M. Lawrence Lallande and Karina N. Lallande of Lallande Law, PLC, along with Arnoldo Casillas of Casillas & Associates and Denisse O. Gastélum of Gastélum Law were honored as Consumer Attorneys of California’s 2022 Street Fighters of the Year for their work in the case Alarcio v. Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
While in custody in the Los Angeles County Twin Towers jail, Wesley Alarcio was savagely beaten by another inmate with serious psychiatric issues. As a result of the assault, Mr. Alarcio suffered catastrophic injuries that left him in a permanent vegetative state until his death more than three years later. The attorneys proved that Alarcio’s tragic death was caused by the systemic failure of the county’s custodial and mental health staff in their policies and procedures regarding the monitoring of mentally ill inmates, resulting in the largest jail-death-related settlement ever against the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
The Street Fighter of the Year Award is given to a small practitioner (a firm with no more than five attorneys) that achieved a significant result in a case that exemplifies the everyday struggles of the small practitioner in California. Mr. Lallande, Ms. Lallande, Mr. Casillas, and Mrs. Gastélum were presented with the award during CAOC’s 61st Annual Installation and Awards Dinner in San Francisco, California on November 19, 2022.
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