A Los Angeles lawyer has forfeited his right to practice law in California after the State Bar Court ruled he intentionally misled incarcerated clients and their families by charging tens of thousands to apply for sentencing relief he knew they would never get.
According to the State Bar of California, Aaron Spolin agreed that he be disbarred for misconduct and admitted to repeatedly collecting “unconscionable” legal fees from his inmate clients to apply for sentencing relief under Assembly Bill 2942, which allows for certain inmates to be resentenced with lighter terms.
But Spolin knew that many of the clients whom he was charging would not be eligible for resentencing under Los Angeles and Orange county guidelines, a fact he never communicated to the clients or their hopeful family members.
“Spolin failed to advise the clients that they did not meet prioritization criteria applied by the Los Angeles County District Attorney, which were published on its website, and that the Orange County District Attorney would act only in response to requests submitted by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation,” the California Bar wrote in a news release issued Wednesday.
The Bar says Spolin was repeatedly informed by both DA’s that the resentencing requests he was submitting would lead nowhere. Yet he continued to encourage clients and their families to apply anyway, not informing them that he’d already been told they would fail.
Spolin often charged clients tens of thousands dollars to review their cases and file doomed resentencing requests on their behalf. He charged one woman $14,700 to appeal the case of her brother, who was serving a life sentence for multiple violent felonies, which made him ineligible for a reduced sentence in L.A. County.
The State Bar says he knew the woman’s brother would not qualify for resentencing relief, but he did not disclose that to her and continued to encourage they apply anyway so he could continue to charge them for legal fees.
In another case, Spolin collected more than $26,000 from another inmate’s sister for the same services. That inmate had been convicted of murder and was thus ineligible for resentencing, and the D.A.’s Office had already advised him that the request would not be considered. He never communicated that fact, the Bar says.
Another instance involved an inmate and his fiance, whom he charged $21,700 to review his case, submit a resentencing request, and request his conviction be commuted. Again, Spolin knew his client, who was sentenced to 41 years for violent felonies, was not eligible under Los Angeles County’s criteria.
“Despite this, Spolin continued to advise the inmate and his fiancé to pursue resentencing, failing to disclose the improbability of success given his prior receipt of multiple communications from the LADA that made clear such requests would not be considered for violent offenders.”
An inmate who was sentenced in Orange County was charged nearly $30,000 for post-conviction legal services, including submitted a resentencing request to the Orange County D.A.’s Office.
But because Orange County only reviews these requests if submitted by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, the request was dead in the water. Spolin, the Bar says, knew this was the case and had received at least eight letters from the D.A.’s Office notifying him of the policy, yet he still charged the inmate and his wife for these legal services.
The State Bar Court eventually caught onto the scheme and two disciplinary charges were filed in 2024. The investigation led to Spolin admitting his misconduct and the Bar Court recommending he be disbarred.
Beginning Friday, Spolin will be designated involuntarily inactive, prohibiting him from practicing law in California until the California Supreme Court rules on the case. If the Supreme Court agrees with the Bar Court’s recommendation, Spolin will be disbarred and ordered to pay restitution.
“California attorneys are sworn to a duty to act in the best interests of their clients,” said Chief Trial Counsel George Cardona. “Mr. Spolin failed in that duty by misleading inmates and their families and charging them unconscionable fees for his own personal gain. This was serious misconduct justifying disbarment.”