STATE OF FLORIDA EX REL. THE FLORIDA BAR, COMPLAINANT,
v.
EDWIN L. DAVIS, 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 disbarment of attorney Edwin L. Davis for accepting a retainer to file divorce proceedings, repeatedly misrepresenting that the suit had been filed and was proceeding, and failing to account for fees paid. This was Davis's third disciplinary action, following two prior one-year suspensions.
Davis is disbarred from the practice of law in Florida for violations of professional ethics rules governing attorney conduct, including the failure to file promised litigation, false representations to the client, and failure to account for fees.
“respondent, Edwin L. Davis, a member of The Florida Bar, accepted a retainer and agreed to institute divorce proceedings for a client; that despite repeated assurances by respondent that the suit had been filed and that it was proceeding to final decree no suit was ever filed and no divorce obtained; and that respondent has not accounted to the client for fees paid”
Establishes the core misconduct: false representation of legal services and failure to account for fees
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceDavis accepted a retainer from a client and agreed to institute divorce proceedings. Despite repeatedly assuring the client that the suit had been fil…
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 Attorney Discipline cases and more on FLexlaw
After notice and trial, at which the respondent did not appear, the referee found that respondent, Edwin L. Davis, a member of The Florida Bar, accepted a retainer and agreed to institute divorce proceedings for a client; that despite repeated assurances by respondent that the .-suit had been filed and that it was proceeding to final decree no suit was ever ¡filed and no divorce obtained; and that •respondent has not accounted to the client ¡for fees paid.
The referee found the respondent guilty ■of violation of Article XI of the Integra¡tion Rule, Rule 11.02, 31 F.S.A., Canon 11 •of ihe Canons of Professional Ethics and Rules 1, 27 and 28 of the Additional Rules 'Governing the Conduct of Attorneys in Plorida, 31 F.S.A. and recommended that Ihe be disbarred.
After consideration and review the Board •of Governors of The Florida Bar concurred ⅛ the report of the referee and entered its judgment ordering that respondent be •disbarred and that he pay the costs of these proceedings in the amount of $56.90. This judgment is now before us for review.
Both the referee and the Board of Governors considered the fact that the respondent had twice been suspended from -the practice of law for a one year period by this Court. See 145 So.2d 735 and 154 'So.2d 820, both cases being identical in style to this one. We have also considered our judgments in those cases in weighing the judgment to be entered in this one.
The respondent has filed no appearance or petition in this Court in opposition to the judgment of the Board of Governors.
More than 30 days have now elapsed since the filing with the Clerk of this Court of the judgment of the Board of Governors of The Florida Bar, together with the record of the proceedings had before the referee, and no petition for review of such judgment has been filed in this Court.
We have, nevertheless, duly considered the record in this cause and the judgment of the Board of Governors of The Florida Bar and concur therein.
Therefore, it is ordered that the judgment of the Board of Governors of The Florida Bar that the respondent, Edwin L. Davis, be disbarred from the practice of law and that he pay the cost of these proceedings is approved, and said respondent is hereby disbarred from the practice of law in the State of Florida.
It is so ordered.
DREW, C. J., and THOMAS, ROBERTS, THORNAL and O’CONNELL, JJ., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
-
THE Fla. BAR. In re Petition of Edwin L. Davis for Reinstatement, 397 So. 2d 690 (Fla. 1981)…for wrongful conversion of money. Florida Bar v. Davis, 154 So. 2d 820. 3. Petitioner was disbarred from the practice of law by the Supreme Court of Florida on October 30, 1964, for failure to discharge duties to his clients. Florida Bar v. Davis, 168 So. 2d 314. 4. Since October, 1964, Petitioner has lived in Alabama and has worked as a law clerk or as a paralegal for a law firm [*691] in Tuskegee and Montgomery under the supervision of Alabama lawyers. 5. Petitioner has conducted himself honorably in hi…
Authorities Cited
- The State of Fla. ex rel. THE Fla. BAR v. Davis, 145 So. 2d 735 (Fla. 1962)