This morning, the Supreme Court disbarred Drexel Bradshaw, finding him “culpable of multiple counts of misconduct involving moral turpitude” and concluding that “disbarment is necessary to protect the public and the integrity of the legal profession.” It found “multiple counts of misconduct in Bradshaw’s handling of the assets and home of a highly vulnerable elderly victim to whom he owed a fiduciary duty” as trustee.
The State Bar Court’s Review Department, in a 2-1 unpublished opinion, had recommended only a six-month suspension, but the court’s unanimous opinion by Justice Goodwin Liu in In re Bradshaw, agreeing with the Hearing Department judge and the Review Department dissenter, says that wasn’t a severe enough sanction. The Bar’s Office of Chief Trial Counsel asked for disbarment.
The court independently reviewed the record, but gave “ ‘great weight to both the review department’s disciplinary recommendation and the hearing panel’s factual findings.’ ”
