According to a 12/1/05 article in The Florida Bar News a first look at an "extensive review of the Florida Bar's disciplinary process" will be on the agenda for the Bar's Board of Governors when it meets December 16 at Amelia Island.
Florida attorney Jeffrey R. Hill was employed by FARAH, FARAH & ABBOTT, P.A.A/k/a The Law Offices of Eddie Farah in 2004 when he discovered it was regularly overcharging its personal injury clients. According to Hill, "The firm was frequently 'padding' costs charged to clients by $300 or more per case and had been doing so for several years. Clients were required clients to sign settlement statements certifying they agreed with the falsified figures before any portion of their settlement proceeds would be paid to them. The firm's contingency fee contracts, accounting records and settlement statements clearly document its overcharging practices."
Hill reported his concerns over the firm's illicit overcharging practices in September by letter to Mr. Donald M. Spangler, Esq., Chief Branch Discipline Counsel for The Florida Bar. Hill's letter included supporting documentation from ten cases in which the firm grossly overcharged clients and pointed out, The documentation is being provided in only ten (10) cases, but the practice of overcharging clients for costs in this manner is widespread at the firm. There are likely hundreds and perhaps thousands of files in which the firm has overcharged clients for costs in this manner without their knowledge."
To Hill's surprise, a full year went by with no contact from any representatives of The Florida Bar to investigate his allegations of wide scale fraud and misappropriation of clients' funds by The Law Offices of Eddie Farah.
Hill followed up with The Florida Bar in September and October.By email dated 10/27/05, Mr. Spangler succinctly responded, "The file to which you refer was closed. The grievance committee considered the matter after investigation and an audit by the Bar Staff Auditor, and found there was no probable cause to pursue disciplinary proceedings. They did elect to send a letter of advice to the firm."
According to The Florida Bar's web site, "The Florida Bar has an important role in the regulation of lawyer misconduct. A complaint of unprofessional conduct against a Florida Bar member is a serious matter. The processing and investigation of inquiries and complaints are a basic responsibility of the Bar as mandated by the Florida Supreme Court. The Bar seeks to protect the public from unethical lawyers." (Emphasis supplied).
Hill finds it difficult to fathom how The Florida Bar's grievance committee could reach an informed decision concerning probable cause to pursue disciplinary proceedings without ever even contacting him as the person reporting the misconduct. Despite the egregiousness of the reported misconduct, Hill received no inquiries whatsoever from The Florida Bar by letter, telephone or email.
Hill followed up with Spangler requesting a copy of The Florida Bar's file.By email dated 10/28/05, Spangler responded, Your request will be treated as a public records request and you will be informed by the appropriate individual regarding the cost of the documents you are requesting. As of 12/5/05 Hill has neither received the requested documents nor been contacted by The Florida Bar regarding the cost of producing them. Hill is continuing to follow up on his efforts to obtain the records, which should be readily available pursuant to the Public Records Act, Chapter 119 of the Florida Statutes.
Florida Bar President-elect and Board of Governors member Henry Matson Coxe III chairs the Special Commission on Lawyer Regulation conducting an "extensive review" of the Bar's disciplinary process. Coincidentally, Coxe's law office is just a half mile down the street from the Law Offices of Eddie Farah in Jacksonville.By email to Coxe on 12/5/05, Hill requested that the manner in which his complaint of misconduct was handled be included in the Board of Governor's "extensive review" of The Florida Bar's disciplinary process at the upcoming December 16 meeting.
Hill is following up with The Florida Bar on an outstanding request for a copy of its complete file concerning this matter. Those documents should be readily available pursuant to the Public Records Act, Chapter 119 of the Florida Statutes. On 12/7/05, Hill received a response to his public records request but the records are obviously incomplete. With the exception of nine pages, the records produced were limited to documents he personally sent to The Florida Bar. Most noticeably absent from the records are the Grievance Committee's file and the results from the audit of FARAH, FARAH & ABBOTT, P.A.'s trust account that was apparently scheduled for 3/2/05. It appears the audit took place since the Farahs' attorney, John A. Weiss, Esq., states in a 9/22/05 letter to The Florida Bar,
"As an aside, I would advise you that the firm has refunded in excess of $120,000.00..., including both principal and interest, to those clients who were inadvertantly overcharged for costs. Approximately $10,000.00 remains undisbursed because the firm, and the private investigator it subsequently hired, could not find the individuals."
Weiss letter and examples of the firm's overcharging practices are available on Hill's personal web page called "Hill's Peek" which can be easily found through the Google and Yahoo search engines.
Hill observes, "That certainly sounds like quite a bit of money to be 'inadvertantly overcharged'. It would take overcharging 400 clients by $300 each to reach $120,000.00." Hill says he will continue to follow up on his public records request to obtain the remainder of The Florida Bar's file.
Jeffrey
Jacksonville, Florida
U.S.A.
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