Disbarred immigration attorney Martin Resendez Guajardo defrauded thousands of Bay Area immigrant clients over his 35-year career, overcharging them as he made unrealistic promises about their cases while providing negligent representation, according to two lawsuits filed in San Francisco Superior Court this morning.

San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera announced at a press conference in City Hall that his office is suing Guajardo for unfair business practices and has requested a preliminary injunction to force Guajardo to stop practicing law and notify his clients that he is no longer a licensed attorney.

"In every case, money was taken out of their pocket and work was not done," Herrera said.  "There are a great many people in this country on all sides of the immigration debate who agree that people need their rights protected."

Guajardo had clients from all over the Bay Area and from every immigrant community, including the Latino, Indian and Russian communities, Herrera said.  Though his main office is in the San Francisco Financial District, an advertisement on Craigslist indicated that he is hiring staff for an office in Sunnyvale. 

According to Herrera, Guajardo was able to convince clients he would hand them the American Dream.

"When someone is pursuing a dream, you grab onto hope," Herrera said.

Herrera portrayed Guajardo as a "wonderful marketer" who drove expensive cars and plastered the city with ads.  He set up his office near the immigration court downtown and made extravagant promises to clients who were facing deportation orders and other immigration issues.  He charged them exorbitant fees, but gave bad advice and often failed to take appropriate legal action, Herrera said.

"In some ways, if you do a bad job, it's a perfect situation: your client is deported," said Lynne Hermle, a lawyer with Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe who filed a class action suit this morning on behalf of Guajardo's clients.

Mark Silverman, director of immigration policy at the Immigrant Legal Resource Center, said he encountered cases where Guajardo was charging clients $60,000 or $70,000 for work that would normally be billed at $6,000 to $10,000.

"When this case is done, you will see the fancy cars and expensive suits of Mr. Guajardo were paid for by the sweat and tears of people at their most vulnerable," said David Campos, member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. 

The city attorney's suit also names attorney Christopher Stender, Guajardo's alleged partner, and the Immigration Practice Group, the firm Herrera says Guajardo founded on the day before he voluntarily resigned from the California State Bar.

The California State Bar suspended Guajardo three times and the Ninth Circuit disciplined him twice in the 1990s for misconduct against clients, according to the city attorney's complaint.  The misconduct includes cases where Guajardo neglected to return client money and where he didn't take action on cases for which he had been hired.  Eventually, the Board of Immigration Appeals barred Guajardo from appearing before them.

In 2008, facing further disciplinary action, Guajardo voluntarily resigned from the California State Bar.  Though Christopher Stender was the attorney of record at the Immigration Practice Group, Herrera alleges that Guajardo regularly met with clients and provided legal advice.  He did not inform clients that he was no longer a licensed attorney, as required by law.

The lawsuits are focused on these last two years of Guajardo's career, when he allegedly continued to practice law without a license and misled clients.

There are currently three named plaintiffs in the class action lawsuit, but Orrick will add more as further complainants come forward, Hermle said.  Guajardo's former clients are invited to a workshop at UC Hastings on Dec. 1 to consult with lawyers about their experiences.  Services will be provided in English, Spanish, Hindi, French, Cantonese and Mandarin.

Former clients can also call (415) 773-4266 for more information about the class action lawsuit.

City officials stressed it's important that immigrants realize there are reputable resources available to them.

"If your attorney asks you to lie or do something unethical, walk away," said Anoop Prasad, staff attorney with the Asian Law Caucus.

Further Resources:

If you believe you were a victim of Martin Guajardo, Christopher Stender or the Immigration Practice Group, you can attend a free, confidential workshop for victims on Dec. 1 from 5:30 pm to 8:30pm at UC Hastings College of the Law, Louis B. Mayer Lounge, 200 McAllister Street, San Francisco, CA.  Services will be provided in English, Spanish, Hindi, French, Cantonese and Mandarin.

Or, call Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe for further information about the class action lawsuit: (415) 773-4266