Florida Bar Maintains 100% 'Success' Rate When Clearing Foreclosure Mill Attorneys Accused Of Ethical Misconduct

The Sarasota Herald Tribune reports:

• Florida courthouses are rife with evidence of errors and fabrications made by attorneys handling foreclosure cases, and yet so far no lawyers have been disciplined. With pressure mounting to police its own members, the Florida Bar established a special category of complaints listed as "foreclosure fraud."

• But in 20 complaints investigated in that category, the Bar has not found cause to discipline anyone -- even lawyers who admitted to breaking ethical rules. Some observers say that early track record of ignoring misdeeds by its members raises questions about whether the system of self-policing for lawyers can handle the depth of wrongdoing in the foreclosure crisis.

• The complaints have been filed by judges, lawyers, homeowners and the Florida Bar itself, and reflect the issues seen in courtrooms almost daily for the past two years, including forged signatures and backdated documents used to improperly seize homes in foreclosures. In addition, attorneys for lenders have filed false motions, left out important information that would hurt their case, or skipped mandatory mediations and court hearings.

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• The convoluted way foreclosure cases are handled by attorneys makes placing blame difficult. At the largest foreclosure firms, dubbed "foreclosure mills," several lawyers work on different parts of a case and other non-lawyers prepare many of the documents.

• Some complaints against lawyers in foreclosure cases were closed without discipline because a homeowner complained about the wrong lawyer in a case where several did work. Even judges have trouble figuring out which attorney is responsible for the bad behavior.

• Circuit Judge Lee Haworth, chief judge of the judicial district that includes Sarasota and Manatee counties, says he only reports lawyers after he sees a pattern of egregious violations in cases. "I think one of the problems we have is identifying exactly who it is at fault here," Haworth said. "Lawyer A will file the pleadings, but Lawyer B will show up."

• Law firms from across the state also hire local lawyers to represent them at hearings. "The judges are not always face to face with the people who are causing the most problems," Haworth said.

For more, see Foreclosure lawyers' misdeeds ignored in Florida? (Despite complaints, ethics breaches slip past discipline system).