Florida's Supreme Court suspended a lawyer in Boca Raton after the Florida Bar released findings that his mortgage modification and foreclosure defense firm caused the public great harm. The firm has been instructed not to accept any more cases and also cannot access any of the funds in company bank accounts. The reprimand was in response to complaints by nearly 20 of his former clients.
The issue appears to be the firm employed individuals who were not attorney's to work with customers on loan modifications. In Florida it is against the law to charge up front fees for an attempted loan modification if one is a non-attorney, which is exactly what the firm was doing. It would have been okay to collect the near $3,000 per modification fee if a licensed attorney had been involved.
Furthering the egregiousness of this conduct was the firms admission that its non-attorney employees controlled the cases from beginning to end. The Florida Bar has since warned attorneys that other attorney's in the state may be replicating the shady practice as a way to circumvent the rule against non-attorney's charging up front fees.
If you are working through a foreclosure it's important to hire competent representation. Be sure to know whom you are working with when you decide to hire a Florida Foreclosure Attorney to defend your home. If you are facing a Florida Foreclosure Lawsuit, contact a Jacksonville Foreclosure Lawyer or a Florida Foreclosure Defense Lawyer today for a complimentary consultation.
