THE FLORIDA BAR, COMPLAINANT,
v.
CHRISTOPHER J. SCHILLING, RESPONDENT
AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.
The Florida Supreme Court affirmed the referee's recommendation to publicly reprimand attorney Christopher J. Schilling, suspend him for six months, and assess costs for neglecting legal matters in violation of Disciplinary Rule 6-101(A)(3).
A lawyer who neglects legal matters entrusted to his care violates Disciplinary Rule 6-101(A)(3) and is subject to public reprimand and suspension.
[1] A lawyer's failure to diligently pursue a legal matter entrusted to the lawyer's care violates the lawyer's oath of admission and adversely affects confidence in the lega…
Previewing 1 of 1 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceChristopher J. Schilling, a member of The Florida Bar, neglected his responsibilities in two matters he undertook to represent.…
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.
Explore caselaw by topic → Browse Duty Of Diligence cases and more on FLexlaw
PER CURIAM.
In this grievance procedure against Christopher J. Schilling, a member of The Florida Bar, the referee has recommended that we find Mr. Schilling guilty of violating Disciplinary Rule 6-101(A)(3) of the Code of Professional Responsibility.* The referee concluded that the respondent had neglected responsibilities in two matters he took for representation. In light of Schilling’s past conduct he recommends a public reprimand, six-month suspension, and assessment of costs.
We approve the report and the recommendation. Confidence in, and proper utilization of, the legal system is adversely affected when a lawyer fails to diligently pursue a legal matter entrusted to that lawyer’s care. A failure to do so is a direct violation of the oath a lawyer takes upon his admission to the bar. Christopher J. Schilling is hereby publicly reprimanded for his failure to fulfill his lawyer obligations. His suspension will be effective thirty days from the date this opinion is filed. Judgment for costs in the amount of $680.23 is hereby entered against Schilling, for which sum let execution issue.
It is so ordered.
ADKINS, Acting C.J., and McDONALD, EHRLICH, SHAW and BARKETT, JJ., concur. *
Fla. Bar Code Prof.Resp., D.R. 6-101(A)(3), provides:
(A) A lawyer shall not:
(3) Neglect a legal matter entrusted to him.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
-
THE Florida BAR v. Newman, 513 So. 2d 656 (Fla. 1987)…dgment against Diaz. As this Court has stated before, an attorney’s failure to diligently pursue a legal matter entrusted to his care constitutes a violation of the oath that each lawyer takes upon admission to the bar. The Florida Bar v. Schilling, 486 So. 2d 551 (Fla.1986). Despite Newman’s contentions to the contrary, we find that Newman’s inaction clearly injured his client. Likewise, we believe that the record also supports the referee’s findings concerning the Slatko complaint. Although Newman argues th…
-
THE Florida BAR v. Morrison, 669 So. 2d 1040 (Fla. 1996)…ondent’s contention that the recommended discipline is too severe. The failure of an attorney to pursue representation on behalf of a client resulting in prejudice to a client’s rights is an intolerable breach of trust. See Florida Bar v. Schilling, 486 So. 2d 551, 552 (Fla.1986) (“Confidence in, and proper utilization of, the legal system is adversely affected when a lawyer fails to diligently pursue a legal matter entrusted to that lawyer’s care.”). We conclude that in light of respondent’s similar prior mi…1 / 2
-
THE Florida BAR v. Centurion, 801 So. 2d 858 (Fla. 2000)…e reject Centurion’s contention that a one-year suspension followed by one year of probation is too severe. Centurion’s conduct resulted in prejudice to his clients’ rights and was an intolerable breach of [*863] trust. See Florida Bar v. Schilling, 486 So. 2d 551 (Fla.1986). Similar discipline has been upheld in cases involving the mishandling of client cases. See Florida Bar v. Morrison, 669 So. 2d 1040 (Fla.1996); Florida Bar v. Patterson, 530 So. 2d 285 (Fla.1988); Florida Bar v. Pincus, 327 So. 2d 29 (Fl…
Previewing 3 of 8 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence