Erin Joyce has extensive experience in State Bar investigations and disciplinary proceedings, plus over thirty years of civil litigation practice.
Erin was admitted in 1990 and practiced for nearly eight years in an intellectual property boutique before joining the Office of Chief Trial Counsel as a prosecutor for the State Bar, from 1997 through 2016. Erin has almost twenty-five years of experience handling all aspects of discipline cases against attorneys in State Bar Court, from the filing of the complaint through trial and review. She has personally tried dozens of State Bar trials and several appeals. She has a comprehensive understanding of how State Bar investigations and proceedings unfold. Moreover, she has been involved in licensing matters for other professionals, such as EMTs and paramedics.
Before going into private practice, Erin served as Chief Special Investigator for the Los Angeles Fire Department, as a prosecutor for the State Bar of California, and as a lawyer for multiple private practices.
Honors
and Awards
• Attorney of
Distinction, Pasadena Magazine, March 2022
• Super Lawyers
for 2022
Professional Associations and Memberships
• State Bar Ethics Instructor, 2003 through 2016
• Abraham Lincoln University, Adjunct Professor
• Small Firms and Sole Practitioners Section, Vice-Chair
• Professional Responsibility and Ethics Committee of the Los
Angeles County Bar: Member, Secretary
• Los Angeles County Bar Association, Member
• LACBA, Networking Meetings Steering Committee, Chair
• LACBA Delegation Conference of California Bar Associations: Secretary,
Chair
• LACBA Future of Lawyering Taskforce, Chair
• Conference of California Bar Associations, Resolutions
Committee, Member
• Association of Discipline Defense Counsel: Secretary to Board,
Second Vice President
• Association of Discipline Defense Counsel, Chair, Law
Committee
• California Lawyers Association, Small Firms Section, Member
• California Lawyers Association, Future of Lawyering Taskforce,
Member
• California Lawyers Association, Attorney Health and Wellness
Committee, Chair
• Continuing
Education of the Bar, Faculty
• Practicing Law
Institute, Faculty
• Women in the
Law, Faculty
• Women Lawyers
of Los Angeles, Member
• San Fernando
Valley Bar Association Board of Trustees, Member
Programs and Presentations
• Program Speaker on "Avoiding
the State Bar Discipline System,” State Bar of California’s Solo and Small Firm
Summit – June 2012, June 2020
• Program Speaker on “Significant
Rule Changes that Impact the Small Firm or Solo Practitioner,” LACBA – December
2018
• Program Speaker on “New Rules for
the Small Firm Practitioner,” Eastern Bar Association - January 17, 2019
• Program Speaker on “New Rules of
Professional Conduct,” Los Angeles County Bar Association - January 31, 2019
• Program
speaker at "How to Ethically Build a Referral Network," LACBA's Small
Firm Practitioners Toolkit, November 2019
• Program speaker at "How to Avoid a State Bar Complaint,"
CAALA Vegas 2019 and Alameda County Bar Association, December 2019
• Program speaker at "What You Don't Know About Trust
Accounting Can Get You Disbarred," LACBA Ethics Symposium, January 2020
and CLA Litigation Section, April 2020
• Program Speaker on “The State
Bar’s Proposal to Allow Non-Attorney Practice of Law” – December 2019, January
2020
• Program Speaker on
“Ethics for the Government Lawyer,” Los Angeles County Counsel - February 2020
• Program Speaker on “Bankruptcy & COVID-19: Basics & Ethical Considerations,” Outside
Counsel Network – April 2020
• Program Speaker on “Wellness
Strategies for the Legal Community,” The Lawyer Assistance Program – May 2020
• Program Speaker on “The Ethics of Legal Marketing,”
Outside Counsel Network – June 2020
• Program Speaker on “Trials During
COVID,” CAALA - December 2020
• Program Speaker on “Life and
the Practice of Law After COVID 19,” Outside Counsel Network – July 2020
• Program Speaker on “How Client
Entanglements Can Jeopardize Your License” – August 2020
• Program Speaker on “Starting
and Building Your Law Practice in a Pandemic World,” PLI Program – August 2020
• Program Speaker on “The
Intersection of Attorney Ethics, Mental Health and the Covid Pandemic,” Outside
Counsel Network -- October 2020
• Program Speaker on “How to Keep Your Client’s Money Safe and Your
License Safe, All at the Same Time!” CAALA Vegas – July 2021
• Program Speaker on “Thriving
in Volatile Times and Growing Your Practice,” MCLE – November 2020
• Program Speaker on “How to
Pivot Your Practice: The Importance of Competence, Mentorship, & Effective
Communication,” -- MCLE – November 2020
• Program Speaker on “Trials During
COVID,” CAALA - December 2020
• Program Speaker at LACBA Ethics Symposium - January 2021
• Program Speaker on “What You
Don’t Know About Trust Accounts Can Get You Disbarred” – January 2020, April
2020, January
2021
• Program Speaker on Contemporary
Ethical Issues – February 2021
• Program Speaker on “How to
Avoid a State Bar Complaint” – February 2021
• Program Speaker on “The Ethics
of Referrals,” Outside Counsel Network – November 2020, March 2021
• Program Speaker on “Ethics
Do’s and Don’ts for Lawyer Marketing and Advertising in 2020,” CAALA – March
2021
• Program Speaker on “Ethics of
Alternative Billing” – April 2021
• Program Speaker on “Special
Ethics Issues for Trusts and Estates Attorneys” – April 2021
• Program Speaker on “Mediation
Ethics” – May 2021
• Program Speaker on “How Law
Firms Can Thrive in These Turbulent Times,” Outside Counsel Network – May 2021
• Program Speaker on “The State
Bar’s Attack on Lawyers: Big Tech Takeover and How Paraprofessionals Will
Affect Your Practice” – June 2021
• Program Speaker on “Pitfalls
for the Unwary: How Changes in the Rules of Professional Conduct Can Expose You
to Serious Liability,” California Lawyers Association – July 2021
• Program Speaker on “How Judges
Affect Attorney Wellbeing,” California Lawyer Association – August 2021
• Program Speaker on “The Basics
of How to Manage Your Trust Account to Avoid Discipline,” CAALA Vegas –
September 2021
• Program Speaker on
“Deconstructing Girardi,” Westside Bar Association – October 2021
• Program Speaker on “The
Ultimate Playbook: Building Your Business Without Breaking Ethics Rules,”
American Bar Association Live Webinar – November 2021
Publications
• “The Perils of Flat Fee
Agreements Under the New Rules of Professional Conduct,” LACBA Update - September
2019
• “Bar Proposals will Upend the
Legal Profession,” Los Angeles Daily Journal - October 2, 2019
• “How to Avoid a State Bar Complaint,”
CAALA’s The Advocate - December 2019 Edition
• “Zealous
Advocacy During the Pandemic / Practicing Law In Interesting Times,” CAALA’s The Advocate - April 2020
• “Practicing Law in Interesting Times,” California
Lawyers Association’s (Vol. 6 No. 2) - May 2020
• “What You Don’t Know About Trust Accounting Can Get You Disbarred,” LACBA
Update - May 2020
• “The Buck Stops Here,” CLA The Practitioner/
SOLO (Vol. 26, Is. No. 3) - Summer 2020
• “State Bar
Issues Draft Rules for Temporary Licensure Program,” Los Angeles Daily Journal
- September 2020
• “Tales of Civility in Times of
Pandemic,” Los Angeles Lawyer Magazine - October 2020
• “No Good Deed
Goes Unpunished – Even Humanitarian Loans to Clients Must Comply with the Rules
of Professional Conduct,” (Vol. 6, No. 4) Attorney at Law Magazine - October
2020
• “The Perils of
Flat-Fee Agreements Under the Current Rules of Professional Conduct,” Attorney
at Law Magazine - January 2021
• “Pitfalls to
Avoid with Litigation Funding,” CAALA’s The Advocate - January 2021
• “LA County
Bar: Others Oppose Paraprofessionals in Court,” Los Angeles Daily Journal - April
2021
• “Flat Fees:
Follow the Rules, No Problem” (Reprint from Attorney at Law Magazine, Vol.7.,
No. 1), Valley Lawyer - June 2021
• “Don’t Be
Tempted by the Fruit of the Alternative Payment App Tree!” CLA-The
Practitioner/SOLO - July 2021
• “How Judicial
Officers Can Assist in the Creation of Mental Health of Attorneys While
Supporting and Aiding the Delivery of Justice,” California Lawyers Association,
By Erin Joyce, the Hon. Kevin Rosenberg and Carolin Shining - July 2021
• “The Time Has
Come for a State Bar Expungement Procedure,” Los Angeles Lawyer Magazine - July
2021
• “Problems with the Paraprofessional Program,” By Erin Joyce and Raquel
Greenberg, Los Angeles Daily Journal - October 2021
