FORMER TRACY ATTORNEY BIJAL PATEL IN TROUBLE WITH STATE BAR – AGAIN; FORMAL DISCIPLINARY CHARGES FILED
BREAKING NEWS:
In late June, the State Bar of California filed formal disciplinary charges in the State Bar Court against Bijal M Patel, the former but still embattled Tracy City Attorney.
The action follows her unexplained license status changing to “inactive” in March of this year.
While the details about the charges are not yet known, the State Bar’s timing does raise questions about whether they are related to her time with the City of Tracy.
Patel’s last day with the city was on December 31, 2024.
DISCIPLINARY CHARGES FILED BY THE STATE BAR ARE RARE. ATTORNEYS FACE SUSPENSION OR DISBARMENT IF FOUND GUILTY OF MISCONDUCT OR SERIOUS CRIMES.
According to the State Bar’s website:
“The State Bar Court hears charges filed by the State Bar’s Office of Chief Trial Counsel against attorneys whose actions allegedly involve misconduct.
The State Bar Court has the authority to recommend that the California Supreme Court suspend or disbar attorneys found to have committed acts of professional misconduct or to have been convicted of serious crimes.”
All of this follows the State Bar's suspension of Patel’s license in July 2023 for noncompliance with MCLE requirements.
It appears to be beyond dispute that Patel continued practicing law as the City Attorney while here license was suspended.
Read more about her previous issue with the State Bar here.
News of charges filed against Bijal Patel by the State Bar will certainly unnerve Councilmembers Dan Evans and Mateo Bedolla, two of her most ardent supporters.
Both Evans and Bedolla, along with former Mayor Pro Tem Eleassia Davis, voted in December 2023 to give Patel an 8.9% pay raise despite knowing that Patel’s license had been suspended.
The raise boosted Patel’s annual salary to $279,807, a salary higher than that of the Governor of California.
You can read more about that controversial pay raise here.
The actions taken by Councilmembers Evans, Bedolla, and Davis, along with City Attorney Patel, led to a San Joaquin County Civil Grand Jury investigation and report titled “City of Tracy: Public Trust Still Not Restored,” released in June 2024.
The four subsequently dismissed the findings and recommendations in the Civil Grand Jury Report at a public hearing.
You can read more about this here.
This latest news of Patel’s problems with the State Bar is just part of this ongoing saga that began with the election of Dan Evans to the City Council.
Several questions raised by the public regarding the former city attorney and the council, led by Evans, Bedolla, and Davis, remain unanswered.
Time will tell if the charges filed against Bijal Patel will help provide answers or generate more questions.
We will keep you posted as always.