Tom Girardi’s Career Earnings and Fee Structure
Tom Girardi built one of the most visible plaintiff law firms in the United States, Girardi & Keese, handling high-profile wrongful death, consumer, and aviation cases. His earnings came from contingency fees, typically ranging from 33 to 40 percent of any recovery, plus expenses advanced on behalf of clients. Public court filings and regulatory documents show that his firm routinely billed millions of dollars in fees and costs in single cases, with total career earnings estimated in the hundreds of millions of dollars. The exact amount of money Tom Girardi took from clients depends on case outcomes, fee agreements, and the allocation of settlements and verdicts across multiple matters.
Girardi’s financial profile includes earnings from major aviation, burn victim, and wrongful death cases, as well as appearances in state and federal litigation records. His firm’s billing practices were reviewed by courts, clients, and regulators, with some disputes centering on fee petitions and trust accounting. While precise career totals are not publicly aggregated, individual case fee petitions and settlement allocations provide a detailed picture of how much money Tom Girardi took in specific matters.
Major Settlements and Verdicts Linked to Girardi
Tom Girardi participated in several nationally reported cases, including the Asiana Airlines crash litigation and the Cessna Citation crash wrongful death actions. In these matters, gross settlements and verdicts reached tens of millions of dollars, with Girardi’s firm receiving a contracted share as fees and costs. For example, in the Asiana Airlines case, the firm advanced significant litigation costs and later sought reimbursement and a fee share from the recovery, illustrating the mechanics of how much money Tom Girardi took from a single high-value case.
Other matters involved large client recoveries in burn injury and product liability cases, where Girardi’s firm advanced costs and later petitioned for fees from the settlement or judgment. Court fee petitions in California and other jurisdictions show detailed breakdowns of gross recoveries, expenses, and fee awards, allowing a clear view of how much money Tom Girardi took in each matter. These records also show how fee agreements, cost advances, and client approvals shaped final payouts.
Regulatory Scrutiny, Client Disputes, and Current Status
Tom Girardi faced disciplinary actions and client disputes tied to fee handling, trust account management, and communication about case proceeds. Regulatory filings and court orders describe instances where clients questioned fee amounts, expense allocations, and the timing of distributions from settlements. These proceedings provide direct data on how much money Tom Girardi took in specific cases and how courts and disciplinary bodies evaluated those fee arrangements.
In recent years, Girardi’s firm experienced financial and operational challenges, including court-ordered fee disputes, client complaints, and changes in firm management. Public records show ongoing litigation over fee petitions, trust distributions, and client refunds, with courts reviewing how much money Tom Girardi took and whether fee agreements were properly executed. For more details on the regulatory and legal background, see the State Bar of California page on attorney discipline and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s public enforcement resources SEC.gov.