from staff
The Florida Bar, the state’s guardian for the integrity of the legal profession, announces that the Florida Supreme Court in recent court orders disciplined 19 attorneys, disbarring eight, suspending six and placing two on probation. None of the attorneys on the current discipline list belong to The Jacksonville Bar Association or are from the Jacksonville area. Some attorneys received more than one form of discipline. Five attorneys were publicly reprimanded. Three were ordered to pay restitution.
The following lawyers are disciplined:
• Jay Charles Floyd of St. Augustine was disbarred for five years, effective retroactive to Jan. 23, following a Sept. 3 court order. Floyd was further ordered to pay restitution totaling more than $76,000 to four clients. Floyd misappropriated client settlement funds and used the money to satisfy his personal financial obligations.
• Daniel Henry Fox of Aventura was disbarred effective immediately, following a Sept. 3 court order. Fox issued trust account checks, which were returned due to insufficient funds; he failed to maintain his trust account and he abandoned his representation of clients in connection with residential real estate loan modifications.
• Richard C. Koskey was disbarred effective immediately, following a Sept. 3 court order. Koskey was the subject of two Bar disciplinary investigations. In one case, Koskey failed to disburse $105,000 to pay off a mortgage and remit $91,000 to his client. In another case, Koskey caused to have a payoff letter prepared which falsely stated the amount due on a mortgage. As a result, he improperly received additional funds from the proceeds of a refinance transaction, causing the first lender to subsequently file a foreclosure action.
• Jorge Enrique Rodriguez of Miami was disbarred effective immediately, following an Aug. 13 court order. Rodriguez failed to preserve and apply funds in connection with real estate transactions.
• Scott Alan Salomon of Coral Springs, permanently disbarred effective immediately, following a Sept. 17 court order. Salomon is further ordered to pay $222,500 in restitution. Salomon was previously disbarred for five years. In numerous instances, Salomon failed to provide representation to clients after accepting fees from them. Salomon abandoned his clients and ultimately his entire practice. Additionally, Salomon failed to respond to the disciplinary process.
• Robert L. Shepherd of Fort Lauderdale, disbarred for five years, effective immediately, following an Aug. 27 court order. Shepherd was found guilty in U.S. District Court of conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States, a felony, by deceiving the U.S. Probation Office as to the true employment of his co-conspirator, who was being supervised by the probation office.
• Thomas Edward Stringer of Brandon was disbarred for five years, effective immediately, following an Oct. 15 court order. Stringer used fraudulent means to obtain a mortgage on a home in Hawaii.
• Madonna H. Whittaker of Altamonte Springs was permanently disbarred effective immediately, following a Sept. 17 court order. In circuit court, Whittaker pleaded no contest to attempted first-degree premeditated murder, a felony.
• Marni Blayne Belkin of Delray Beach was suspended for three years, effective retroactive to April 22, following an Aug. 13 court order. In January, Belkin pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to one count of conspiracy to file a false loan application, a felony.
• Elizabeth Marie Goins of Orlando was suspended for one year, effective 30 days from a Sept. 24 court order. Upon termination of representation of a client, Goins failed to communicate and return the client’s personal documents. In early 2008, Goins left her practice without notifying the former client. She also failed to notify The Florida Bar of her change of address. In another case, Goins was paid to represent a client but she failed to perform services and she failed to communicate with him. In both instances, Goins neglected to respond to the Bar’s inquiries regarding the matters.
• Doreen M. Goldbronn of Palm Harbor was suspended for six months, effective 30 days from an Aug. 13 court order. Goldbronn made a misrepresentation to the court.
• William F. Lawless of Altamonte Springs was suspended for one year, effective 30 days from a Sept. 24 court order. Lawless was administratively suspended in March 2006 for failing to comply with his continuing legal education requirements. Lawless was not eligible to practice law when he knowingly undertook the representation of his client and the client’s corporation in 2008.
• James Joseph Moran of Rochester, N.Y. was suspended until further order, following an Aug. 26 court order. According to the petition for emergency suspension, Moran appeared to be causing great public harm by advancing financial assistance to clients through intermediaries, engaging in deceptive and dishonest conduct to conceal from his clients that he was the source of the loans, failing to report interest earned on the loans on his income tax returns and failing to disclose to the bankruptcy trustee the existence of the loans.
• Jeffrey Edward Reichenbacher of Miami was suspended for 18 months, effective 30 days from an Aug. 13 court order. Upon reinstatement, Reichenbacher is further placed on probation for three years. Reichenbacher misled The Florida Bar regarding problems with his trust accounts following a theft of funds by an employee. Respondent failed to comply with the Rules Regulating Trust Accounts. A January 2007 trust account audit indicated a shortage of at least $17,000.
• Johanne Foster of Sunrise was publicly reprimanded following a Sept. 17 court order. Foster committed conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice. She prepared one deed giving ownership of certain real property to a company and later prepared a warranty deed from that company to a mortgage lender, including additional property which was never owned by the company.
• E. Lebron Free of Palm Harbor was publicly reprimanded following a Sept. 17 court order. Free is further ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $2,000 to one client and $3,500 to another client. Free accepted retainers to represent clients in separate cases. He did not perform all the work and he neglected to return several calls to clients.
• John Michael Rooney of Punta Gorda, publicly reprimanded following a Sept. 3 court order. Rooney violated Bar rules by communicating with a person represented by counsel.
• Pamela Joan Steed of Bonita Springs was publicly reprimanded following a Sept. 3 court order. Steed is further ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $384 to a client. Steed failed to adequately represent clients. In most instances, she neglected to communicate with clients or The Florida Bar regarding the cases.
• Lydia Dempsey Wardell of Clearwater was publicly reprimanded following an Aug. 13 court order. Wardell is further placed on probation for three years, effective retroactive to May 15. She was found guilty in court of DUI and leaving the scene of an accident with property damage.