What Do You Do With Illegal Evidence?

A Guide for Workplace Investigators and Employers

Thursday, November 12, 2026 12:00 PM – 1:30 PM Pacific

Course Number: CL_LL_11-12-26
Original Program Date: Nov 12, 2026
Duration: 1 hour 30 minutes
Credits:1.5 Participatory MCLE Credits
Access: Available for 3 months after event date
Practice Area: Co-Sponsored Programs, Criminal Law, Labor & Employment Law

Description:

What happens when a workplace investigator (or for that matter a plaintiff or defense attorney) comes into possession of materials possession of which (in and of itself) is against the law? Or comes into possession of materials involved in (or about to be involved in) a crime? This program will deal with the consequences and legal/ ethical obligations involved in those circumstances.

Faculty

Paul Grech was born and raised in New York. He graduated Cum Laude (with honors) from the State University of New York in 1979 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. He minored in Psychology, a study that still fascinates him.

After leaving New York, Mr. Grech moved to Washington D.C. where he worked in the United States Senate as an intern and later a paid staff member on the Senate Judiciary Committee. He worked on the staff of former Senators Birch Bayh and later Ted Kennedy. From there it was on to law school at Southwestern University in Los Angeles. He was awarded a Juris Doctor in 1982 and admitted to the California Bar that same year.

Michael Robbins, President

Michael Robbins is President of EXTTI, Incorporated—a company he founded 20 years ago. The professionals at EXTTI perform services as Expert Witnesses, workplace trainers and workplace and Title IX investigators. EXTTI professionals are located in California, New York and New Jersey.

Mr. Robbins has conducted and/ or supervised well over 500 workplace investigations. He has served as an expert witness in more than 600 employment cases—mostly on workplace investigation issues. Also, he has served as a Consent Decree Monitor in Federal District Courts.

Prior to forming EXTTI, he worked as a Labor & Employment Attorney for 20 years. This included four years as in-house counsel in the entertainment industry, close to eight years at the international law firm, Pepper Hamilton, LLP (where he was a Partner) and close to eight years at an entertainment firm, Rosenfeld, Meyer, & Susman, LLP in Beverly Hills (where he became Managing Partner of the firm).

Mr. Robbins is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of San Diego State University, where he graduated as Valedictorian—first in a graduating class of 5,000. In 1978, Mr. Robbins received his JD degree from the UCLA School of Law. While at UCLA, he worked for the UCLA Institute of Industrial Relations.

Mr. Robbins is Past President of the Association of Workplace Investigators (AWI), a founding member and Past President of the Society of Independent Workplace Investigators (SIWI), is a Past Chair of the Los Angeles County Bar Association’s Labor & Employment Section and is a member of the member of California Lawyers Association Labor & Employment Section Executive Committee. In 2013, he was elected a Fellow of the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers.

Erin Joyce, Principal

Attorney Erin Joyce has extensive experience in State Bar investigations and disciplinary proceedings, plus over thirty years of civil litigation practice.  Erin was admitted in 1990 and practiced for nearly eight years in an intellectual property boutique before joining the Office of Chief Trial Counsel as a prosecutor for the State Bar, from 1997 through 2016.  Erin has over twenty-five years of experience handling all aspects of discipline cases against attorneys in State Bar Court, from the filing of the complaint through trial and review.  She has personally tried dozens of State Bar trials and several appeals.  Erin has a comprehensive understanding of how State Bar investigations and proceedings unfold.  Before going into private practice, Erin served as Chief Special Investigator for the Los Angeles Fire Department, as a prosecutor for the State Bar of California, and as a lawyer for multiple private practices.

REPRESENTING CLIENTS THROUGHOUT ALL OF CALIFORNIA

STATE BAR COURT  | L.A. COUNTY | ORANGE COUNTY | RIVERSIDE COUNTY  | SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY | SAN DIEGO COUNTY | VENTURA COUNTY

When you get a letter from the State Bar, don’t go it alone! You need competent, experienced counsel to respond to the State Bar at every stage. Your license is at risk, so ensure you have the best representation from a former State Bar prosecutor before sending any response to an investigator or responding to formal charges leveled by the State Bar. You cannot make an informed decision without good advice. Call Erin now.