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3/9/2012 1James Beirne Scam

Atty. Paul ‘Boy’ Allen, Fronting for Others, He also Faces Contempt of Court Charges

Submitted by PinoyWatchDog.com

Beirne Stops Advertising in Face of Contempt Charges. Is He Shutting Down Law Office?

By Rene Villaroman with PWD Investigative Team


http://www.pinoywatchdog.com/author/pinoywatchdog-com/

BURBANK — Highly regarded and well-seasoned trial

attorney Dennis P. Wilson told PinoyWatchDog.com that he

intends to bring contempt of court charges against Atty.

Paul „Boy‟ Allen, admitted to practice law just last summer,

and appearing in advertisements for the Beirne Law Office

since the fall of 2011.

Wilson said that “as an associate of Attorney Beirne this

new attorney falls under Judge Brugerra‟s court order to

not mislead or deceive the public” and Allen‟s recent

seemingly independent advertising that just directs clients

to the Beirne Law Office is misleading.


The Law Office of James P. Beirne admits the young Mr.

Allen had no prior legal experience before working with the

Beirne office. In January 2012, hundreds of contempt of

court charges were brought against Attorney James Beirne

and are now pending in the Los Angeles Superior Court.


The web site of the State Bar of California has Allen‟s full

name as Paul Mendoza Allen, apparently the son of

Anthony Allen and Luchie Mendoza-Allen, the widely

reported non-lawyer owners of the Law Office of James

P. Beirne. Beirne‟s office refused to comment on „Boy

Allen‟s‟ relationship to the notorious Anthony Allen and

Luchie Mendoza-Allen. “It is safe to presume he is their

son,” speculated one Balita Media observer. “Indeed,

they must have someone who can be trusted because of

things that go on over there. But why deny they are your

parents?”


The “Deceptive and Misleading” Ads Continue

We at PinoyWatchDog.com have observed that

recently, Atty. Beirne‟s

copywriters, presumably, owners Anthony and Luchie

Mendoza-Allen, and “practicing journalist” Rhony

Laigo had crafted a new set of advertising copies

depicting Atty. Paul Allen singly, but utilizing the same

addresses and telephone numbers of the three offices

of James P. Beirne in Glendale, Cerritos and West

Covina.



http://www.pinoywatchdog.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/pinoywatchdog.com-james-beirne-paul-allen.png

http://www.pinoywatchdog.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/pinoywatchdog.com-james-beirne-paul-allen.png

On hearing this new round of “deceptive and confusing

advertising”, trial attorney Dennis P. Wilson, who, by the

way, is no ordinary trial lawyer, but one so busy and well-

known he does not even need to advertise, said: “Attorney

Allen‟s advertising is in violation of the court order that

Beirne‟s law office not mislead the public.” Wilson cited

California Rule of Professional Conduct 1-400 and

referred to a „Standard 9‟.


„Standard 9‟ states that „Firm names, trade names,

fictitious names, or other professional designations used

by a lawyer or law firm that differ materially from any other

such designations used by the lawyer or law firm at the

same time in the same community “ are presumed to be

misleading and deceiving.‟ Considering the ads have the

same phone numbers and addresses as the Beirne law

office, and follow the same format „Boy‟ Allen appears

destined to the same fate as Attorney Beirne.

“There is no question of same time and same community,”

said Atty. Wilson. “It is the same newspaper, same

edition.” Balita Media newspapers is owned by Paul

Allen‟s parents, Anthony and Luchie Mendoza-Allen.


Wilson has been designated to prosecute Atty. James

Beirne for over 200 counts of contempt of court charges

resulting from his disregard of Judge Soussan

Brueguera‟s court order “to not have any false,

misleading, deceptive advertising or communications, or

such advertising that tends to confuse, deceive or

mislead the public; or to not guaranty any outcome on a

legal matter, or to use a spokesperson without

disclosure of the spokesperson‟s title.”

“There will be dozens more charges filed,” Wilson said,

“for new violations since the January 2012” when the

instant contempt of court proceedings against Beirne

began.


The maximum sentence for all these counts could total

up to three (3) years in jail and about $200,000 in fines,

plus attorneys fees. However, it would be expected that

the sentence would not be that harsh, if ever the trial,

originally set for February 27, 2012, but now continued

to a later date by Judge Bruguera, proceeds.


The Los Angeles County Bar Association has advised in a

formal opinion in 2006, many years before, young,

inexperienced Paul „Boy‟ Allen even started going to law

school that “a practitioner who maintains her own solo law

practice is not ethically precluded from concurrently

serving as “of counsel” with another law firm or attorney

despite CPPC 1-400 (E), Standard 9. So long as the

lawyer tells existing and potential clients that she works in

both capacities and identifies the actual capacity in which

she will handle a client‟s matter, she may use separate

business cards and stationery to indicate when she is

acting as “of counsel” for the affiliated firm and when she is

acting through her solo practice.”

But “Boy” Allen is such a new attorney with no experience

he could hardly be „of counsel‟ to any law firm.


“This is Scary”:

Former Beirne Client

„Boy‟ Allen‟s ads offer debt relief in large letters. In small,

barely readable letters in the bottom of the advertisement

is the language required under Federal law for all

bankruptcy attorneys. “This is scary,” said Diosdado

Duldulao, a former Beirne client whose family home was

lost when Beirne failed to file an already completed and

signed bankruptcy petition. “I answered an ad for debt

relief and Ruby Sexton ( a Beirne staff member) sold me a

bankruptcy petition. It looks like they are doing the same

thing here.”


“Do they think Filipinos are stupid?” asked one

friend of Duldulao. “A new admittee with no

experience suddenly has three law office locations

and full ad campaign. Seems pretty obvious that this

boy is not in charge of the law office, he is just a

front, and that is dangerous to the Filipino

community.”


PinoyWatchDog.com‟s investigation has revealed that

numerous former Beirne clients experienced the same

„bait and switch‟ techniques, going to the office for debt

relief and being sold a bankruptcy. “I understand that

standard attorney fees for debt relief are about $2500. It

involves a lot of work, and success rates are not that

high,” said Atty. Dennis P. Wilson. “However, if you sell a

Chapter 13 bankruptcy petition along with lien stripping

(procedure to take a second mortgage off a home) the

law firm can charge $8000.”


Attorney Beirne Shutting Down Law Office?

Media observers in the Fil-Am community are of the

opinion that these moves by the Balita/Beirne owners are

in preparation for Atty. Beirne‟s exit from the practice of

law in the face of crippling contempt of court charges

pending which number over 200. Indeed, Beirne has

ceased advertising except for an outdated, misleading and

factually incorrect „Setting the Record Straight‟ open letter

that still says “Merry Christmas” in the middle of February.


One reliable observer said that Anthony Allen and Luchie

Mendoza have long intended to move Beirne out and start

anew with the younger Paul „Boy‟ Allen, but with the

pending criminal trial looming against Beirne the calendar

for this roll-out was moved forward, even though Attorney

Allen does not yet have experience to practice law on his

own.

“Please tell your readers at PinoyWatchDog this” the friend

continued, “so others do not lose their house by this

group‟s fraud on all Filipinos.”


end


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