In a stunning case of professional misconduct, a San Francisco attorney has been permanently disbarred by the California Supreme Court for defrauding an elderly client and breaching his fiduciary responsibilities.

Drexel Andrew Bradshaw, who previously narrowly avoided losing his law license in 2018, was found “culpable of multiple counts of misconduct involving moral turpitude” by the state’s highest court. The case reveals a shocking pattern of financial exploitation that targeted a vulnerable elderly client.

According to court documents, Bradshaw was entrusted with managing the estate of an incapacitated client in 2013. Instead of acting with integrity, he created a construction company and billed the client’s trust $150,000 for work without obtaining competitive bids. He further compounded his misconduct by taking out multiple reverse mortgages on the client’s home to finance these dubious projects.

Justice Goodwin Liu, authoring the Supreme Court’s opinion, was unequivocal in his condemnation. “Because the totality of the circumstances shows that Bradshaw has repeatedly failed to uphold the most basic duties of an attorney, we are compelled to find him unfit to serve as a member of the bar or an officer of the court,” he wrote.

The State Bar’s Chief Trial Counsel, George Cardona, emphasized the grave nature of Bradshaw’s actions. “As an attorney serving as trustee, Mr. Bradshaw was in a position of trust,” Cardona stated. “He breached that trust in an attempt to enrich himself at the expense of a highly vulnerable elderly victim and lied in an effort to conceal his breach”.

In addition to losing his law license effective August 2nd, Bradshaw was separately ordered to pay $1.85 million plus interest to the trust’s beneficiaries. The case serves as a stark reminder of the critical importance of ethical conduct in the legal profession and the severe consequences for those who abuse their professional responsibilities.

This disbarment represents a significant victory for accountability and protection of vulnerable clients, sending a clear message that financial exploitation will not be tolerated within the legal system.