President of the Florida Bar, Mayane Downs, says that the Bar has seen an increase large increase in the number of complaints and investigations of attorney misconduct as a result of foreclosure fraud and some may pay the ultimate professional price, disbarment. The Florida Bar, the body responsible for monitoring and investigation attorney conduct, has seen the number of fraud cases and the number of attorney's under investigation rise from 28 investigations on 23 attorneys in 2010 to 222 investigations on 157 attorneys open so far in 2011.
The substance of the investigations are not made public but complaints normally range from forged signatures on court documents, forged notarizations on documents and other illegal and unscrupulous activities designed to speed up the foreclosure process. These investigations do not include the wide-ranging investigations into the 8 Florida "foreclosure mills" including the now defunct Law Offices of David J. Stern. Many foreclosure defense attorneys question why no one from any of the "foreclosure mills" has yet to be suspended or face professional sanctions as a result of the investigations.
Many attorneys didn't believe that the media allegations of foreclosure abuses would result in official investigations by the Florida Bar but that appears to not be the case. If you are facing a Florida Foreclosure Lawsuit where one of the 8 "foreclosure mills" is opposing counsel, contact a Jacksonville Foreclosure Defense Lawyer or a Florida Foreclosure Defense Lawyer today to see what foreclosure defense options may be available to you.
