SACRAMENTO — The State Bar has filed a sizeable disciplinary case against popular Bay Area lawyer with a large social media following, alleging she took tens of thousands from clients, then failed them.
Claire White, CEO of her own Suisun City firm the Dope Law Group, was hit with a 31-count notice of disciplinary charges alleging she took fees from eight clients, but produced “no legal work of value” in return. White already faced similar allegations involving one former client when the State Bar brought this new case on May 1.
Known as a fierce and persuasive lawyer, White has a big social media presence — more than 60,000 Instagram followers — and frequently uses the account to post legal tips. In posts, she warns people not to talk to police, to “stop snitching” and celebrates acquittals and dismissals in pictures with clients, with most posts hashtagged “wefightf—you.”
But the charging records against her paint a wildly different portrait. From 2019 to 2023, White is alleged to have accepted fees for legal services that weren’t provided. She allegedly lied in a written declaration — filed under penalty of perjury — about hiring a private investigator for a case. She also allegedly uses money that had been earmarked for clients’ legal fees on personal expenses, according to the records filed by the state bar, which licenses attorneys and regulates the practice of law.
In early 2020, she allegedly told a client he could miss a court date to attend a funeral, then failed to file the necessary motions to inform the judge. The result was her client being sent to jail and losing his jobs, the notice of disciplinary charges alleges.
White has retained a lawyer, Mark Reichel, to fend off the charges. He released a statement describing her as a magnificent lawyer.
“Claire is an exceptionally effective and tremendously talented attorney,” Reichel said in an email. “If the world had more Claire Whites, it would be a supremely better place.”
The cases are unresolved, and the first notice of discipline has been in limbo for months. After White was accused in January, the state bar gave notice it had found more evidence and would likely file more charges at a later date. That held the January case in place until May 1, when the second case was filed. State bar attorneys are seeking to consolidate both cases.
If proved, the allegations could result in discipline such as probation or disbarment. A status conference has been set for June 9.
Steven Clark, a San Jose-based lawyer who is frequently used by news media as a legal analyst, said the allegations over clients’ money might not be White’s biggest problem.
“Attorneys have a duty of honesty both to the client and to the court,” Clark said. “When she’s alleged to have made statements under oath that were false to the court, that’s one way to get into very significant problems.”
