The Florida Bar, the state’s guardian for the integrity of the legal profession, announced that the Florida Supreme Court in recent court orders disciplined 17 attorneys, disbarring five and suspending eight.
Some attorneys received more than one form of discipline. One attorney was placed on probation; four attorneys were publicly reprimanded; and one attorney was ordered to pay restitution.
As an official arm 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 93,000-plus lawyers admitted to practice law in Florida.
Case files are posted to attorneys’ individual Florida Bar profiles and may be reviewed at and/or downloaded from The Florida Bar’s website, www.floridabar.org.
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 re-apply 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, fewer than 5 percent of disbarred lawyers seek readmission.
• Richard Keith Alan II, 301 Clematis St., Suite 3000, West Palm Beach, suspended for 30 days, effective May 1, following a Jan. 24 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1997) Alan is further directed to attend a Florida Bar professionalism workshop. Alan improperly contacted a dismissed juror weeks after a case concluded, causing emotional anguish to the juror. He also engaged in inappropriate courtroom behavior by arriving more than an hour late to a jury selection process, in which he was unable to be reached by the judge’s assistant. (Case No. SC11-484)
• Gabrielle Alexis, 4613 N. University Drive, No. 558, Coral Springs, permanently disbarred, effective immediately, following a Jan. 27 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1996) Alexis was found in contempt for failure to comply with the terms of her March 17, 2011, disbarment. Alexis 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 disbarment. (Case No. SC11-1538)
• Carol Cobourn Asbury, 3601 W. Commercial Blvd., Suite 18, Fort Lauderdale, disbarred effective immediately, following a Jan. 19 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1984) In two separate cases in U.S. District Court, Asbury pleaded guilty to one felony count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. The charges were related to fraudulent mortgages. (Case No. SC11-2383)
• Rodolfo Mario Blanco, 14406 N.W. 88th Ave., Miami Lakes, publicly reprimanded and further, placed on probation for two years, following a Jan. 24 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1994) Blanco is further directed to attend a trust accounting workshop. In the course of handling seven real estate transactions on behalf of clients and third parties, Blanco improperly commingled funds by depositing them into his personal bank account rather than into his trust account. (Case No. SC11-2424)
• Ryan Thomas Fasso, 1109 Lakemont Drive, Valrico, suspended for six months, effective immediately, retroactive to April 26, 2010, following a Feb. 7 court order. (Admitted to practice: 2002) Fasso was found in contempt for violating the terms of an April 2010 suspension. He failed to file quarterly sworn information reports as required by the rules for suspended attorneys, and he was improperly in direct contact with at least one client, while on suspension. (Case No. SC11-1429)
• David Anthony Fontes, 310 S. Dale Mabry Highway, Suite 260, Tampa, suspended until further order, effective 30 days from a Jan. 30 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1986) According to a petition for emergency suspension, Fontes appeared to be causing great public harm by misappropriating client trust funds. (Case No. SC12-17)
• Timothy C. Foster, P.O. Box 656, Stuart, permanently disbarred following a Jan. 27 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1991) Foster was found in contempt for failing to comply with the conditions of his Sept. 20, 2011, disbarment order. Foster 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. SC11-2399)
• Johnny Sherwood Gaskins, 1108 Hobson Court, Raleigh, N.C., suspended for two years, effective immediately, following a Jan. 31 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1993) Gaskins was convicted of felony by a North Carolina court of structuring financial transactions with banks for the purpose of evading the reporting requirements. He was subsequently suspended from practicing law by the North Carolina State Bar. Gaskins failed to timely notify The Florida Bar of his indictment. (Case No. SC11-1440)
• Heather Mary Ann Gray, 10011 Cannon Drive, Riverview, disbarred effective immediately, following a Jan. 19 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1996) Gray failed to respond to Bar inquiries regarding her conduct, following a complaint against her in February 2010. (Case No. SC11-1089)
• James Crenshaw Kelley, 12651 S. Dixie Highway, Suite 201, Pinecrest, suspended until further order, effective immediately, following a Dec. 30, 2011, court order. (Admitted to practice: 1977) Kelley was found in contempt for repeated failure to adequately respond to official Bar inquiries and failure to show good cause for non-compliance. (Case No. SC11-2108)
• Paul Rogers Kennedy, 55 N.E. Fifth Ave., Floor 2, Delray Beach, publicly reprimanded following a Feb. 2 court order. (Admitted to practice: 2002) Kennedy was found in contempt for failing to timely respond to multiple inquiries by The Florida Bar. (Case No. SC11-1985)
• Douglas Scott Lyons, 325 N. Calhoun St., Tallahassee, publicly reprimanded following a Jan. 24 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1970) Lyons’ office staff erroneously mailed an unsolicited advertisement as well as a brochure containing names and personal information of persons unrelated to the intended mailing. (Case No. SC11-835)
• James Robert Mann, 1220 16th St., Miami Beach, permanently disbarred effective immediately, following a Dec. 30 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1997) Mann was found in contempt for failure to comply with the conditions of his Aug. 12, 2011, disbarment order. Mann 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. SC11-2181)
• James Stewart Mattson, P.O. Box 370586, Key Largo, publicly reprimanded in the Southern Reporter, following a Jan. 19 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1983) Mattson shall pay restitution to one client of $10,000 and attend ethics school. After being retained, Mattson failed to adequately communicate with a client and took no action to move a matter forward. (Case No. SC11-2425)
• Jeffrey Allen McCann, 4371 Northlake Blvd., No. 249, Palm Beach Gardens, suspended 30 days from a Jan. 4 court order, until further order of the court. (Admitted to practice: 2003) McCann was found in contempt for failing to respond to official Bar inquiries. (Case No. SC11-2226)
• Randall Shanafelt, 803 Turner St., Clearwater, suspended until further order, effective 30 days from a Jan. 20 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1995) According to a petition for emergency suspension, Shanafelt appeared to be causing great public harm. The Bar’s investigation revealed that for at least three months, Shanafelt abandoned his law practice. He also failed to notify the Bar that felony charges were filed as a result of an arrest for domestic violence and battery on a law enforcement officer. (Case No. SC12-46)
• Karen Timberlake White, 4124 Steve Reynolds Blvd., Norcross, Ga., suspended until further order, effective 30 days from a Jan. 3 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1995) According to a petition for emergency suspension, White appeared to be causing great public harm. In October 2010, White was disbarred in Georgia for failure to diligently represent clients in two separate instances. She also failed to notify The Florida Bar of her disbarment in Georgia. (Case No. SC11-2398)