Sacramento Divorce and Family Law Firm Woodruff, O'Hair & Posner & Salinger Sued for $1 Million in Legal Malpractice Case

Prominent family law firm Woodruff, O'Hair, Posner & Salinger is being sued for more than $1 million in damages for legal malpractice in connection with a family court case. Divorce attorneys Thomas Woodruff, Robert O'Hair, Jeffrey Posner and Paula Salinger are partners at the firm, and all hold the office of temporary judge in Sacramento County Superior Court.

Nationally recognized legal malpractice attorney Edward Freidberg last week filed a first amended complaint in a malpractice lawsuit alleging more than $1 million in damages against well known Sacramento family law firm Woodruff, O'Hair & Posner, Inc., and firm partner D. Thomas Woodruff. The full court filing is embedded at the end of this article.

The alleged malpractice occurred in 2001 and the firm is now known as Woodruff, O'Hair, Posner & Salinger. Partners Tom Woodruff, Bob O'Hair, Jeff Posner and Paula Salinger have been involved in a number of other controversies, including filing counterfeit court documents, attempting to obtain a final dissolution judgment while an appeal in the same case was pending, filing documents not in compliance with state law, and, according to family court watchdogs, collusion with family court judges.

To continue reading, and to view the first amended complaint, click Read more >> below...

Divorce Corp Documentary Film Designates Sacramento Superior Court Family Law Division Most Corrupt Divorce Court in US

Sacramento Family Court litigant Ulf Carlsson's startling story is central to the documentary Divorce Corp. 

Judge Peter McBrien Misconduct, Vindictive Personality Catalogued on Big Screen 

Movie Review and Opinion by PelicanBriefed

It is now difficult to dispute that the Sacramento County Family Court system - rebuilt more than 20 years ago to the specifications of local judge pro tem family law attorneys by Judge Peter McBrien, then-Judge Vance Raye, divorce attorney Robert O'Hair, and others - has become the most corrupt family court in the nation. 

The proof is now available to anyone for $20: the cost of the documentary film Divorce Corp, recently released on DVD, and also available by download at the iTunes store. In his first, full-length documentary film, director Joe Sorge meticulously documents the epidemic of corruption and collusion in family courts throughout the United States. And the Sacramento County system rises to the top of the toxic slurry pond.

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Woodruff O'Hair Posner & Salinger Inc Sued for Malpractice and Over $1 Million Damages by Former Client: Edward Freidberg Now Representing Plaintiff

Malpractice Attorney Edward Freidberg Takes Helm of $1 Million Legal Malpractice Case Against Woodruff, O'Hair & Posner

Legal malpractice attorney Edward Freidberg 

Nationally recognized malpractice attorney Edward Freidberg last week became the attorney-of-record representing plaintiff Wei-Jen (Harrison) Luan in her long-running legal malpractice case against prominent family law firm Woodruff, O'Hair and Posner Inc., and firm partner Thomas Woodruff. The original lawsuit was filed in 2004, and the firm is now known as Woodruff, O'Hair, Posner and Salinger Inc. 

Luan alleges that Woodruff's malpractice during her divorce resulted in more than $1 million in losses in connection with the sale of real property held in a family trust. Freidberg is a veteran professional liability attorney and pioneer in the area of legal malpractice litigation, according to the firm's website: 

In 1975 the California Supreme Court affirmed a legal malpractice jury judgment Mr. Freidberg won for his client which broadened the boundaries of liability of attorneys. This landmark decision has been cited in over 140 decisions since. Smith v. Lewis (1975) 13 Cal.3d 349, 78 A.L.R. 3d 321.Time Magazine in 1976 described Freidberg as "pioneering in what promises to be a busy new activity in the field of professional malpractice: Big-money court cases against negligent lawyers." His work in legal malpractice was profiled in a 16-minute segment of the CBS news program "60 Minutes" in 1987, was featured in a lengthy front page article in the Wall Street Journal and was chronicled in the "Million Dollar Lawyers" by Joseph C. Gulden (1978, G.P. Putnam and Sons, New York).

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Judge Peter McBrien Commission on Judicial Performance Whistleblower Leaked Transcript of Judicial Misconduct Prosecution - CJP Victoria Henley

Judge Peter McBrien Judicial Misconduct Prosecution Leaked Oral Argument Transcript

Friday Document Dump

Sacramento Family Court News has obtained a confidential court reporter transcript from the Commission on Judicial Performance prosecution of family court Judge Peter J. McBrien. The CJP is the government agency responsible for oversight and accountability of California judges. The document contains the complete 2009 oral argument by CJP prosecutor Andrew Blum detailing McBrien's misconduct in the Carlsson case. 

The published 3rd District opinion in Carlsson - authored by three appellate justices without past employment in Sacramento County Superior Court - "developed a certain notoriety" throughout the state, according to Sixth District Court of Appeal Presiding Justice Conrad L. Rushing. Justice Rushing characterized McBrien's conduct in the case as a "judicial reign of terror." To view Rushing's statements about the Carlsson case, click here. 

Court watchdogs point to the Carlsson case as one example of the preferential treatment family court judges provide attorneys who serve as temporary judges in the same court. Almost every ruling issued by McBrien in the case was in favor of the party represented by judge pro tem attorney Charlotte Keeley, according to the 3rd District. As a result of the appellate opinion, which overturned McBrien's decisions and ordered a new trial, the CJP charged McBrien with multiple violations of the Code of Judicial Ethics, including willful misconduct in office, persistent failure or inability to perform his duties, conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice that brings the judicial office into disrepute, and improper action within the meaning of article VI, section 18 of the California Constitution.

For further information about the McBrien CJP prosecution, and to view the confidential CJP transcript, click Read more >> below...

Sacramento Divorce Attorneys Woodruff, O'Hair, Posner & Salinger $1 Million Legal Malpractice Case Again Referred for Trial and Settlement Conference Dates

Judge David Brown Denies Status Conference Request - Orders Woodruff, O'Hair, Posner & Salinger $1 Million Legal Malpractice Case to Trial Setting Process, Again

D. Thomas Woodruff and his firm Woodruff, O'Hair, Posner

and Salinger are accused of legal malpractice in a lawsuit

alleging over $1 million in damages.

In a tersely worded order, Sacramento County Superior Court Judge David Brown has denied a status conference request by attorneys in the legal malpractice case against prominent Sacramento family law firm Woodruff, O'Hair, Posner and Salinger, firm president D. Thomas Woodruff, and real estate attorney Howard Stagg. On June 3, Robert Johnson, an attorney with the law firm representing Woodruff and his firm, made a written request to Judge Brown on behalf of all attorneys in the case for a Status Conference "at your earliest convenience." Click here to view the request letter. 

In a minute ordered issued a week later, Judge Brown summarily denied the request and re-referred the case "to the Trial Setting Process for selection of trial and MSC dates." The denial inferred that the parties had violated a prior order issued by the judge on October 30, 2012 in which he ordered the same referral for trial setting and Mandatory Settlement Conference. Click here to view Judge Brown's order. As we previously reported, court records show that a Civil Settlement Conference was scheduled for April 4, 2013 in Department 59, and a Long Cause Civil Trial Assignment was calendared for hearing on May 14 in Department 47. The case docket appears to indicate that those events did not take place.

To continue reading, click Read more>> below... 

Hon. James M. Mize Misconduct: Leaked Commission on Judicial Performance Testimony for Judge Peter McBrien

Judge James Mize CJP Testimony for Judge Peter McBrien Defense Team - Whistleblower Leak

Thursday Document Dump

Sacramento Family Court News has obtained the court reporter transcript of Sacramento County Family Court Supervising Judge James Mize's 2009 testimony before the Commission on Judicial Performance for controversial family court Judge Peter McBrien. With McBrien's felony indictment records.The CJP is the government agency responsible for oversight and accountability of California judges.Mize testified as a character witness in defense of McBrien at the judge's second prosecution by the CJP. 

According to the CJP, Mize's testimony was considered a mitigating factor that reduced the level of punishment McBrien ultimately received after being found guilty. McBrien was charged with multiple violations of the Code of Judicial Ethics in connection with his misconduct in the Carlsson family court case. Sixth District Court of Appeal Presiding Justice Conrad L. Rushing characterized McBrien's conduct in the Carlsson case as a "judicial reign of terror." 

To continue reading, and to view the whistleblower leaked transcript, click Read more >> below:

Woodruff O'Hair Posner & Salinger Inc Malpractice Case: Settlement Conference and Trial Scheduled in $1 million Lawsuit Against Firm and Partner Tom Woodruff

Judge Pro Tem D. Thomas Woodruff and Woodruff, O'Hair, Posner & Salinger $1 Million Legal Malpractice Case Set for Trial

Wei-Jen (Harrison) Luan is suing for legal malpractice family law attorney and Judge Pro Tem D. Thomas Woodruff and the firm Woodruff, O'Hair, Posner & Salinger. The suit was filed in 2004 and claims more than $1 million in damages.

A settlement conference and trial have been calendared for the long-running legal malpractice lawsuit against family law attorney and Judge Pro Tem Thomas Woodruff, and the law firm Woodruff, O'Hair, Posner and Salinger, Inc. The settlement conference is scheduled for April 4, 2013, with trial set to begin on May 14 in Department 47 of the downtown Gordon D. Schaber Courthouse. 

Woodruff and the firm are being sued by Wei-Jen (Harrison) Luan, who alleges that Woodruff's malpractice during her divorce resulted in more than $1 million in losses in connection with the botched sale of real property held in a family trust. According to the 2004 lawsuit complaint: 

"Attorney Woodruff's breaches of duty, as alleged above, were a proximate and legal cause of substantial damage, loss and injury to plaintiff. Plaintiff's damages include, but are not necessarily limited to, the following: the purchaser sued Wei-Jen for specific performance and damages, claiming in excess of $1 million in losses. Wei-Jen is threatened with suit from the brokers for commissions in excess of $100,000 that would have been paid had the sale and exchange been consummated."

Click here to read the complaint for legal malpractice filed against Woodruff and Woodruff, O'Hair, Posner & Salinger. 

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Divorce and Family Law Attorney Paula Salinger Granted Judge Pro Tem Qualifications Waiver By Presiding Judge Steve White

Woodruff, O'Hair, Posner & Salinger Attorney Granted Early Temporary Judge Status as Payback for McBrien Help, Claims Watchdog

Paula D. Salinger, an attorney with Woodruff, O'Hair, Posner & Salinger received from Sacramento County Superior Court Presiding Judge Steve White a waiver of the requirements to assume the Office of Temporary Judge. Click here to view the full order.

(updated below)

Internal Sacramento County Superior Court records obtained by Sacramento Family Court News reveal that Judge Steve White has on April 28 signed a court order waiving the minimum qualification requirements for a private attorney to act as a temporary judge in family court. White's order authorizes family law attorney Paula D. Salinger to become a judge pro tem even though she has not been a member of the State Bar for at least ten years, one requirement to become a temporary judge under California Rules of Court rule 2.812. Salinger is a partner at the prominent family law firm Woodruff, O’Hair, Posner and Salinger. With Salinger's waiver, all four attorneys at the firm now hold the Office of Temporary Judge. Many attorneys use the title - which implies influential, insider status at the courthouse - as a marketing tool to attract new clients. The title also gives family court lawyers preferential treatment in setting trials for paying clients. A family court watchdog alleges that the waiver is the return of a favor owed to Robert O’Hair, a senior partner at the firm. O’Hair testified as a character witness for veteran family court Judge Peter J. McBrien when the ethically-challenged judge was fighting misconduct charges and facing removal from the bench in 2009.

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