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	Attorney for Stockton Church Abuse Victims Reflects on Settlement By Jennifer Garza Tracy Press [Sacramento CA] July 19, 2005 SACRAMENTO — Joseph George stood on the Sacramento courthouse steps, watching as the media swarmed around his clients. The attorney, who represented all 33 plaintiffs who settled for $35 million with the Catholic Diocese of Sacramento last month, was clearly enjoying the moment. The psychologist-turned-lawyer who couldn't get a job as a trial attorney when he started 20 years ago will make millions from the clergy sexual abuse scandal in the Catholic Church and has become known as the local specialist in religious abuse cases. He also is representing six clients suing the Stockton Diocese. For the past three years, George has worked on the cases with an almost religious devotion. He says he sold his assets, went heavily into debt to finance the lawsuits and continued working even after a near-fatal cycling accident. His efforts have paid off: George's portion of the Sacramento settlement will come to about $3.5 million, after splitting legal fees with co-counsel. He said the plaintiffs will receive about 55 percent of the total ($19.25 million). The day the Sacramento agreement was announced, George reached a $7.3 million settlement with the Santa Rosa Diocese for eight plaintiffs. Combined with an April settlement with that diocese, George has negotiated $10.6 million for plaintiffs there. His share will be about $1 million, he says. "Sometimes I think, 'How did this happen?'" said George. "I guess this is an accumulation of all my experiences." Those experiences include being a former military man, a psychologist, an attorney and — he says, believe it or not — a Catholic who attended Catholic schools through college. "I have a special place in my heart for the faith and the priests I interacted with as a kid growing up in Philadelphia. The overwhelming majority do tremendous work," said George, in his downtown office the day after the settlement. "But I'm very disillusioned with the church as an institution. They should have done something about this a long time ago, and didn't." 'Most people wouldn't take us on' George's belief in his clients was important to them. "Let's face it, most people wouldn't take us on," said one Sacramento man, a sexual abuse victim who has remained anonymous throughout the settlement process. "Joe showed us respect, and that's a lot considering he had to deal with a lot of different personalities and cultures." Over the course of the lawsuits, George brought in attorneys Jeff Anderson, considered the top litigator in the field nationwide, and Larry Drivon of Morada, because of his experience. According to Hayward attorney Rick Simons, three cases involving former Lodi priest Oliver O'Grady have been settled out of court. Four other cases are pending, two of which have trial dates set for March 2006, Simons said. In two settlements announced in March, the Stockton Diocese paid out a combined $3.6 million to two people who claimed that O'Grady sexually abused them when they were children. A third plaintiff received a $3 million settlement from the Stockton Diocese in May. O'Grady was a priest at St. Anne's Catholic Church in Lodi from 1971 to 1978. He was later transferred to parishes in Stockton, Turlock, Hughson and San Andreas. The former priest was deported to Ireland in late 2000 after being paroled from Mule Creek State Prison in Ione. He pleaded guilty in 1993 to four counts of sexual abuse of children younger than 14 in Calaveras County. A natural for reading people George, 53, says working on the clergy sexual abuse cases was a natural for him. After all, evaluating people and figuring out what makes them tick is what he's trained to do. He became interested in reading people while in the military, working as a psychiatric technician at Andrews Air Force Base near Washington, D.C. He later earned his doctorate in clinical psychology from Peabody College of Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn. While in school, George began hearing about patients suing their psychiatrists for sexual abuse and he became interested in the law. Later, while working as a psychologist at Travis Air Force Base, George attended McGeorge School of Law in Sacramento at night. He graduated soon after his military obligation was up in 1985. George wanted a job as a trial attorney, "but I couldn't get hired." Instead, he started his own practice. Because of his background, he was soon representing clients suing their former psychologists for abuse. Over the years, George became known for his niche practice. In 2002, as the church abuse scandal began to explode, he started hearing from alleged victims. Through word of mouth and publicity, he eventually ended up with all the clients in last week's Sacramento settlement.
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