LOS ANGELES — John Christen Torjsen, a Tacoma attorney, was recently placed on a two-year probation by the State Bar Court of California.
The Feb. 10 order went into effect after it was determined that Torjsen, while under a previous suspension, represented a client in court.
Torjsen was initially suspended on Jan 14, 2013, for failing to pay his child support. At the time, the attorney was representing a client, a business known as XTC Investments, in a matter in Los Angeles County. On the same day he was suspended, Torjsen appeared in court on behalf of XTC.
According to court documents, Torisen paid the child support owed as he left the courthouse, and proof of compliance was provided by the California Department of Child Support Services to the state bar on Jan. 15, 2013. Torjsen’s suspension, however, did not end for another three days.
Because the attorney had practiced when he was not entitled to, the State Bar Court of California determined that discipline was necessary. Torjsen will serve two years' probation, and he will need to submit quarterly reports to the state bar. He also must alert the state bar to any changes in his personal and professional status within 10 days. Torjsen will not be required to attend ethics school or pass the Multistate Professional Responsibility Exam (MPRE). Failure to comply with the terms of his probation will result in a two year suspension without a hearing.
Torjsen was admitted to the California State Bar in 1989 after graduating from the Western Illinois University’s School of Law. He had one prior record of discipline in California where he was suspended for more than 30 days in April 2015 for appearing in court with a suspended license.