San Francisco Lawyer Disbarred

SAN FRANCISCO, CA — California's State Bar announced the disbarment Wednesday of two Bay Area attorneys.

They include Terrence Patrick Goggin, of San Francisco, and Andrew Whitney Taylor, of El Cerrito.

Goggin, a former state assembly member, was summarily disbarred for a criminal conviction involving moral turpitude following his Dec. 4, 2019, guilty plea to a felony money laundering charge in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, according to a news release from the State Bar.

Goggin admitted that between 2007 and 2014 he solicited $685,000 from two investors to build Peet's Coffee retail centers at two BART stations in San Francisco.

The investors' funds were never used for the promised BART projects. Instead, Goggin diverted the funds to other business and personal uses.

Goggin was sentenced on his guilty plea on Feb. 10, 2021, when he was ordered to serve 12 months and one day in federal custody followed by three years supervised release. He was also ordered to pay $685,000 in restitution.

Taylor was disbarred following his default on a notice of disciplinary charges alleging failure to perform with competence, failure to respond to client inquiries, and failure to cooperate and participate in a State Bar disciplinary investigation.

According to the state news release, Taylor intentionally, recklessly, or repeatedly failed to competently represent a client from Nigeria seeking immigration asylum.

Taylor failed to include in the asylum motion any information regarding changed conditions detrimental or harmful to his client due to Nigeria's Anti-Same Sex Marriage Act passed in January 2014, and from September 2014 to May 2017, he failed to file any motions or pleadings on behalf of his client.

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