The FBI's decision to search the home and office of a practicing attorney is not a step federal investigators take lightly, legal experts told the Daily Journal in a recent article on a widening public corruption investigation into the Inland Empire's political and business communities.

Southern California attorney Frank Lizarraga found his home and office searched by federal agents last week, part of a sweeping operation that also touched properties connected to San Bernardino County Supervisor Curtis Hagman, Ontario City Councilmember Alan Wapner, and Chinese American media company EDI Media Inc, the Daily Journal wrote. While the warrant affidavits remain sealed and no arrests have been announced, the search itself has drawn significant attention from legal observers precisely because searching a lawyer's office is so rare.

Bienert Katzman Littrell Williams LLP partner Whitney Z. Bernstein offered the Daily Journal her expert perspective on why this move is so unusual.

"Searching a lawyer's office is the nuclear option," she explained, noting that such a decision often signals investigators' concern that evidence could be destroyed, or a belief that the attorney was personally involved in the suspected criminal conduct.

As Bernstein and other former prosecutors and ethics experts noted, searches of attorney offices require extensive internal approvals along with protocols such as "filter" or "taint" teams, and sometimes a special master, designed to shield privileged client communications from the prosecution team.

For the full story and Bernstein and others’ complete analysis, read the Daily Journal article “Experts: FBI search of lawyer's office signals extraordinary step in Inland Empire probe” (subscription required).