A Lawyer Just One Step Ahead of the Law : * James Gunderson Escapes Disbarment by Quitting Practice; May His Legacy Be a Lesson

Attorney James D. Gunderson, target of a State Bar investigation for allegedly plundering the estates of elderly Leisure World clients, has resigned from his practice, even as prosecutors prepared to file conflict-of-interest charges that could have led to his disbarment.

Gunderson’s attorney said recently that the resignation had been planned for a long time and that his client had never been disciplined. Well, maybe so. But here is one lawyer who will not be forgotten readily, and that is not because he never was disciplined, nor because he got out before his peers routed him from their ranks. The publicity he received at the end of his career will stand primarily as a catalyst for reform.

In this manner, the Gunderson case likely will take a place of prominence in the annals of Orange County scandals. He resigned 14 months after The Times detailed how he inherited millions of dollars in cash, stock and real estate from clients whose wills and trusts were prepared by him and other members of his law firm. The inheritances remain under investigation by the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.

But already the attorney has inspired change. The Bar is obviously concerned about potential damage to the image of the profession. It is working toward adoption of a new rule making lawyers subject to disbarment for preparing wills or trusts that bequeath them gifts. And the Gunderson case already has led to the enactment of a bill sponsored by Assemblymen Tom Umberg (D-Garden Grove) and Bill Morrow (R-Oceanside) restricting attorneys from making themselves beneficiaries of estates.

The lesson of the Gunderson case was put well by the Orange County Trial Lawyers Assn.: “This should be a message to all professionals that they absolutely will be held accountable for their conduct and they are not above the law.”