It now appears that RICO defendants Alan Rothenberg and Eric George (owners of Los Angeles-based 1st Century Bank) will be represented by the law-firm of Abelson & Herron in litigation filed against them and others in Orange County Superior Court.
Abelson & Herron sells itself as "a small firm with big firm attorneys." Hence, one would expect a minimal level of professionalism and competency from Abelson & Herron and more specifically from "of counsel" Lisa Von Eschen. Not so.
Information obtained by The Leslie Brodie Report points to the following:
Eric George missed his deadline to file an answer to the suit, and only did so after a request for entry of default was submitted.
Additionally, rather then filing a verified answer to the verified complaint, Abelson & Herron filed a general denial alleging, among others, that the plaintiff is actually at fault since he had breached a residential contract with Eric George.
Later -- and despite the fact that Eric George appeared in the action by virtue of filing a general denial relating to an imaginary real estate contract between himself and the plaintiff -- Lisa Von Eschen still maintained that Eric George would not appear for an upcoming scheduled videotaped deposition because he had not been served with the complaint.
Eric George (son of Ronald George) and Alan Rothenberg, both of whom have strong ties to Bet Tzedek Legal Services of Los Angeles, stand accused (along with Holly Fujie) of masterminding a scheme by which some of the funds obtained from the California Bar Foundation and the State Bar of California totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars were embezzled.
As previously mentioned, serving along with Holly Fujie on the State Bar of California Legal Services Trust Fund Commission are Bet Tzedek board member David Lash of O’Melveny & Myers and, shockingly, Bonnie Rubin -- vice president of 1st Century Bank who sources maintain are also likely to be named as defendants in the suit.
