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
