Elisa Ann Castro was admitted to the California Bar 7th September 1994, but has since been disbarred. Elisa graduated from Loyola Law School.
Lawyer Information
| Name | Elisa Ann Castro |
|---|---|
| First Admitted | 7 September 1994 (30 years, 8 months ago) |
| Status | Disbarred |
| Bar Number | 171814 |
Contact
| Current Email | [email protected] |
|---|---|
| Phone Number | 951-369-7808 |
Schools
| Law School | Loyola Law School (Los Angeles CA) |
|---|---|
| Undergraduate School | University of Southern Calif (Los Angeles CA) |
Address
| Current Address | Law Office of Elisa A Castro, 4063 Brockton Ave Riverside, CA 92501 |
|---|---|
| Map |
History
| 9 September 2018 | Disbarred (6 years, 7 months ago) Disbarment 17-O-00754 |
|---|---|
| 8 April 2018 | Not eligible to practice law in CA (7 years ago) Ordered inactive 17-O-00754 |
| 5 November 2017 | Not eligible to practice law in CA (7 years, 5 months ago) Ordered inactive 17-O-00754 |
| 11 September 2017 | Disciplinary charges filed in State Bar Court 17-O-00754 (7 years, 7 months ago) |
| 1 September 2017 | Not eligible to practice law in CA (7 years, 8 months ago) Suspended, failed to pay fees |
| 30 January 2017 | Not eligible to practice law in CA (8 years, 3 months ago) Suspended, failed to pass Prof.Resp.Exam 14-O-02079 |
| 13 February 2016 | Active (9 years, 2 months ago) |
| 15 November 2015 | Not eligible to practice law in CA (9 years, 5 months ago) Discipline w/actual suspension 14-O-02079 |
| 12 January 2015 | Disciplinary charges filed in State Bar Court 14-O-02079 (10 years, 3 months ago) |
| 7 September 2008 | Discipline, probation; no actual susp. 02-O-10521 (16 years, 8 months ago) |
| 27 September 2006 | Disciplinary charges filed in State Bar Court 06-O-13303 (18 years, 7 months ago) |
| 5 March 2003 | Disciplinary charges filed in State Bar Court 02-O-10526 (22 years, 2 months ago) |
| 23 January 2003 | Disciplinary charges filed in State Bar Court 02-O-10522 (22 years, 3 months ago) |
| 7 September 1994 | Admitted to the State Bar of California (30 years, 8 months ago) |
Discipline Summaries
November 15, 2015 ELISA ANN CASTRO [#171814], 58, of Riverside, was suspended from the practice of law for 90 days and ordered to take the MPRE and comply with rule 9.20 of the California Rules of Court. She was also placed on two years’ probation and faces a two-year suspension if she does not comply with the terms of her disciplinary probation. The order took effect Nov. 15, 2015. In one matter, Castro did not promptly render an accounting to a client she’d represented in a divorce proceeding. In another matter, she failed to substitute into a client’s matter, inform the client she had not done so, promptly provide an accounting of advanced fees after she was fired or perform any services of value.In addition, Castro failed to cooperate with a State Bar disciplinary investigation by not responding to letters from a State Bar investigator. In mitigation, 11 people testified as to her good character and she entered into a pretrial stipulation.She had one prior record of discipline, a 2008 suspension for improperly withdrawing from representation of clients and failing to perform, provide prompt accounting of fees, promptly refund unearned fees or cooperate in the investigation of the matters.September 7, 2008 ELISA ANN CASTRO [#171814], 51, of Riverside was suspended for one year, stayed, placed on five years of probation and was ordered to take the MPRE within one year. The order took effect Sept. 7, 2008. Castro stipulated to 18 counts of misconduct in 12 consolidated cases. In most, she either abandoned her clients or did not do the required work and she frequently failed to refund unearned fees.One client hired Castro, after seeing her advertisement, to file a restraining order. The client had already completed the documents and filed them, but wanted Castro to accompany her to court. Although Castro scheduled an appointment with the client and told her to bring $500, she did not show up for the appointment. Castro’s secretary told the client to leave the money and promised that Castro would appear in court two days later for a scheduled hearing.In fact, she sent another lawyer, who realized the case was more complicated than he thought and received a continuance. Castro then told the client to set up another appointment and to bring more money. Despite six attempts, the client could not schedule an appointment before the hearing and she appeared on her own in court. Her repeated requests for a refund of her fee were not answered.Another self-represented client hired Castro after the court increased his child support obligation, paying her $2,000 to seek a modification of the order. Castro’s motion for an order to show cause was denied because the court found no change in her client’s circumstances. The client paid another $3,000 for Castro to appeal, but the court sent her a notice of default for failing to file designations with the appeal. It warned the case would be dismissed if the designations were not filed within 15 days.Castro’s paralegal called the client the day the filing was due, said Castro could not handle the matter and recommended he contact another lawyer. Although the client hired someone else, the appeal was dismissed because the designations were not filed on time.Another client fired Castro after waiting for a year for her to seek an expungement of his criminal conviction and a default judgment was entered against another when Castro took no action on his divorce for six months. Her paralegal missed two appointments with a client who hired Castro to handle a guardianship, the papers were never filed and no one followed up on the case for almost a year — when the client complained to the State Bar. Castro did not appear at three hearings on a child support matter and the client won a $2,500 award in fee arbitration. Another client won $846 through fee arbitration and yet another won a small claims judgment against Castro. She was sanctioned $780 by another court for not appearing in a divorce case; her client hired a new lawyer.In total, she stipulated that she failed to perform legal services competently seven times, refund unearned fees seven times, account for client funds twice, cooperate with the bar’s investigation of two matters or take steps to avoid prejudice to her client.In mitigation, Castro had no prior discipline record and she participates in the Lawyer Assistance Program. |