[Dooby]

'For Love' bachelor booted from Dallas law firm
06/11/2003

By ED BARK / The Dallas Morning News

Beleaguered Dallas defense attorney Rob Campos can still court women on NBC's For Love or Money, but his courtroom activities have been curtailed.

Mathur Law Offices, P.C., which retained Mr. Campos as an associate attorney who also worked independently of the firm, has dropped the "reality" show star after revelations of military misconduct surfaced Monday on the Web site TheSmokingGun.com.



Evans Caglage / DMN
Dallas attorney Rob Campos has found himself embroiled in scandal since starring on NBC's For Love or Money.
NBC and Mr. Campos subsequently acknowledged that he had been dismissed from the U.S. Marine Corps' Judge Advocate General (JAG) unit in 1999 for drunkenly groping the breasts of a Navy officer whose dormitory room he had entered uninvited.

Sanjay S. Mathur, who heads the law firm, said in a written statement that Mr. Campos' wine-fueled conduct on Monday's second episode of the show also contributed to his dismissal.

"Taking the two events together, we find that it is in the best interest of this firm to disassociate our relationship with Mr. Campos," Mr. Mathur said. The 33-year-old attorney "acted mannerly with our staff and our clients," but lately "has allowed himself to become ill-perceived," the statement said.

Mr. Campos has been asked to "vacate his office space," which he rented from the firm.

His biography, which has been removed from the Mathur firm's Web site, had touted Mr. Campos' "recent fame" on For Love or Money .

"Besides being a 'television hunk,' Rob is a keen, intelligent, honest and hospitable person," it said.

The firm declined to comment further Wednesday, and Mr. Campos again did not return calls. He did, however, issue a second statement through NBC that was released early Wednesday evening.

"I also maintained my own set of clients," Mr. Campos said, describing himself as an unsalaried "independent contractor" with Mathur. "Although I will no longer be associated with that firm, I do plan to continue in the private practice of law."

For Love or Money, taped earlier this year, will finish its scheduled six-episode run, NBC says.

"In terms of the show, it doesn't affect anything," NBC spokeswoman Jill Carmen said Wednesday.

Mr. Campos appeared to be intoxicated during portions of Monday night's episode. Most of the remaining 10 women vying for his affection and a possible $1 million prize took offense when he asked them to "humor" him by helping to remove his cowboy boots. He put his foot on one of the women's posterior and nudged her forward while she tugged at a boot. Mr. Campos then stripped down to a T-shirt and swimming trunks for more carousing in a hot tub. He apologized the next morning, telling the women, "I took things way too far."

Five women remain from an initial field of 15, including 21-year-old Paige Jones of Richardson. She still stands by her man.

"I have had the best night ever," she said on Monday's episode. "He kissed me. My breath is still taken away from that."

Some of her rivals disagreed, variously describing Mr. Campos as a "tramp" a "jerk" and a "player."