Staff Writer
Grievance Committee members visit JWLA
A panel explained to the Jacksonville Women Lawyers Association that being subject to the Florida Bar’s grievance process was inevitable, and the keys to resolving matters were communication and documentation.
Four past and present members of Florida Bar Fourth Judicial Circuit Grievance Committee offered their knowledge of the Bar’s grievance process at the association’s monthly meeting at The River Club. The panel was asked to begin with the biggest issues they have seen as a committee member.
“One of the most important issues to the Florida Bar is trust account violations,” said Henry Gare, an attorney member of Committee “D” in the Fourth Circuit.
“You can’t come in and say, ’I didn’t do it on purpose’ or ‘I didn’t know.’ If it’s your trust account, like me, I run a solo practice, it’s all on me. There is no, ‘Well, my bookkeeper did this’ or ‘My accountant did that.’ They don’t want to hear about it,” said Gare.
“One of the most important things I see as a layperson is your response to the Florida Bar,” said Jim Bailey, a non-lawyer member of Committee “D” in the Fourth Circuit.
“If you ever get involved with the process, response is key. Get back to them as quickly as possible. Then you have a way of communicating. If you don’t, you are putting up a wall very quickly. There are so many ways to remedy issues,” said Bailey.
“What underlies a lot of these problems or issues is failure to communicate with your clients,” said Patti Dodson, past chair of the Committee “B” in the Fourth Circuit. “Prompt communication is the No. 1 trait or skill that you can develop as a lawyer.”
Dodson said that not all grievances make it to the committee level.
“A lot of grievances are handled by the Florida Bar before they get submitted to a committee,” said Dodson.
Thomas “Tad” Delegal is vice chair of Committee “D” in the Fourth Circuit and also moderated the panel.
“A lot of people who get in trouble, frankly, are people who don’t charge their clients enough,” said Delegal.
“You try to do a favor for somebody, doing it on the cheap, and trying not to spend the time on it. I see a lot of lawyers get burned on that. Up front, try to factor in the true cost of that case. It’s unfortunate, because a lot of attorneys are doing things to help people out,” he said.
The committees consist of volunteer members, with a third being non-lawyers. Each of Florida’s 20 judicial circuits has at least one such committee. The Fourth Circuit has four.
The committee reviews complaints just as a grand jury would. It decides, after a case is submitted to it by Bar counsel, whether there is probable cause to believe a lawyer violated the professional conduct rules imposed by the Supreme Court of Florida and whether discipline against a lawyer is warranted.
Documentation was discussed as a tool to help an attorney during the grievance process. Saving e-mail messages and following up phone calls with letters detailing the discussion will help to provide evidence of service.
“We see a lot of attorneys come in and tell us, ‘Oh, I told them that over the phone,’” said Gare.
“I promise you that the client is going to say, ‘I was never told that.’ Then I go back to the attorney and tell them to show me where you documented that you sent them a letter. They say, ‘Well, I don’t have that.’ What is the evidence? None,” he said.
This communication also has the ability to become overwhelming if a client fills an inbox with e-mails.
“We do an initial letter to clients explaining that we are billing them every time we respond to an e-mail,” said Delegal. “The first thing we do is tell the client to save up their questions and we will have a conference to discuss them all at one time. Both you and the client will be ready to discuss the case that way.”
For information about the grievance process or to apply to become a member of a committee, visit www.floridabar.org.
Fourth Circuit Grievance Committees
“A”
Chair Matthew Posgay, Vice Chair Susan Cohen, John Schickel, Marianne Aho, Geddes Anderson, Laurence Pritchard, Michael Rudolph, Patricia Abraham (non-attorney), Antonio Ervin (non-attorney), Judi Rohlfing (non-attorney).
“B”
Chair Thomas Farrell, John Schickel, Michael Freed, Mark Gelman, Courtney Grimm, John Rahaim, Michael Sharrit, Larry Fairman (non-attorney), Roy Finklea (non-attorney).
“C”
Chair Sarah Maroon, Vice Chair Latasha Garrison-Fullwood, S. Grier Wells, Robert George, Ned Price, Ben Sharkey, Matthew Sowell, Laura Starrett, Kendall Spencer (non-attorney).
“D”
Chair Elliot Zisser, Vice Chair Thomas “Tad” Delegal, S. Grier Wells, Ernst Bell, David Brecher, Mina Bustamante, Henry Gare, James Pimentel, James Bailey (non-attorney), Paul Whipple (non-attorney), Mazie Williams (non-attorney).
356-2466