GALLUP (NM)
Gallup Independent

Published in the Gallup Independent, Gallup, NM, June 7, 2013

By Elizabeth Hardin-Burrola
Independent correspondent

GALLUP — A memorial service will be held in California Saturday for an attorney who claimed to represent many alleged victims of clergy sexual abuse from the Diocese of Gallup.

James Zorigian, 66, died May 21. A memorial service will be held Saturday in Los Angeles.

Zorigian, who practiced law in California for more than 40 years, was drawn into the Diocese of Gallup’s legal morass of sex abuse allegations a decade ago. In 2003, former Winslow resident Joseph Baca sought Zorigian’s assistance in pursuing a clergy sex abuse claim against the Gallup Diocese. Zorigian, who had experience in railroad and transportation law, had previously represented Baca in a railroad claim.

Without ever filing a lawsuit against the diocese, Zorigian negotiated a financial settlement on behalf of Baca. Zorigian,…