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 21 attorneys, disbarring six and suspending 13.
Some attorneys received more than one form of discipline. Two attorneys were placed on probation; two attorneys were publicly reprimanded.
Lawyer Koko Head of Jacksonville was suspended for 91 days.
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.
Since Aug. 1, 2007, case files have been 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.
• Edward Joel Abramson, 7270 N.W. 12th St. Suite 580, Miami, suspended for 60 days, effective 30 days from a March 8 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1989) Abramson is further directed to attend a Florida Bar professionalism workshop. Abramson engaged in conduct involving dishonesty. In representing a client in an immigration hearing, Abramson was aware but failed to disclose to the judge a client’s prior arrest. (Case No. SC11-1425)
• Andrea Ruth Bateman, P.O. Box 104, Winter Park, suspended for 30 days, effective 30 days from a March 19 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1974) Bateman was found in contempt for violating the terms of an October 2009 probation. She failed to submit quarterly trust account CPA reports and also failed to remit the quarterly monitoring fee on several occasions, accumulating arrearages of $700. (Case No. SC11-2323)
• Jennifer Aycock Bonifield, 1025 Professional Park Drive, Brandon, suspended until further order, effective 30 days from an April 4 court order. (Admitted to practice: 2002) Bonifield was found in contempt for willfully failing to comply with a subpoena without good cause. The Bar was seeking copies of all Bonifield’s trust and operating account records. In July 2009, deposits to Bonifield’s escrow account totaled more than $856,000. Since that time, more than $575,000 has been electronically transferred from the account to Bonifield’s checking account. Bonifield failed to provide documentation for the transfers. She also failed to appear at the non-compliance hearing before the grievance committee in February. Stephan Tabano has been appointed as inventory attorney. (Case No. SC12-264)
• Robert T. Carter, P.O. Box 790, Tullahoma, Tenn., suspended until further order, effective 30 days from a March 20 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1991) Carter, who was licensed to practice law in Tennessee and Florida, pleaded guilty to a felony in the criminal court of Tennessee. Carter misappropriated approximately $59,000 from his former law firm by accepting fees from clients and not reporting them to the firm. (Case No. SC12-518)
• Brian Gerard Doherty, 42129 N. Golf Crest Road, Anthem, Ariz., disbarred effective 30 days from a Jan. 17 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1987) Doherty formed a professional relationship with a married couple. He provided legal advice concerning estate planning and also served as their financial adviser. As the years progressed, the husband died and the wife became gravely ill and subsequently died also. During these years, Doherty engaged in a conflict of interest by mixing his roles as attorney, trustee and financial planner. He improperly advised the client to take specific actions that would earn him a financial benefit without disclosing his personal interest to the client. (Case No. SC10-332)
• Thomas W. Dvorak, 633 S. Andrews Ave., Suite 402, Fort Lauderdale, suspended for an additional year, consecutive to his current suspension, following a March 22 court order. (Admitted to practice: 2002) Dvorak was found in contempt for failing to comply with the conditions of an Aug. 25, 2011, suspension order. Dvorak 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. SC11-2341)
• Robert W. Frazier Jr., 507 S.E. 11th Court, Fort Lauderdale, publicly reprimanded following a March 8 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1977) Frazier failed to comply with a March 2, 2011, court order mandating that he immediately furnish a copy of his emergency suspension order, (which is currently in effect) to all of his clients and the bank. Frazier notified his clients 30 days later, and he failed to notify the bank of the suspension. Because of his failure to immediately inform his clients, one client wired more than $156,000 to Frazier’s law firm’s trust account while he was suspended. Multiple other deposits and withdrawals went in and out of the account during that time as well. The transactions were completed without Frazier seeking approval of the Florida Supreme Court or referee, as the court order mandates. (Case No. SC11-867)
• Clifford Gorman, 3807 Ave. H, Unit B, Austin, Texas, disbarred, effective immediately, following a March 8 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1988) Gorman received an inquiry from The Florida Bar regarding trust account funds that were requested by a client, but not disbursed. Gorman responded to the Bar by invoking the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Subsequently, a trust account subpoena was served upon Gorman, with which he has failed to comply. (Case No. SC12-324)
• Koko Head, P.O. Box 600788, Jacksonville, suspended for 91 days and thereafter until he proves rehabilitation, effective 30 days from a March 15 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1985) Upon reinstatement, Head is further placed on probation for one year. Head will also attend the Bar’s ethics school and take a professionalism course. In two separate cases, Head engaged in deceptive behavior by filing a false affidavit with the court; testifying untruthfully during a disciplinary hearing and creating a fraudulent letter that gave the appearance that he’d already filed a civil case. (SC19-1175)
• Patricia A. Johnston, Calle Cesar Chavez 84, Arrecife de Lanzarote, Canary, Spain, disbarred for 10 years, following a March 8 court order. (Admitted to practice: 2001) Johnston was the subject of several Bar complaints. She misappropriated client funds and engaged in other unethical conduct. In one instance, Johnston was removed as personal representative after she failed to provide information upon request about a $3 million estate, from which she took funds without authorization. In another matter, Johnston provided false misleading testimony in a civil collection matter in an attempt to hide the true nature of her spouse’s assets. Johnston abandoned her Orlando law practice, changed her bar status to retired and moved to Spain. (Case No. SC11-1767)
• Bruce Allan Lamchick, 9200 S. Dadeland Blvd., Suite 518, Miami, suspended for 90 days following an April 9 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1974) After being served a subpoena, Lamchick failed to provide complete bank and trust account records to the Bar. He also engaged in misconduct while serving as the closing agent for numerous real estate transactions. In another matter, while serving as a settlement agent, Lamchick notarized two signatures on a mortgage deed that were not signed in his presence. (Case No. SC11-1781)
• Paul Alan Lehrman, P.O. Box 12242, Tallahassee, suspended for 30 days, effective 30 days from a March 21 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1978) Lehrman pleaded guilty to three felony counts of filing false income taxes. The charges were the result of his failure to report income consisting of $85,541 in attorney fees received from the City of Apalachicola over a three-year period. He was sentenced to six months in prison, followed by one year of supervised release, a fine of $10,000 and restitution of $23,832 to the internal Revenue Service. (Case No. SC12-523)
• Roderick Lynn McGee, 4631 N.W. 31st Ave., Fort Lauderdale, permanently disbarred effective immediately, following a March 12 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1974) McGee was found in contempt for failure to respond to comply with the terms of his Aug. 30, 2011, disbarment. McGee 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. SC12-130)
• Kenneth J. Morilak, 3825 Apaloosa Drive, Woodbridge, Va., suspended until further order, effective 30 days from a March 20 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1998) Morilak pleaded guilty in court to one felony count of violation of the Joint Federal Travel Regulation Paragraph 4131, which prohibits the renting of lodging from friends or family members not in the routine business of providing accommodations of the general intent crime of a false claim against the government. (Case No. SC12-517)
• Paul William Moses II, 1000 N. Magnolia Ave., Orlando, suspended for 91 days, effective 30 days from a March 8 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1994) Upon reinstatement, Moses is further placed on probation for three years. Moses was a licensed insurance agent as well as an attorney, but he was not practicing law at the time. From 1996 to 2006, Moses was the broker and financial adviser for an elderly woman who was not a relative. Moses took out a life insurance policy on the woman when he had no insurable interest in her life and he made misrepresentations in the insurance application although he claims it was unintentional. Moses also failed to respond in writing to the bar. (Case No. SC11-1218)
• A. J. Rohe, 201 W. Main St., Tavares, suspended until further order, effective March 30, following a March 27 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1997) Rohe pleaded no contest in court to resisting arrest with violence, a third degree felony. Adjudication of guilt was withheld and Rohe was sentenced to two years probations with various conditions, including abstention from alcohol and illegal drugs and random alcohol/drug testing. (Case No. SC12-560)
• Doris Wellman Sanders, 2181 Crawfordville Highway, Crawfordville, disbarred, effective immediately, following a March 27 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1997) A Bar investigation indicated theft of funds by Sanders from a client’s revocable trust. The Bar’s complaint contained the following allegations: While serving as the sole trustee of the trust, Sanders gave gifts to her boyfriend and relatives totaling more than $41,000. She also paid off two personal mortgages worth $95,000 and paid herself nearly $25,000 in attorney’s fees, but failed to provide a sufficient explanation as to what she did to earn the fees. Sanders waived her right to consideration by a grievance committee and agreed to disbarment. (Case No. SC11-1990)
• Aaron J. Slavin, 4707 140th Ave. N., Suite 211, Clearwater, suspended until further order, effective 30 days from a March 13 court order. (Admitted to practice: 2002) Slavin was adjudicated guilty of trafficking in illegal drugs (Oxycodone), a first degree felony. He was sentenced to three years imprisonment, followed by five years of drug offender probation. (Case No. SC12-484)
• Patricia Anne Snyder, P.O. Box 420188, Summerland Key, suspended for one year, effective 30 days from a March 8 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1990) After being retained in January 2009 to handle a real property case for a client, Snyder failed to adequately communicate and around September 2009, she stopped responding altogether. After the client filed a complaint, Snyder told the Bar that she had successfully negotiated an administrative variance for the client. Contrary to her claim, the planning department had no record of any communication with Snyder. (Case No. SC11-1715)
• David M. Sostchin, 797 W. 18th St., Hialeah, publicly reprimanded following a March 8 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1978) Sostchin was retained to represent a client in a foreclosure proceeding in which a final order of foreclosure had already been issued and a sale date had been set. Although there were no defects in the underlying proceeding, Sostchin failed to ensure that the client was adequately informed of the status of the representation, and notwithstanding the eventual sale of the property, continued to accept monthly payments until the client ceased making payment. Upon learning of the sale of the property, the client went to the office and demanded an explanation. The firm issued a refund check in the amount of $2,295. (Case No. SC11-1471)
• Michelle R. Tustin, 12737 Tamiami Trail S., North Port, disbarred effective immediately, following a March 8 court order. (Admitted to practice: 2000) Tustin was the subject of several Bar disciplinary matters. She waived her right to consideration by a grievance committee and agreed to disbarment. (Case No. SC12-329)