Six Bay Area Attorneys Suspended Or Reprimanded

Florida Supreme Court Suspends Or Reprimands Six Tampa Attorneys

The Florida Supreme Court recently disbarred, reprimanded, or revoked the licenses of 21 attorneys, six of which are Tampa Bay Area attorneys.

The following information was released by the Florida Bar about the local attorneys.

  • James Lee Clark, 701 S. Howard Ave., Suite 201, Tampa was suspended until further notice effective 30 days from Nov. 7 in a court order. According to the petition for emergency suspension, Clark appeared to have caused great public harm after misappropriating at least $946,764 of client funds. (Admitted to practice in 1992) (case No. SC16-1994)
  • James Edward Flynn, Jr., 901 Central Ave., St. Petersburg, to be publicly reprimanded by publication in the Southern Reporter, per an Oct. 27 court order. Flynn must complete a trust accounting workshop due to his sharing of fees with a non-lawyer employee and charged excessive fees. A bar audit found deficiencies in Flynn;s trust account because of his lack of experience. (Admitted to practice in 2007) (Case No. SC16-1809)
  • Alrecia L. Gulley, P.O. Box 1932, New Port Richey, to be publicly reprimanded by publication in the Southern reporter, per an Oct. 27 court order. Gulley worked for a firm in California that handled foreclosure surplus cases in Florida. While representing a client on a contingency fee basis, Gulley was not diligent in following up on information provided to her. (Admitted to practice in 2012) (Case No. SC16-1801)
  • Tonja J. Helton, 10150 Highland Manor Drive, Suite 200, Tampa. Helton’s request for a disciplinary revocation was granted by the Supreme Court, effective immediately. The grant came following an Oct. 27 court order, with leave to seek readmission after five years. A disciplinary matter pending against Helton includes allegations of misappropriation of client funds. (Admitted to practice in 2009) (Case No. SC16-1546)
  • Arthur Drew Rubin, P.O. Box 89282, Tampa, to receive a public reprimand per a Nov. 3 court order. Rubin improperly solicited potential clients discovered by a grievance committee. As two pro se parties were leaving a courtroom Rubin approached them and suggested they needed counsel and offered his services. (Admitted to practice in 1991) (Case No. SC16-1883)
  • Nadine Rhodes Smith, P.O. Box 4208, Clearwater, suspended for three years effective immediately per a Nov. 28 court order. Smith must comply with a July 28 suspension order, Case No. SC16-49, prior to petitioning for reinstatement. Smith was required to notify clients, opposing counsel and tribunals of her two-year suspension and prove the Bar within 30 days a sworn affidavit listing names and addresses of all persons and entities that were furnished in a copy of her suspension order. (Admitted to practice in 1994) (Case No. SC16-1784)