The Florida Supreme Court in recent court orders disciplined 17 attorneys — disbarring four, revoking the license of one, suspending six and publicly reprimanding six. Two attorneys received more than one form of discipline and were also placed on probation.
Two are from Jacksonville:
• Kevin Michael Cobbin, 525 N. Newnan St., to be publicly reprimanded by publication in the Southern Reporter. Further, Cobbin shall be placed on probation for the period of his Florida Lawyers Assistance contract, which shall not exceed three years. On May 27, 2014, Cobbin pleaded no contest in court to DUI and was found guilty of DUI with property damage. He was sentenced to 12 months of probation.
• Scott Douglas Leemis, suspended for three years. Leemis was found in contempt for violating the terms of an Aug. 28, 2014, suspension order. Specifically, Leemis was ordered to notify his clients, opposing counsel and the courts of his status and provide a sworn affidavit to the Bar listing the names and addresses of all persons and entities that received a copy of his suspension order.
Others are:
• Benjamin Scott Anderson, Elkhorn, Neb., suspended for one year. Anderson also is a member of the State Bar of Georgia. This is a reciprocal discipline action based on a final order from the Supreme Court of Georgia. After being retained to handle two separate cases, Anderson failed to complete the work. In one instance, the client demanded a full refund of her $3,000 fee. When he failed to return the money, the client filed a Bar grievance. In another case, Anderson agreed to refund $1,175 of the client’s $2,000 advance fee and has begun making payments.
• Richard Russell Baker, Winter Park, disbarred effective immediately. Baker pleaded guilty in federal court to one count of tax evasion, a felony. Baker knowingly failed to file his corporate and personal federal income tax returns from 2002 to 2008.
• Hugh Adolphus Davis II, Leesburg, suspended for three years. Davis failed to appear for several case management and sanction hearings scheduled by the Bar. He also accepted $1,000 to represent a client, but subsequently had no contact and relocated without notifying the client of his new address and telephone number. Davis also practiced law while suspended and failed to inform the client of his status.
• Zana Holley Dupee, Gainesville, suspended for one year. Dupee knowingly engaged in dishonest conduct while representing a wife in a dissolution of marriage case. She failed to take any action, knowing that her client falsely testified in a deposition; allowed a false financial affidavit to be filed with the court; concealed documents requested by the husband; and provided inaccurate answers to opposing counsel.
• Nancy Carol Holliday-Fields, Homosassa Springs, disbarred effective immediately. Holliday-Fields failed to provide competent representation to a client. Holliday-Fields abandoned her law practice, moved without properly advising her clients and took most of her client files with her. She also failed to respond to The Florida Bar in any capacity.
• Robert H. Lecznar, New Port Richey, disbarred effective immediately. Lecznar failed to respond to Bar inquiries regarding complaints and he failed to appear for scheduled hearings. Lecznar engaged in a pattern of neglect with respect to client matters and often failed to adequately communicate with clients. He also failed to inform one of his clients that he was suspended from the practice of law when he offered to continue to handle her case.
• Rocco G. Marucci, Fort Lauderdale, to be publicly reprimanded by publication in the Southern Reporter. While handling loan modification cases, Marucci failed to adequately communicate with clients, charged excessive fees and failed to properly supervise non-lawyer employees.
• Kyle McLeod, Live Oak, suspended for 91 days. Further, upon reinstatement, McLeod shall be placed on probation for three years. He also has to sit for and pass the ethics portion of The Florida Bar Exam. While serving as an assistant state attorney, McLeod made an agreement with an inmate, asking him to testify in exchange for consideration to be determined later. He also knowingly provided false statements to a tribunal. McLeod repeatedly told a judge and stated in a motion that the inmate had not been offered anything in exchange for his testimony in court.
• Brent Rainey, Orlando, disbarred effective immediately. Rainey was found in contempt for violating the terms of an Aug. 14, 2014, suspension order. Specifically, Rainey was ordered to notify his clients, opposing counsel and the courts of his status and provide a sworn affidavit to the Bar listing the names and addresses of all persons and entities that received a copy of his suspension order.
• Gary Craig Richards, Gainesville, suspended until further order. Richards was convicted by a jury of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. He also was found guilty of battery, possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia.
• Reginald Bernard Sessions, Fort Pierce, to be publicly reprimanded by publication in the Southern Reporter. Sessions was hired to represent a man in a criminal matter. Thereafter he failed to provide competent representation. Because of Sessions’ failure to understand the felony sentencing scheme, the client received an illegal sentence.
• William Alfred Sweat Jr., Lakeland, to be publicly reprimanded by publication in the Southern Reporter. A Bar audit found a series of trust account record-keeping errors that created the appearance of a shortage. The trust account also had undetected bank errors, which included assessing check printing and other routine bank charges to the trust account rather than the operating account. Sweat’s failure to follow all trust account record-keeping procedures allowed the errors to go undetected for a period of time. Once the records were corrected by Sweat’s CPA, the trust account was in substantial compliance with the rules.
• Barbara Mathews Trescott, Fort Myers, to be publicly reprimanded following a March 27 court order. Trescott pleaded guilty to misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia and/or use. She also pleaded no contest to reckless driving. Adjudication was withheld on both charges and she was ordered to complete community service, complete DUI school and attend AA meetings.
• Pedro Gilberto Velez Jr., Tampa, the court granted Velez a permanent disciplinary revocation, without leave to seek readmission, effective immediately. Disciplinary revocation is equivalent to disbarment. Velez was adjudicated guilty for felony possession of cocaine, driving under the influence (third conviction), and refusal to submit to testing. He was sentenced to drug offender probation, community service, DUI school and other conditions.
• Peter Milan Predrag Vujin, Miami Beach, to be publicly reprimanded. Vujin was the victim of a disbarred attorney who used his name in order to continue practicing law. When Vujin discovered what happened, he voluntarily agreed to assume representation of the client. He attended pre-trial hearings but thereafter withdrew representation and failed to notify the court. The client appeared at the final hearing and Vujin did not. The hearing resulted in an unfavorable judgment for the client, who subsequently hired another counsel and petitioned for a new trial. Vujin agreed to turn over his file to the successor counsel, in exchange for a promise from the former client not to report the matter to The Florida Bar.