from The Florida Bar
The Florida Supreme Court in recent court orders disciplined 20 attorneys, disbarring six and suspending eight. Some attorneys received more than one form of discipline. Five attorneys were publicly reprimanded and three were placed on probation.
As an official agency of the Florida Supreme Court, The Florida Bar and its Department of Lawyer Regulation are charged with administering a statewide disciplinary system to enforce Supreme Court rules of professional conduct for the 88,000-plus lawyers admitted to practice law in Florida.
Court orders are not final until time expires to file a rehearing motion and, if filed, determined. The filing of such a motion does not alter the effective date of the discipline.
Disbarred lawyers may not reapply for admission for five years. They are required to go through an extensive process that rejects many who apply. It includes a rigorous background check and retaking the bar exam. Historically, less than 5 percent of disbarred lawyers seek readmission.
The following lawyers are disciplined:
• Natalie Elaine Baker, 15761 Sonoma Drive, Apt. 208, Fort Myers, suspended effective 30 days from an April 12 court order. (Admitted to practice: 2008) Baker was charged and later pleaded guilty to two counts of Driving Under the Influence and serious bodily injury to another, a felony; one count of Driving Under the Influence and property damage, a first-degree misdemeanor; and one count of Driving Under the Influence, a first-degree misdemeanor. She was sentenced to four years in prison, followed by six years probation. (Case No. SC10-681)
• Matthews Ryan Bark, 217 N.E. Ivanhoe Blvd., Orlando, to be publicly reprimanded and placed on probation for three years, effective immediately, following an April 1 court order. (Admitted to practice: 2007) In 2009, over a period of several months, Bark engaged in abusive and improper conduct in hearings before a state agency. Bark repeated the behavior in a courtroom, and when he didn’t agree with the judge’s ruling, he was arrested for disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. (Case No. SC10-299)
• Bruce Edgar Barr, 5121 SW 90th Ave., Suite 3, Cooper City, disbarred effective 30 days from an April 29 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1992) Barr handled a worker’s compensation claim for a client. He subsequently deposited settlement proceeds into his trust account, of which $12,113 was due the client. Nearly a year later, Barr paid the client the amount owed in the form of a cashier’s check. The funds belonged to another client. (Case No. SC10-736)
• Steven Hill Lee Bowman, 611 U.S. Highway 41 S., Inverness, suspended until further order, following a March 26 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1984) According to a petition for emergency suspension, Bowman appeared to be causing great public harm by misappropriating assets from a trust for which he was named trustee, resulting in harm to the sole beneficiary of the trust. (Case No. SC10-494)
• Julio Francisco Cabrera, P.O. Box 164132, Miami, suspended for 91 days, effective 30 days from an April 8 court order. (Admitted to practice: 2004) Cabrera repeatedly failed to respond to a client’s phone calls and rarely replied to e-mail requests regarding the status of the representation. He also failed to respond in writing to The Florida Bar’s inquiry regarding the case or to otherwise participate in the disciplinary proceedings. (Case No. SC09-1710)
• Debi Fay Chalik, 10063 N.W. First Court, Plantation, publicly reprimanded, following a March 25 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1999) Chalik was contacted by a Canadian attorney (who was not admitted in Florida) to represent a Canadian client in a personal injury case stemming from a motor vehicle accident in Florida. Chalik and her law partner were jointly and equally responsible for the file. Chalik shared legal fees with the non-Florida lawyer, but did not include this fact on the closing statement that the client signed. Further, Chalik failed to protect liens on the file. (Case No. SC09-2277)
• Jason Brian Chalik, 10063 N.W. First Court, Plantation, publicly reprimanded, following a March 25 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1995) Chalik was contacted by a Canadian attorney (who was not admitted in Florida) to represent a Canadian client in a personal injury case stemming from a motor vehicle accident in Florida. Chalik and his law partner were jointly and equally responsible for the file. Chalik shared legal fees with the non-Florida lawyer, but did not include this fact on the closing statement that the client signed. Further, Chalik failed to protect liens on the file. (Case No. SC09-2278)
• Martin Lewis Cordell, P.O. Box 547546, Orlando, publicly reprimanded following a March 25 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1975) Cordell operated and managed an office for a lawyer who was not a member of The Florida Bar, but was admitted to the bar in Georgia and Ohio. Contrary to Bar rules, Cordell shared a percentage of earned fees with the nonlawyer; he did not properly supervise a paralegal he hired; he failed to disseminate a statement of client rights to clients; and his contingency fee contract was not in full compliance with Bar rules. (Case No. SC09-1116)
• Ryan Thomas Dosen, 108 Twin Creek Lane, Kennett Square, Penn., suspended until further order effective immediately, following an April 5 court order. (Admitted to practice: 2004) Dosen pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to one felony count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud. (Case No. SC10-615)
• Eduardo Exposito, 8410 N.W. 53rd Terrace, Suite 100, Miami, disbarred effective 30 days from an April 15 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1994) Exposito was hired to represent two clients in various matters. Pursuant to the representation, they placed $300,484 in his trust account in September 2009. Exposito failed to use the client funds as instructed and, to date, has failed to return the clients’ money despite numerous requests. (Case No. SC10-592)
• Geoffrey Nels Fieger, 19390 W. 10 Ten Mile Road, Southfield, Mich., placed on probation for two years, during which time he is to accept no new business in any Florida state court, effective immediately, following an April 15 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1980) Fieger was also licensed to practice in Arizona and Michigan and was temporarily admitted in Indiana. This discipline case was due to his misconduct in Indiana. The Indiana Supreme Court found among other violations that Fieger made a false statement of fact to a tribunal and failed to correct a false statement of material fact previously made to a tribunal as it pertained to his application for temporary admission. (Case No. SC08-2196)
• Lewis B. Freeman, 4288 S. Douglas Road, Miami, permanently disbarred effective 30 days from an April 15 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1974) Freeman was charged and found guilty in U.S. district court of conspiracy to commit mail fraud. Freeman willfully and intentionally conspired with others to defraud and obtain money and property through false pretenses using the U.S. Postal Service and other private and commercial interstate carriers. (Case No. SC19-591)
• Joseph Sailor Garwood, 3232 Albert Drive, Tallahassee, disbarred effective retroactive to his June 2008 suspension, following a May 6 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1991) Garwood was found guilty in court of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, a third-degree felony, battery, and resisting an officer without violence. He was sentenced to 24 months probation with adjudication withheld. In another instance, after Garwood was disqualified by a judge from representing his wife in court, he continued to do so. He subsequently sent derogatory e-mails and letters to the opposing counsel. (Case Nos. SC08-838 and SC08-2050)
• Robin Ann Hellman, 12000 N.E. 8th Ave., Miami, suspended until further order, following an April 14 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1998) According to a petition for emergency suspension, Hellman appeared to be causing great public harm by misappropriating client funds. (Case No. SC10-644)
• Jay Katz, 1300 N. Market Street, Suite 303, Wilmington, Del., suspended for 90 days, effective May 4, following an April 29 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1989) This was a reciprocal discipline case originating in Delaware. Katz violated federal law; failed to follow proper procedures in closing loans; and failed to obtain informed consent from his clients where a conflict existed for four clients. (Case No. SC10-70)
• Douglas Liddell Kirkland, 203 N.E. Eighth Ave., Ocala, suspended until further order, following an April 20 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1993) According to a petition for emergency suspension, Kirkland appeared to be causing great public harm by misappropriating assets from his attorney trust account. (Case No. SC10-711)
• William Rodger Mitchell, P.O. Box 30056, Pensacola, publicly reprimanded following a March 25 court order. Further, Mitchell is placed on probation for two years. (Admitted to practice: 1991) In one disciplinary case, Mitchell failed to diligently represent and communicate with a client, and failed to respond to The Florida Bar. In a second disciplinary case, Mitchell also failed to respond to The Florida Bar. (Case No. SC09-1445)
• Deborah K. Rice, 7445 N.W. 75th Drive, Parkland, disbarred effective retroactive to Jan. 11, following an April 29 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1984) Rice was indicted in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, along with her co-defendants, for participating in an extensive fraud scheme. (Case No. SC10-25)
• W. Ben Stewart, 4909 Manatee Ave. W., Bradenton, disbarred effective immediately, following a March 25 court order. (Admitted to practice: 2003) While employed by a Pennsylvania law firm to work as an office manager and closing agent for a title company in Sarasota, Stewart was responsible for funds held in connection with real estate closings. Stewart disbursed money for his personal use and he commingled third-party funds entrusted to him in his personal bank account in order to obtain the interest payments before returning the principal. (Case No. SC10-201)
• Donald Joseph Thomas, 445 E. Palmetto Park Road, Boca Raton, suspended until further order, following an April 20 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1990) According to a petition for emergency suspension, Thomas appeared to be causing great public harm by misappropriating trust funds or property. (Case No. SC10-708)