THE FLORIDA BAR, COMPLAINANT,
v.
DONALD N. STORY, RESPONDENT
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The Court approves the referee's report and orders the respondent suspended from the practice of law for thirty days.
The respondent attorney prepared a will where witness signatures were obtained before the testator signed, and the notarized statement was executed pr…
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PER CURIAM.
The Florida Bar brought this disciplinary action against Donald N. Story. The referee’s report is now before the Court for consideration. Neither party seeks review of the report.
The referee found that respondent prepared a will for a client. When the client executed the will, the signatures of the witnesses purporting to attest to the testator’s execution had already been obtained. Also, the notarized statement that the witnesses had signed in the presence of the testator had been executed prior to the testator’s execution of the will.
The referee recommended that respondent be found guilty of violating the following provisions of the Rules of Professional Conduct (chapter 4 of the Rules Regulating The Florida Bar): rule 4-1.1, for failure to provide competent representation to a client; rule 4-8.4(b), for commission of a criminal act that reflects adversely on a lawyer’s honesty, trustworthiness, or fitness as a lawyer; rule 4-8.4(c), for conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation; and rule 4-8.4(d), for conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice.
The referee recommended that the respondent be suspended from the practice of law for thirty days. We approve the referee’s report and order that Donald N. Story shall be suspended from the practice of law for thirty days. So that he can arrange to discontinue his practice in an orderly fashion, taking whatever steps are necessary to safeguard the interests of his clients, this suspension shall take effect September 26, 1988. Under rule 3 — 5.1(h), Rules Regulating The Florida Bar, respondent must provide notice of this suspension to all clients with matters pending in his practice.
The costs of this proceeding are assessed against the respondent. Judgment is entered against Donald N. Story for costs in the amount of $534.07, for which sum let execution issue.
It is so ordered.
EHRLICH, C.J., and OVERTON, McDonald, shaw, barkett, GRIMES and KOGAN, JJ., concur.
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THE Florida BAR v. Kickliter, 559 So. 2d 1123 (Fla. 1990)…). Kickliter relies on two eases where attorneys committed misconduct regarding their handling of clients’ wills and received lesser discipline than disbarment, i.e., The Florida Bar v. Betts, 530 So. 2d 928 (Fla.1988), and The Florida Bar v. Story, 529 So. 2d 1114 (Fla.1988). Betts and Story, however, are exceptions to the general rule of strict discipline against attorneys who deliberately and knowingly perpetrate a fraud on the court. Such an exception is not warranted here, and we agree with the bar that K…
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THE Florida BAR v. COX, 794 So. 2d 1278 (Fla. 2001)…ting material facts to a court, knowingly submitting false affidavits, and deliberately attempting to mislead the Bar where the individual involved also had prior disciplinary offenses and possessed a dishonest motive. See also Florida Bar v. Story, 529 So. 2d 1114 (Fla.1988); Florida Bar v. Morrison, 496 So. 2d 820 (Fla.1986); Florida Bar v. Shapiro, 456 So. 2d 452 (Fla.1984). While I do not condone that which occurred in this case and find it both troubling and aggravating due to the nature of the circumsta…
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