The Florida Bar announced that the Florida Supreme Court in recent court orders disciplined 22 attorneys, disbarring five and suspending 13.
Three attorneys from the Jacksonville area were disciplined. William Lee Durden III and Wesley Haynes Owens were suspended and Jeffrey Martin Hanly was disbarred.
• Elizabeth Ann Amond, 811 W. Garden St., Pensacola, publicly reprimanded and placed on probation for three years, following a Feb. 20 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1996) Amond is further directed to attend a trust accounting workshop. Amond improperly commingled funds by placing earned and unearned fees in her trust account, failed to provide monthly bank reconciliations to The Florida Bar’s auditor and failed to follow the rule requiring that trust funds held for a specific purpose be applied only to that purpose. (Case No. SC11-1664)
• Richard Lawrence Brown, P.O. Box 690282, Vero Beach, permanently disbarred, effective immediately, following a Feb. 20 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1993) Brown engaged in a course of conduct involving the neglect of legal matters and misappropriation of about $180,000 of client funds from his trust account. He is incarcerated in county jail pending trial on various criminal charges. (Case Nos. SC11-1030 & SC11-1427)
• Mark F. Dickson, 10940 N.W. 15th St., Pembroke Pines, suspended until further order, effective 30 days from a Feb. 14 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1975) According to a petition for emergency suspension, Dickson appeared to be causing great public harm by misappropriating client trust funds. A Bar audit found that Dickson improperly commingled funds and converted some of the clients’ funds for his own personal use. (Case No. SC12-237)
• William Lee Durden III, 1834 Starwan Road E., Jacksonville, suspended for six months, effective 30 days from a Feb. 20 court order. (Admitted to practice: 2002) During a series of controlled telephone conversations, which were recorded by the State Attorney’s Office investigator, Durden admitted receiving payment for representing at least one criminal defendant while employed as an assistant public defender. The defendant had previously been declared indigent and was represented by the public defender’s office at the taxpayers’ expense during the time of Durden’s employment. (Case No. SC11-2444)
• David Nathan Finkelstein, 9000 Blind Pass Road, Apt. B105, Sarasota, suspended for 20 days, effective 30 days from a Feb. 20 court order. Further, upon reinstatement, Finkelstein is placed on probation for one year. (Admitted to practice: 1987) Finkelstein engaged in a pattern of misconduct including: neglect, lack of diligence, and a lack of communication with clients. He also failed to use proper trust accounting procedures. (Case No. SC11-1469)
• George Frederick Frank, 5355 Town Center Road, Suite 900, Boca Raton, publicly reprimanded following a Feb. 20 court order. (Admitted to practice: 2009) Frank was arrested and convicted of driving under the influence and careless driving after a traffic accident. (Case No. SC12-231)
• Eric P. Gifford, 3807 County Road 826, Anna, Texas, disbarred effective immediately, following a Feb. 20 court order. (Admitted to practice: 2001) Gifford misappropriated $5,000 of client funds held in trust for a client who is mentally disabled and legally blind. He admitted to using the funds for personal bills and expenses including private school tuition for his children. (Case No. SC11-1182)
• Mary Alice Gwynn, 805 George Bush Blvd., Delray Beach, suspended for 91 days, following a Feb. 16 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1991) In numerous instances, Gwynn acted dishonestly, incompetently and in bad faith in a client’s pending litigation. Gwynn failed to expedite litigation in the best interest of the client. She also filed frivolous claims to harass her opponent and opposing counsel, made false allegations in testimony, engaged in willful abuse of the judicial system, and failed to research and verify claims before filing with the court. (Case No. SC08-622)
• Jeffrey Martin Hanly, 1312 Third Street N., Jacksonville Beach, disbarred effective immediately following a Feb. 20 court order. (Admitted to practice: 2002) An investigation by the Bar as a result of numerous complaints against Hanly found that Hanly abandoned his law practice and misappropriated trust funds. (Case No. SC11-1217)
• Mary D. Hansen, 4393 S. Ridgewood Ave., Suite 1, Port Orange, suspended for 91 days effective immediately, following a Feb. 14 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1981) Hansen was found in contempt for failing to comply with the conditions of a Sept. 22, 2011, suspension order. Hansen did not submit to the Bar a sworn affidavit listing the names and addresses of all persons and entities to which she gave notice of her suspension. (Case No. SC11-2498)
• Dwayne Bisford Johnson Sr., 733 Cypress Drive, Apt. A, Lake Park, permanently disbarred effective immediately, following a Feb. 23 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1998) Johnson was found in contempt for failing to comply with the conditions of an Aug. 29 disbarment order. Johnson did not submit to the Bar a sworn affidavit listing the names and addresses of all persons and entities to which he gave notice of his disbarment. (Case No. SC11-2499)
• Mark Howard Klein, 2263 N.W. Boca Raton Blvd., Suite 209, Boca Raton, suspended for 90 days following a Feb. 20 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1986) Klein was the subject of several disciplinary proceedings. Pending complaints involved loan modifications where an ongoing pattern of ineffective communication coupled with failing to perform meaningful services. Klein also pleaded no contest to two misdemeanor charges of assault and battery. (Case No. SC10-2341)
• Petia Dimitrova Knowles, 5110 S.W. 101 st Ave., Cooper City, suspended until further order, effective 30 days from a Jan. 17 court order. (Admitted to practice: 2005) (Case No. SC10-1019).
• Anett Lopez, 3140 W. Kennedy Blvd., Suite 107, Tampa, suspended for 10 days, effective 30 days from a Feb. 20 court order. (Admitted to practice: 2005) Lopez notarized a client’s family law pleadings in his absence, completed improper notarial certificates and misapplied funds for payments of costs from the client. Lopez failed to properly supervise her assistant who handled all deposits for the office and was responsible for ensuring the funds were posted to the proper accounts. A review of Lopez’ trust account records revealed that she was not maintaining minimum accounting procedures. (Case No. SC11-670)
• Samuel Damon Lopez, 1806 N. Flamingo Road, Suite 331, Pembroke Pines, publicly reprimanded following a Feb. 20 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1997) Lopez was hired to represent a client in two separate cases and paid a retainer. He did not do sufficient work on the cases and failed to keep the client adequately informed as to the status of the cases. (Case No. SC12-235)
• Robert E. McCall, 1515 Elizabeth St., Suite H, Melbourne, publicly reprimanded following a Feb. 24 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1982) In three separate instances, McCall failed to adequately supervise non-lawyer employees. (Case No. SC11-1758)
• Kristopher Nathan, 4305 Lakeside Blvd., Monroe, Ga., suspended for 90 days, effective 30 days from a Feb. 24 court order. (Admitted to practice: 2009) In court, Nathan was sentenced to 24 months’ probation and ordered to enter a domestic violence intervention program. The misdemeanor charges involved an act of physical aggression by Nathan against the mother of his 6-year-old daughter, in the presence of his daughter. (Case No. SC11-2177)
• Wesley Haynes Owens, 5345 Ortega Blvd., Suite 14, Jacksonville, suspended for 91 days, effective 30 days from a Feb. 20 court order. Further, Owens shall pay restitution of $6,132 to three clients. (Admitted to practice: 1995) In court for traffic violations, Owens misrepresented the truth by omission, leading a judge to think he had car insurance, when in fact he did not. Owens pursued personal relationships with two clients and initially did not charge fees for his services. When he severed ties with one client, he sent her a bill for $14,000. When another client was unresponsive to his pursuits, he threatened to sue her for $18,000 in legal fees. A court reporters company filed a small claims action against Owens for failure to pay; and he failed to communicate with a client who retained him for representation in a family law matter. (Case No. SC11-2051)
• Raymond Jonas Rodgers, 5809A Devonshire Ave., St. Louis, Mo., suspended for 90 days, effective 30 days from a Feb. 20 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1996) This is a reciprocal discipline matter. Rodgers is a member of the State Bar of Texas and The Florida Bar. He received a suspension and was placed on probation in Texas after being found negligent with regard to two clients in separate matters. Rodgers failed to keep either client informed and failed to promptly comply with requests for information. Upon termination of his representation, Rodgers failed to refund any advance fees that had not been earned. He also failed to timely respond to the chief disciplinary counsel or the district grievance committee in Texas. (Case No. SC11-1759)
• Jeffrey Stephen Rosenberg, 2885 Sanford Ave. S.W., No. 14364, Grandville, Mich., permanently disbarred, effective immediately, following a Jan. 27 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1979) Rosenberg was found in contempt for failing to comply with the conditions of a June 24, 2010, disbarment order. He continued to practice law after being disbarred.
• Monica Amelia Santiago, 70 S. Semoran Blvd., Orlando, suspended until further order, effective 30 days from a Feb. 14 court order. (Admitted to practice: 2008) Santiago was found in contempt for willful failure to respond to Bar inquiries regarding a complaint. (Case No. SC11-2303)
• Donald Louis West Jr., 352 Baywood Drive, Newport Beach, Calif., suspended for an additional year, consecutive to his current one-year suspension, following a Feb. 7 court order. (Admitted to practice: 2001) West was found in contempt for failing to comply with the conditions of a Sept. 1, 2011, suspension order. West did not submit to the Bar a sworn affidavit listing the names and addresses of all persons and entities to which he gave notice of his suspension. (Case No. SC11-2368)