who was the lawyer that erin brockovich worked for

by Tobin Bergstrom 10 min read

Disbarment recommended for Tom Girardi, lawyer whose law firm was portrayed in 'Erin Brockovich' movie. Image from Shutterstock. A California bar court judge has recommended the disbarment of lawyer Tom Girardi, whose estranged wife is Erika Girardi of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills reality TV show.Jan 14, 2022

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Who represents Thomas Girardi?

Girardi has handled major cases against the former Lockheed Corp (now the Lockheed Martin Corp.), Pacific Gas & Electric Co, Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, and Hollywood's seven major movie studios.

How did Tom Girardi make his money?

His firm, Girardi & Keese, pioneered the practice of taking major cases on contingency – where clients paid no money up front – and in return would keep 25-40% of the final judgements amounts. These cuts made Tom extremely wealthy.

What happened to Erin Brockovich lawyer?

Edward L. Masry, a flamboyantly pugnacious lawyer who won millions from a utility in a toxic pollution suit and was portrayed by the actor Albert Finney in the 2000 movie "Erin Brockovich," died on Monday at a hospital in Thousand Oaks, Calif. He was 73.

Where is Thomas Girardi now?

Girardi, 82, is currently residing at an assisted-living and memory care facility in Burbank, Calif., after a late-onset Alzheimer's disease and dementia diagnosis. The disbarred lawyer has also been placed in a conservatorship that is overseen by his brother Robert.

How much does Erika Jayne make from housewives?

$600,000So…how much does Erika Jayne make on RHOBH? The New York Times reported in October 2021 that Erika made $600,000 for season 11 of RHOBH. The salary is a $100,000 raise for Erika, who previously made $500,000 per season, according to The Sun.

What is Thomas Girardi famous for?

Among them was Tom Girardi. Girardi was about as famous as a lawyer can get in post-O. J. America. He was one of the lawyers brought in by Ed Masry and Erin Brockovich to help sue Pacific Gas & Electric on behalf of the residents of Hinkley, California.

What role did Tom Girardi play in Erin Brockovich?

Girardi Keese was portrayed in the film Erin Brockovich as helping win a $333 million settlement in a case concerning contaminated drinking water. Roland's opinion recommended that Girardi pay more than $2.2 million in restitution.

Does Erin Brockovich still work for Ed Masry?

Brockovich, who still works for Masry as his research director, testified in the Van Nuys courtroom of Judge Stanley Weisberg that two key pieces of evidence offered by Cohen's lawyer did not strike her as sexual harassment.

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What is Erin Brockovich famous for?

Erin Brockovich is best known for her involvement in one of the largest direct action lawsuits in U.S. history and is the subject of the 2000 film 'Erin Brockovich,' starring Julia Roberts.

What is the role of Brockovich?

In the time since the Hinkley lawsuit that made her famous, Brockovich has continued to work as a consumer advocate and environmental activist. She has been involved in numerous successful lawsuits against environmental polluters as well as ongoing lawsuits involving automobiles, pharmaceuticals and medical devices.

What happened to Brockovich after her divorce?

Shortly after her divorce, Brockovich was involved in a severe car accident that necessitated her having neck surgery. She then moved to Los Angeles’s San Fernando Valley, where she was referred by a friend to the law firm Masry & Vititoe, whom she hired to represent her in her accident case.

How much did Brockovich get paid?

For her part in bringing the case to the firm, Brockovich received a fee of $2.5 million. But the publicity that the case received also brought Brockovich to the attention of Danny DeVito ’s production company, Jersey Films, who bought the rights to Brockovich’s story in 1995.

How much did the Brokovich case cost?

The $333 million settlement they received is the largest of its kind in the history of the United States. The story of Brokovich’s life and involvement in the case was the subject of the 2000 film Erin Brockovich, which starred Julia Roberts in the title role. Since the film’s release, Erin Brockovich has continued to work as a consumer advocate ...

When did Brockovich and Brown get divorced?

However, their marriage eventually fell apart, and they were divorced in 1987.

How much did the movie "Brockovich" earn?

The movie was a major critical and commercial success, earning more than $250 million worldwide and receiving multiple Academy Award nominations. For her performance as Brockovich, Roberts won the award for Best Actress.

Who is Tom Girardi?

Tom Girardi was the actual, real-life attorney who stepped in to help Erin Brockovich get justice for the residents of Hinkley, Calif. back in 1993. However, if you're looking for him in the movie, you won't find a guy named Girardi in the Julia Roberts film "Erin Brockovich." Instead, they turned the Girardi character into a fellow named Kurt Potter, played by Peter Coyote. However, Girardi was an advisor on the film and was closely involved with turning the true story into an Oscar-winning motion picture.

Who is Tom Girardi's wife?

The Truth About Tom Girardi's Connection To Erin Brockovich. The Bravo-verse was shocked when Erika Jayne not only announced that she and her husband, lawyer Tom Girardi, were divorcing after 21 years of marriage, but that Tom was also charged with stealing or misappropriating over $13 million in settlements meant for his clients.

Who wrote Erin Brockovich?

Erin Brockovich is a 2000 American biographical legal drama film directed by Steven Soderbergh and written by Susannah Grant.

How much did Erin Brockovich make in 2000?

Erin Brockovich was released on March 17, 2000, in 2,848 theaters and grossed $28.1 million on its opening weekend. It went on to make $126.6 million in North America and $130.7 million in the rest of the world for a worldwide total of $257.3 million.

What does Erin know about Charles's cousin?

Erin realizes Charles has been trying to communicate with her, and is finally able to listen to his story. Charles tells Erin he and his cousin were both employees with PG&E Hinkley. Heartbroken, he tells her his cousin has just died; dying a painful death from the poison he interacted with at PG&E.

Who is the waitress in Traffic?

Soderbergh received a separate Best Director nomination for Traffic, another film released that same year, which he won. Early in the film, the real Erin Brockovich has a cameo appearance as a waitress named Julia; the real Ed Masry also appears in the same scene.

Was Brockovich ever Miss Wichita?

Brockovich had never been Miss Wichita; she had been Miss Pacific Coast. According to Brockovich, this detail was deliberately changed by Soderbergh as he thought it was "cute" to have her be beauty queen of the region from which she came. The "not so good employee" that met Brockovich in the bar was Chuck Ebersohl.

Who was the not so good employee in the movie?

He told Erin about the documents that he and Lillian Melendez had been tasked by PG&E to destroy. Jorge Halaby, played by Aaron Eckhart in the film, along with Brockovich's ex-husband Shawn Brown alleged that she had an affair with Masry.

Who is Erin in Miss Wichita?

Erin, single mother of three, a former Miss Wichita who improbably rallies a community to take on a multi-billion-dollar corporation, is the richest role of her career, simultaneously showing off her comic, dramatic and romantic chops".

Why did Erin Brockovich become a household name?

Over time, Erin realized that she could use her notoriety to spread positive messages of personal empowerment and to encourage others to stand up and make a difference.

What was Erin Brockovich's first TV show?

Her first TV project was ABC’s 2001 special “Challenge America With Erin Brockovich” where she helped motivate and organize the rebuilding of a dilapidated park in downtown Manhattan. This show is best described as “Extreme Make-Over Home Edition” on steroids.

Where does Erin Brockovich live?

Erin lives in Southern California with her husband, three children and 5 Pomeranians and admits to one guilty pleasure… shopping! When KMBC broke the story about a cluster of brain tumors in Cameron, it drew national attention. One of those taking notice was well-known environmental activist Erin Brockovich.

How many seasons did Erin Brockovich host Final Justice?

Then, for three seasons, Erin hosted the Lifetime series, “Final Justice With Erin Brockovich”. The show celebrated everyday women who triumphed when faced with overwhelming adversity.Erin Brockovich has conquered all forms of media….

Who was the lawyer who played Girl Friday?

The estate of Edward L. Masry, the lawyer Erin Brockovitch clerked for and played Girl Friday to (resulting in the largest single class settlement in American history, against Pacific Gas & Electric), sued Masry's former place of employment into Chapter 11.

How much did Masry and Vititoe spend on defense?

Masry & Vititoe—sans Masry, who died in 2005—claim to have spent over $3M defending themselves against charges from Masry's estate, stemming from a decision that awarded control of a trust to Masry's kids, away from his wife. The trust held interests in the firm.

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Who Is Erin Brockovich?

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While working as a file clerk at a Los Angeles law firm in 1992, Erin Brockovich uncovered documents that ultimately led to more than 600 residents of Hinkley, California, filing a lawsuit against utility giant PG&E. The $333 million settlement they received is the largest of its kind in the history of the United States. The stor…
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Early Life

  • Brockovich was born Erin Pattee in Lawrence, Kansas, on June 22, 1960. The youngest of four children, she grew up in a tightknit middle-class family. Her father was an industrial engineer, and her mother was a journalist. Diagnosed as dyslexic at a young age, Erin was not a particularly good student. After graduating high school in 1978, Brockovich briefly attended Kansas State Un…
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Hinkley and Hollywood

  • Shortly after her divorce, Brockovich was involved in a severe car accident that necessitated her having neck surgery. She then moved to Los Angeles’s San Fernando Valley, where she was referred by a friend to the law firm Masry & Vititoe, whom she hired to represent her in her accident case. Brokovich was eventually awarded a small settlement, but not enough to support …
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Movie Starring Julia Roberts

  • Released in 2000, the film Erin Brockovichstars Roberts as Brockovich and Albert Finney as Masry in a mostly accurate recounting of the Hinkley lawsuit. It also features a cameo by Brockovich herself, who appears briefly onscreen as a waitress. The movie was a major critical and commercial success, earning more than $250 million worldwide and receiving multiple Academ…
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Fame and Consumer Advocacy

  • The success of the film made Brockovich famous, and in the years since its release she has used that fame to various ends. In 2001 she published the book Take It from Me: Life’s a Struggle But You Can Win, which became a New York Times bestseller, and was also the host of a Lifetime series called Final Justice with Erin Brockovich as well as the ABC special Challenge America wi…
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Overview

Erin Brockovich is a 2000 American biographical legal drama film directed by Steven Soderbergh and written by Susannah Grant. The film is a dramatization of the true story of Erin Brockovich, portrayed by Julia Roberts, who fought against the energy corporation Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) regarding its culpability for the Hinkley groundwater contamination incident. The film was a box-office success, and gained a positive critical reaction.

Plot

In 1993, Erin Brockovich is an unemployed single mother of three children who has recently been injured in a traffic accident with a doctor and is suing him. Her lawyer, Ed Masry, expects to win, but Erin's confrontational courtroom behavior under cross-examination loses her the case, and Ed will not return her phone calls afterwards. One day, he arrives at work to find her in the office, apparently working. She says that he told her things would work out and they did not, and that s…

Cast

• Julia Roberts as Erin Brockovich
• Albert Finney as Edward L. Masry
• Aaron Eckhart as George, Erin's biker boyfriend
• Marg Helgenberger as Donna Jensen

Production

The film was shot over eleven weeks, five weeks of that taking place in Ventura, California.
Erin Brockovich performed well with test audiences but executives at Universal Studios were worried that audiences would be turned off by the title character's use of profane language.

Reception

Erin Brockovich was released on March 17, 2000, in 2,848 theaters and grossed $28.1 million on its opening weekend. It went on to make $126.6 million in North America and $130.7 million in the rest of the world for a worldwide total of $257.3 million.
On review website Rotten Tomatoes Erin Brockovich holds an approval rating of 85% based on 150 reviews, with an average rating of 7.50/10. The critics consensus reads, "Taking full advantage o…

Accuracy

On her website, Brockovich says the film is "probably 98% accurate". While the general facts of the story are accurate, there are some minor discrepancies between actual events and the movie, as well as a number of controversial and disputed issues more fundamental to the case. In the film, Erin Brockovich appears to deliberately use her cleavage to seduce the water board attendant to allow her to access the documents. Brockovich has acknowledged that her cleavage may have h…

External links

• Erin Brockovich at IMDb
• Erin Brockovich at the TCM Movie Database
• Erin Brockovich at AllMovie
• Erin Brockovich at Box Office Mojo