What violations do lawyers in Florida come across

The Florida Bar's latest monthly report cites several human rights defenders who did anything other than defend their clients and were punished, ranging from suspensions to convictions and prison terms for fraud. Let's talk about several lawyer failures that happened in South Florida.

Фото: Depositphotos

▪ James Casey, Slesnick & Casey, Coral Gables - 20 Day Suspension

In June, 2012, Patricia D'Orsa-Dizhamko hired Casey to file a lawsuit against the Drug Enforcement Administration, writes Miami Herald. The lawsuit was filed in Broward State in May 2013. The DEA filed a lawsuit in federal court in December 2013 of the year and filed a motion to reject it.

When in March 2014, the court requested Casey to state the reason why the DEA requirement should not be satisfied, he responded to the extension of the process and stated that he had never received a petition from the DEA. The court rejected his request and indicated that the 67 one-year-old lawyer did not verify the court case or did not provide an email address for receiving electronic applications, which is a requirement for district attorneys.

The case was dismissed. The whole process began again in May 2015. Casey filed an application in Broward, the DEA brought the case to federal court and filed a dismissal. By that time (July 2016 of the year) Casey did not respond to Patricia D'Ors-Dizhamko. She did not receive answers by e-mail or telephone, even when she asked for her documents after learning of the latest application from the DEA to reject the claim. Casey never responded to this offer, and the final rejection order took effect in October 2016 of the year.

▪ Juliana Gonzalez, McGuinness & Gonzalez, Miami - public reprimand and probation for 4 years

After leaving the accountant who managed the trust account of the firm, Gonzalez took on this task as a partner in charge of trust accounting. Catching up on documents, Gonzalez discovered that the former accountant had transferred 43 000 dollars from the trust account to the operating account, without making records about it where they should be. Gonzalez and her partner replaced the money in the trust account as soon as they found the transfer.

Noting that the training of graduates of the University of Miami at school did not prepare a labor lawyer to manage trust accounts or the people who manage such accounts, the lawyer did not detect intentional behavior on the part of González. Now the company has a certified public account, through which the settlements with customers take place.

▪ Salina Jivani, Key Biscayne - public reprimand

Representing the opposition in a condominium lawsuit, Jivani appeared at a special condominium conference with a videographer. The presence of both does not violate the rules or ethical standards. But when Jivani started talking about the lawsuit and asking the members of the council without the condominium attorney William Essig, it was a violation. Civilian judge Miami-Dade Jacqueline Hogan Scola reproached Jivani that she conducted a stressful interview without warning the interlocutors, and also recording what was happening on the video.

▪ Liana Martinez, North Miami - 60-day suspension, 3 years probation.

The Suffolk University law graduate had no idea how to do trust accounting on her own or how to properly supervise a novice accountant. The Bar Association found they were "careless" in their conduct, but without evidence of malice. In her filing, Martinez stated that she would no longer practice real estate law once the case was reached and would no longer handle trust accounting.

▪ Larry Joseph McGuinness, McGuinness & Gonzalez, Miami - 30-day suspension, $10 restitution to client

McGuinness represented Denmark Torres in the unlawful termination of a lawsuit against the local health service. He won the trial on 24 560 dollars. Alas, it later turned out that the service has no assets. Faced with a stone from which it was impossible to squeeze water, McGuinness accepted an offer to sell the decision for 10 000 dollars. The lawyer claims that he told Torres about it and tried to properly talk on the phone and write letters with the offer to sell. Torres said she knew nothing about it.

Фото: Depositphotos

▪ Donovan Parker, Pembroke Pines - public reprimand and refund of $1000 fee.

Hired to represent a couple in an eviction case, a University of Florida law graduate blew it before the hearing was emailed to him. Parker didn't show up. The explanatory document states that “the timing of the notification was unclear.” But the bar association decided that he had to come no matter what. The eviction case was dismissed due to its failure.

▪ Oscar Rodriguez, Coral Gables - public reprimand

The client Arturo Mendoza decided that he could be subject to federal prosecution for weed trade, so he hired Rodriguez, a criminal lawyer who graduated from the Law School of the University of Miami. Since Rodriguez would have a big upfront cost, Mendoza paid him a large, non-refundable amount in 40 000 US dollars.

After about a month, Mendoza was disappointed with his performance and asked for a partial refund. Rodriguez insisted on the definition of “non-refundable”, while such information was not recorded in writing - and it is very strange that the lawyer needs to be reminded of this, representatives of the Association believe.

▪ Rene Julian Garcia, Garcia & Associates, South Miami - disbarred from practicing law

As an agent for the sale of the condominium of a deceased woman, Rene Julian Garcia received 367 073 dollars to his trust account. But when the lawyer’s association and the estate owners demanded the return of about 148 000 dollars in checks to the IRS on behalf of the woman, Garcia began to talk about his mistake and annoying accident. Later it turned out that he did not provide all the necessary documentation. In addition to the ban on the right to practice law, Garcia owed 7 503 dollars to the association of the Florida Bar and 148 034 dollars for the restitution of the estate of the deceased woman.

Фото: Depositphotos

▪ Norman Segall, Lubell & Rosen, Coral Gables - public reprimand

Seagall created his own subaccount in the trust account of the company, placed some sums of his money there and “made payments on personal matters”.

▪ Markista Shipman, Hollywood - disbarred from practicing law

Three clients and one of the opposing parties in the lawsuit filed complaints with the bar after Shipman stopped responding to them in the 2016 year. A graduate of the University of Miami Law School also refused to participate in the disciplinary process.

▪ Rafael Ubieta, Ubieta Law Group, Miami - disbarred from practicing law

General practice lawyer Rafael Ubieta went to a new office - the Miami Federal Penitentiary. Ubietta is trying to appeal the verdict, receiving 20 years for fraud and fraudulent conspiracy. He is also liable for restitution (restoration of property rights and material losses) in the amount of US$4,8 million. Ubieta was convicted in 2013 along with Angel Barroso, John Romney, William Hartnett, Joel Zaldivar, Kyle Baker, Marta Otero and Fernando Tolon. The group operated a mortgage fraud scheme in Miami-Dade and Broward counties.

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