Girardi Client Turmoil Came as Firm Spent $70 Million From Trust

More than $70 million were transferred from the Girardi Keese firm’s client trust accounts to its operating account over the course of ten years, a former firm accounting employee testified Monday.

The company used that operating account to pay for six-figure Christmas parties at an exclusive social club where singer LeAnn Rimes had a “yearly standing gig;" host Super Bowl celebrations where attorneys received jerseys as party favors; and pay for Girardi’s two separate golf country club memberships, and his trips on private jets, said Norina Rouillard, who worked in the accounting department for nearly two decades.

One attorney even ...