John Young Song was admitted to the California Bar 1st June 1995, but has since been disbarred. John graduated from UCLA SOL.

Lawyer Information

NameJohn Young Song
First Admitted1 June 1995 (29 years, 11 months ago)
StatusDisbarred
Bar Number176292
Practice AreaLitigation

Contact

Current Email[email protected]
Websitehttp://www.johnsonglaw.com
Phone Number213-252-0808
Fax Number213-252-5260

Schools

Law SchoolUCLA SOL (Los Angeles CA)
Undergraduate SchoolUniversity of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia PA)

Address

Current AddressLaw Office of John Y. Song, APC, 3600 Wilshire Blvd Ste 1212
Los Angeles, CA 90010
Map

History

27 September 2013Disbarred (11 years, 7 months ago)
Disbarment 11-O-11436
14 August 2012Not eligible to practice law in CA (12 years, 8 months ago)
Ordered inactive 11-O-11436
21 March 2012Disciplinary charges filed in State Bar Court 11-O-11436 (13 years, 1 month ago)
1 June 1995Admitted to the State Bar of California (29 years, 11 months ago)

Discipline Summaries

September 27, 2013

JOHN YOUNG SONG [#176292], 47, of Los Angeles, was disbarred Sept. 27, 2013 and ordered to comply with rule 9.20 of the California Rules of Court.

A hearing judge found Song culpable of moral turpitude and failing to maintain client funds in trust as the result of his misappropriation of $112,293 from a client. Song made at least 65 unauthorized withdrawals from his client trust account over a three-year period. Song sought review, arguing that he presented compelling mitigation and that the misconduct was aberrational.

In agreeing that his conduct warranted disbarment, a three-judge review panel noted that the length of time over which Song’s conduct occurred places his misconduct “on the most serious end of the discipline spectrum for misappropriation.

“This is not a case of a single careless mistake. Song deliberately took substantial funds for his personal use with full knowledge that they belonged to his client,” the panel wrote. “In essence, he treated his CTA as an open-ended line of credit, justifying his withdrawals because he needed money for personal matters.”

In the client matter that led to his discipline, Song represented a family friend in a civil matter which resulted in an insurance company issuing a $145,528.77 check to the client. Although Song was required to maintain $133,699 in his client trust account as the client’s share of the proceeds, he began to draw from the account when he found himself unable to get in touch with the client. Song repaid the client after she filed a civil suit against him.

In mitigation, Song had no prior discipline record and has a long history of community service and pro bono work. He also cooperated with the State Bar investigation, presented witnesses and numerous declarations attesting to his good character.

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