California State Bar officials recently seized a Livermore legal practice with upwards of 200 clients amid complaints that its owner had been working as an attorney — despite not having a law license.
In an interview with the Bay Area News Group, the business owner said that she “didn’t know” that she was doing work that was considered to be practicing law in the judgment of state regulators.
The agency raided the company, California Legal Services, last week after numerous complaints about its owner, Robin Groth-Hill, the agency announced Wednesday. In the process, regulators seized 15 boxes from the business, which contained the files of a couple hundred clients.
The business touted itself as an affordable legal option for landlords, tenants and people seeking divorce help.
The seizures marked the most significant move to date against Groth-Hill, who previously received cease-and-desist orders in 2020 and 2022 for the unauthorized practice of law, according to a state database.
Reached by this news organization, Groth-Hill said she had no idea she might be practicing law, and she questioned why the California State Bar had gone to such lengths to pursue her and her business.
“This is a big nothing — I don’t know why I’m even involved in any of this,” said Groth-Hill, later adding that “there’s just so many things wrong with this, it doesn’t make sense.”
In announcing the seizure, state regulators encouraged residents to check the state’s online database to ensure their attorneys were licensed to practice law, and not facing any similar cease and desist orders. The database can be accessed at calbar.ca.gov.
“Californians should know that the unauthorized practice of law — and those who engage in it — can negatively impact the lives of those who pay for what they believe is legitimate attorney advice but receive something less, as well as parties on all sides of a legal issue,” said Chief Trial Counsel George Cardona, in a statement.
The company appears to have been operating since 2015, according to a LinkedIn page for Groth-Hill, who also goes by the shortened name of Robin Hill. A Yelp biography touts the company as “a affordable alternative to your legal assistance needs,” adding that its staff “can assist you in doing many of the services that attorney’s provide, but at a substantial savings!”
The Yelp biography listed the owner only as Robin H., a registered process server and notary whose husband occasionally helped her during his days off.
“I am not an attorney, but a legal assistant who can help Pro Per clients in affordably filing their legal papers in court,” the Yelp business profile said. “I do civil work, family law, probate, small claims and lots of real estate recording work. Evictions is my speciality (sic) and I know the court systems in Northern California and work with many property managers to assist with their problem tenants.”
In seizing the business, the state bar cited multiple complaints about Groth-Hill’s alleged dealings over the last 18 months. One complaint from July 2023 stemmed from a landlord-tenant and small claims case in Santa Clara County Superior Court. The plaintiff in that case told court officials that Groth-Hill was “his attorney,” according to the state bar’s announcement Wednesday.
A court commissioner also discovered that Groth-Hill “caused a subpoena to be served on the defendant’s bank, but provided no proof that the defendant was served with notice as required,” the agency’s announcement said. Groth-Hill also tried to negotiate a settlement in that case, the agency claimed.
Just months earlier, in January 2023, state regulators received another complaint from a tenant who was embroiled in a dispute with her landlord. In that case, Groth-Hill told the tenant that she was helping the landlord as a “legal assistant” or a “legal aid” and pushed the tenant to take a cash-for-keys offer, according to state officials.
Groth-Hill maintained that she was only ever “trying to be a middle man resolving a situation,” and that she never intended to act an as attorney or to run afoul of any state regulations. She said she was fully cooperative with the state officials who seized her files, and asked: “wouldn’t a phone call have been better?”
“I have nothing to hide — I didn’t do anything purposefully wrong,” Groth-Hill said. “I didn’t know that was practicing law in the eyes of the state bar. So again, if I did something, I apologize.”
Any current or former clients of Groth-Hill or her company can ask for their files back by calling the state bar at 415-538-2380.
