state bar charges first attorney in ladwp corruption

michael libman, once a lawyer for incorrectly billed ladwp customers who said he never even communicated with his client, could lose his bar license.

The first attorney to go was the loudest. Michael Libman pointed the finger at everyone else, but never at himself for his role in the litigation scandal at the LA City Attorney’s Office and the LA Department of Water and Power. He said he never communicated with his client, but he helped file a lawsuit on his behalf anyway, which ended up being drafted by his opponent city lawyers. For that errand, he collected $1.65 million. Now after five long years, the State Bar of California has finally started holding attorneys accountable for the backdoor scheme that groomed a class of incorrectly billed DWP customers to the city’s liking. But how far the Bar will go remains to be seen.

The Bar in its disciplinary charges accused Libman of colluding with opposing attorneys for the city, part of seven charges that include moral turpitude, which is grounds for disbarment. Libman helped “structure, position, and settle” a lawsuit against the city that “would serve the interests of the city and LADWP.” And Libman was recruited at the direction of a “at least one member of the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office,” the Bar said.

“California attorneys are bound by law to act in the best interests of their clients, free from conflicts that might lead them to favor others or themselves over their clients,” said Chief Trial Counsel George Cardona in a statement. “The NDC (Notice of Disciplinary Charges) in this case alleges extreme conflicts, with an attorney actively colluding with counsel on the other side and concealing this collusion from the court tasked with evaluating the settlement to ensure that it was fair.”

In addition, the Bar accused Libman of making false statements in a declaration submitted to a court overseeing the DWP settlement to support his claim for attorney’s fees. He’s also charged with failing to obey court orders to disclose information about the allegations.

Libman did not respond to me when I asked him about the charges. Last time we corresponded he called me “Kabateck’s agent” lol. Libman told the LA Times that he’s the pawn of a corrupted system, but should emerge vindicated in the end:

“I am disappointed that the State Bar filed charges against me in this politicized LADWP case driven by vindictive, corrupt and connected lawyers bent on railroading me. If I will get a fair trial that allows me to present all the evidence, I will be fully vindicated and the true scale of the layers of corruption further exposed.”

Libman has maintained that he’s been scapegoated by Brian Kabateck, his replacement attorney, and the city of Los Angeles, with the help of Gibson Dunn alumni, who occupied high-level positions at the City Attorney’s Office, LADWP, and the Department of Justice. The DOJ conducted a raid on his home that Libman said resulted in federal agents pointing guns at his sleeping child. In the end, he was not criminally charged. I profiled him here if you want to go deeper on his journey.

In 2019 Libman told the judge in the LADWP ratepayer case that, “I have done nothing wrong at all. I had no conflict of interest from my perspective,” regarding the plaintiff in the ratepayer case, Antwon Jones.

“Although Mr. Libman was counsel of record for Mr. (Antwon) Jones in Jones v. City, Mr. Jones never signed an agreement retaining Mr. Libman as his counsel and did not know Mr. Libman acted as his counsel of record,” according to a Special Master’s report. Jones said he didn’t even know Libman.

“I did not see it necessary to communicate with Mr. Jones,” said Libman in 2019.

Libman said he worked on Jones’ lawsuit for over 65 hours, but the Bar said that couldn’t be true because he didn’t even draft the complaint. That was done by outside city counsel Paul Paradis at the direction of the City Attorney’s Office. Libman colluded with Paradis and co-counsel Paul Kiesel, according to the Bar.

In 2022 I reported how the Bar is investigating nearly 20 attorneys who were involved with the corruption, maybe the Bar’s biggest investigation yet. Those under investigation include former City Attorney Mike Feuer, former U.S. Congressman and LADWP President Mel Levine, and a number of high-end private attorneys who worked for the city. The Bar has the chance to finally get back into the public’s good graces post-Tom Girardi, and this is the case to do it. Hopefully it will do a better job than the DOJ and go right to the top.