Artesia Nonattorney Engaged in Illegal Law Practice Under Multiple Attorneys’ Offices

The State Bar of California’s Office of Chief Trial Counsel (OCTC) announced today that it recently seized the illegal business operated by nonattorney John Pamintuan Alamarez Jr. of Artesia after evidence showed that he used his standing in the Filipino community to engage in long-standing unauthorized practice of law (UPL) as an employee of a licensed attorney. After the attorney’s death, Alamarez persuaded the attorney’s daughter (also an attorney) to return from out of state to take over her father’s practice. Alamarez, doing business as Immigration Law Services and Immigration Services Law Office, continued his unauthorized practice after she and other licensed attorneys severed ties with him. The daughter later filed a complaint with the State Bar.

Alamarez is not, and never has been, licensed to practice law in California.

OCTC executed the seizure after a Los Angeles County Superior Court granted an ex parte interim order. At the Artesia office, OCTC seized 21 boxes containing client files, a laptop, and vital client records (including a client’s passport). 

Evidence shows that for years Alamarez presented himself as an attorney and encouraged clients to refer to him as such. Complaints and witness statements indicate that Alamarez’s clients from the Filipino community were operating under the belief that he was an attorney. Some of Alamarez’s clients knew him as the pastor at their church, where Alamarez recruited them as clients. According to the complaints and witness statements, Alamarez spoke to Filipino clients in Tagalog when the attorney who filed the complaint with the State Bar attempted to correct them when they referred to Alamarez as “attorney John” or similar references to him as a California licensee. 

Several Filipino clients reported significant financial losses after paying large sums for immigration and other legal services that were never completed. One client paid $4,275 for preparation and filing of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services forms I-485 and I-130 and a work authorization filing. The client later discovered that the I-485 had never been filed, and when it was eventually submitted, it was rejected for multiple errors including missing signatures and unpaid fees. 

Another client reported paying a total of $46,750 for legal services, including preparation of a durable power of attorney, irrevocable trust, and last will, that were never completed for a probate matter. The client paid Alamarez $25,000 in legal fees and was told the check had bounced. She subsequently withdrew $20,000 in cash and gave it to Alamarez, only to later discover that her original $25,000 check had been cashed and had not bounced. She later learned that required filings in the probate matter had never been made. 

“This matter reflects a complex and troubling series of events involving unauthorized practice of law both inside a licensed attorney’s office and after multiple licensed attorneys severed ties with Mr. Alamarez,” said State Bar Chief Trial Counsel George Cardona. “Clients, including members of a church where Alamarez served as a pastor, believed they were receiving legitimate legal assistance, but instead their matters were mishandled, exorbitant fees were taken, and their cases were placed at serious risk.”

In January 2025, the attorney who filed the complaint began working at the office and soon determined that Alamarez was engaged in “widespread and long-standing UPL.” As she and a staff member attempted to locate her father’s files, they reported finding “hidden and locked cabinets” and witnessing both Alamarez and his wife “conceal and remove files” so they could not review them. 

After that attorney left the office, another California attorney rented space there for her solo practice. She also saw evidence of UPL from Alamarez and terminated her business relationship with him.

By 2026, State Bar investigators documented that signage at the office had changed to another attorney’s name offering immigration law services. When contacted, that attorney said he never maintained a law office at the site and never authorized Alamarez to use his name and signage at that office. He also reported that a person contacted him to say that Alamarez told her the attorney now worked at Alamarez’s office, and the attorney immediately instructed Alamarez to stop using his name in any form.

Clients of John P. Alamarez may retrieve files by calling the State Bar at 213-765-1594 (English and Spanish).

The State Bar strongly urges the public to ensure they are dealing with a licensed attorney by using the Check Attorney Profile feature on its website, which lets people verify an attorney’s license.

The State Bar has a unit dedicated to investigating and addressing UPL throughout California. People who have been targeted by someone who is not licensed to practice law can file an unauthorized practice of law complaint with the State Bar. There is no cost, and U.S. citizenship is not required; the State Bar will not ask complainants about their citizenship or immigration status. The online complaint form is available in English, Spanish, Chinese, Korean, Russian, Tagalog, and Vietnamese.

As a warning to the public, the names of those who have received unauthorized practice of law Cease and Desist notices are posted, by county, on the State Bar website. The State Bar also provides consumer information about avoiding legal fraud, including the unauthorized practice of law, and tips about avoiding immigration legal services fraud.

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The State Bar of California’s mission is to protect the public and includes the primary functions of licensing, regulation and discipline of attorneys; the advancement of the ethical and competent practice of law; and support of efforts for greater access to, and inclusion in, the legal system.