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5 Bay Area Lawyers Among 22 Penalized By Florida Bar

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TBO.com

Published: July 29, 2008

TAMPA - A lawyer in Clearwater Beach charged with public intoxication and DUI; a lawyer in Clearwater whose client did not return two diamond rings in a divorce case; others who mishandled immigration cases, misappropriated money or owe clients money.

These are the reasons why the Florida Supreme Court has disciplined five Tampa Bay area lawyers, according to a statement released today from The Florida Bar.

In all, 22 Florida lawyers were suspended, placed on probation, ordered to pay restitution or disbarred.

The local attorneys are:

•Charles Weaver Cope IV of Clearwater Beach, placed on probation for three years. In 2001, he was found guilty by the Judicial Qualifications Commission of public intoxication.

The incident occurred when Cope attended a judicial education seminar in California at taxpayers' expense. Cope pleaded no contest in 2005 to a misdemeanor DUI charge, and in 2006 he was arrested and charged with DUI in Browning, Mont.

•Judith Sholom Kahn of St. Petersburg, suspended for one year. Khan violated Florida Bar regulations related to trust accounting records and procedures.

In 1999, she was hired to represent a client in a discrimination case. The client filed a notice of appearance and began to pay $100 a month to Kahn for costs. The case had been dismissed before Kahn becoming involved. The client continued to pay, but the case was not pursued. A portion of the payments was returned.

•Charles Embert Monty Jr. of Clearwater, suspended for 75 days and ordered to pay $12,096 in restitution. Monty represented a woman in a divorce case, and in 2001 the woman's husband was ordered by the court to return marital property received from the wife, including two diamond rings. The rings were given to Monty to be held in trust pending resolution of the case.

Monty gave the rings to his client so she could have them appraised but failed to tell opposing counsel that Monty's client had the rings. In 2003, the court granted the divorce and awarded the rings to the client's former husband.

The woman did not return the rings to Monty or her ex-husband. At a court hearing, she told a judge she could not find one of the rings, valued at $11,000.

•R. James Platt of Lakeland, suspended for 90 days and ordered to attend a trust accounting workshop. In 2002, Platt began representing a client and from 2002 through 2006 repeatedly borrowed money from the client.

When another client asked Platt for an advance for expenses from an anticipated settlement in a pending personal injury case, Platt facilitated a $10,000 loan between the two clients.

When his bookkeeper left her job, Platt stopped maintaining records for his trust account. An audit revealed shortages ranging from $34,000 in 2005 to about $43,000 in 2006. At one point, Platt deposited $40,000 of his own money to cover his trust account shortages.

•Joseph Raymond Rowe Jr. of Tampa, suspended for six months. In 2003, Rowe was hired to represent a married couple in an immigration matter but failed to keep his clients informed about their cases.

Rowe also did not inform them of hearings and failed to respond to their requests for information. In 2006, the couple wrote Rowe a letter that noted the harm they suffered because he mishandled their case.

The couple were denied an appeal for asylum, were detained at an immigration facility and faced the possibility of immediate deportation and revocation of work authorization, the letter states.

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