ago) Resignation with charges pending 02-Q-13171 |
|---|---|
| 28 June 2002 | Not eligible to practice law in CA (22 years, 11 months ago) Vol.inactive(tender of resign.w/charges) 02-Q-13171 |
| 29 March 2002 | Disciplinary charges filed in State Bar Court 01-O-03850 (23 years, 2 months ago) |
| 29 December 2001 | Not eligible to practice law in CA (23 years, 5 months ago) Discipline w/actual suspension 99-O-12299 |
| 16 March 2001 | Disciplinary charges filed in State Bar Court 00-O-14431 (24 years, 3 months ago) |
| 8 January 2001 | Disciplinary charges filed in State Bar Court 99-O-12299 (24 years, 5 months ago) |
| 5 July 1994 | Admitted to the State Bar of California (30 years, 11 months ago) |
Discipline Summaries
December 29, 2001 JOHN WALI MUSTAFA [#171355], 38, of Redondo Beach was suspended for five years, stayed, placed on five years of probation with an actual two-year suspension and was ordered to make restitution, take the MPRE and comply with rule 955. The order took effect Dec. 29, 2001. Mustafa stipulated to misconduct in four matters.He substituted into a civil matter, representing four clients against a music company, and filed a second amended complaint to his original federal filing without the court’s permission. The defendants won $5,000 in sanctions, claiming Mustafa and his clients “had unreasonably and vexatiously multiplied the proceedings†in the case.In the meantime, his clients’ former lawyer filed two attorney fee liens.The music company settled the case for $120,000 and issued a check payable to the four plaintiffs, the first lawyer and Mustafa, who had several conversations about the fee owed the first lawyer. Nonetheless, Mustafa negotiated the check without the other lawyer’s endorsement and disbursed the funds to his clients and himself.When the other lawyer sued Mustafa for fraud and conversion, he sent the dispute to fee arbitration. He and his clients failed to appear at the fee arb hearing and the other lawyer was awarded $51,646.40 as his fee, plus reimbursement for costs and interest. The court also found that Mustafa had acted fraudulently when he converted the settlement funds, and ordered punitive damages of $50,000 against him.He stipulated that he failed to report judicial sanctions to the State Bar and that he committed an act of moral turpitude by converting the settlement funds.In another matter, Mustafa filed a wrongful termination complaint, representing his client on a contingency fee basis. He did not oppose any of four motions filed by the defendants, and the motions were granted. He also did not oppose a motion for monetary sanctions, nor did he appear in court for the hearing. The court ordered that the complaint be stricken and imposed sanctions of more than $6,300. Although Mustafa moved for reconsideration, he didn’t appear at the hearing.Over a period of several months, the client called Mustafa repeatedly, but he did not return the calls. He also did not respond to a State Bar investigator.The third case involved a civil complaint against a mortuary for mishandling human remains. The complaint was filed on behalf of the deceased’s three children. Mustafa did not return six phone calls from the clients over an eight-month period. He also did not cooperate with the bar’s investigation.Mustafa also commingled personal and business funds in his client trust account and wrote checks for personal expenses against the account.In mitigation, he had family problems at the time of the misconduct and he cooperated with the bar’s investigation. |