Edward Lopez is an active member of the California Bar and was admitted 27th June 1969. Edward graduated from Louisiana State University.
Lawyer Information
| Name | Edward Lopez |
|---|---|
| First Admitted | 27 June 1969 (54 years, 10 months ago) |
| Status | Active |
| Bar Number | 44558 |
Contact
| Current Email | [email protected] |
|---|---|
| Phone Number | (818) 901-6598 |
| Fax Number | (818) 901-6098 |
Schools
| Law School | Louisiana State University (Baton Rouge LA) |
|---|---|
| Undergraduate School | University of Puerto Rico (Aguadilla PR) |
Address
| Current Address | 6320 Van Nuys Blvd Ste 400 Van Nuys, CA 91401 |
|---|---|
| Map |
History
| 4 September 2015 | Active (8 years, 7 months ago) |
|---|---|
| 6 June 2015 | Not Eligible To Practice Law in CA (8 years, 10 months ago) |
| 27 July 1996 | Active (27 years, 9 months ago) |
| 27 June 1996 | Not Eligible To Practice Law in CA (27 years, 10 months ago) |
| 27 June 1969 | Admitted to The State Bar of California (54 years, 10 months ago) |
Discipline Summaries
June 6, 2015 EDWARD LOPEZ [#44558], 82, of Van Nuys, 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. He was also placed on two years’ probation and faces a one-year suspension if he does not comply with the terms of his disciplinary probation. The order took effect June 6, 2015. Between January 2011 and May 2013, Lopez filed 30 bankruptcy petitions on behalf of his clients that were either dismissed or not discharged due to deficiencies with the petitions or because he failed to pay a filing fee or didn’t appear at a meeting of creditors. Some of the petitions that were filed contained incorrect statements of fact concerning his clients’ true finances and the fees he obtained from them. In other cases schedules and statements of financial affairs were inaccurate or incomplete.Lopez had one prior record of discipline. In 1996, he was suspended for failing to: deposit settlement funds in his trust account or promptly disburse the funds to a client upon request, adequately supervise his employee’s handling of his client trust accounts, resulting in repeated insufficient funds activity, promptly pay medical liens against his three clients’ personal injury settlement and maintain the funds in his client trust account to pay the liens, supervise his employee’s handling of six other clients’ cases and his client trust account or disburse and maintain a client’s funds in his trust account to pay a medical lien.June 27, 1996 EDWARD LOPEZ [#44558], 62, of Los Angeles was suspended for one year, stayed, placed on probation for two years with an actual 30-day suspension and a requirement that he make restitution, and was ordered to take the CPRE within one year. The order took effect June 27, 1996. Lopez stipulated to multiple acts of misconduct in six consolidated cases. Many of the charges resulted from his office arrangement, in which he shared space with another attorney whose office manager was handling client matters illegally. When Lopez tried to leave the office, the office manager threatened Lopez' employee with violence and refused to allow him to remove anything from the office.Lopez eventually extricated himself from the situation, but later learned that his old letterhead was being used in correspondence with insurance companies and his trust account was used to cash settlement checks without his supervision. As a result, his identity and trust account were misused and settlement money was stolen.Twenty-eight checks written against one account bounced, and seven checks written against another account were returned for insufficient funds.In two instances, checks payable to his clients were cashed but the clients never received the money. Claims were settled without the consent of clients, and their names were signed on releases without their authorization.In mitigation, Lopez practiced for 28 years without incident. He took appropriate action once he learned of problems, including helping individuals who thought he was their attorney by repaying them from his own pocket or making claims on their behalf to his insurance carrier.At the time of the problems, Lopez was dealing with his schizophrenic son, he underwent an angioplasty and was diagnosed with malignant cancer. As a result of the events and his voluntary curtailment of his practice, Lopez suffered serious financial reversals, including losing his home and all his property. |