The Honorable Dawn Denaro, 11th Judicial Circuit of Florida. Courtesy photo.
A court-appointed referee in the Florida Bar's ethics case against Coral Gables attorney Scot Strems has rendered her findings, recommending that the high court suspend the attorney for two years and serve one year of probation.
Though the bar sought disbarment, alleging in its complaint that Strems "betrayed his ethical obligations to his clients in order to enrich himself at the clients' expense," Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Dawn Denaro's report painted a different picture: one of a lawyer who meant well but whose firm was overwhelmed.
Denaro found Strems "caused a variety of problems for the judiciary, attorneys and members of the public across the state of Florida." She recommended he be found guilty of violating 11 bar rules, governing communication, meritorious claims, expediting litigation, supervising lawyers, candor towards the tribunal and unlawful obstruction of another party's access to evidence.
Staffing problems?
Testimony revealed lawyers at the Strems Law Firm were often double-booked and callers regularly struggled to get through. Meanwhile, the firm was mishandling cases and being hit with "a plethora of court sanctions ranging from $5,000 to $15,000 a week, case dismissals, neglected clients and a frustrated judiciary," according to the report.
Denaro wrote that was because lawyers found it "impossible to properly manage" the roughly 700 cases in their laps, and noted the firm has handled almost 18,000 Florida cases since 2016.
"Respondent knew that there was not enough staff at his firm to properly service his clients, and he did not expand quickly enough to meet the volume of cases he was accepting," Denaro said. "This led to delays in litigation."
Denaro pointed to one case in which attorneys failed to properly explain settlement offers and counter offers to a client. While another client testified no one discussed the strengths or weaknesses of her case, and her attorneys failed to answer a motion for summary judgment or show up at a hearing.
The judge also relied on affidavits from Hillsborough Circuit Judges Rex Martin Barbas and Gregory Holder, who detailed instances of misconduct "that is prejudicial to the administration of justice," according to the report. But Denaro found allegations from Barbas about a duplicitous filing scheme didn't comport with the language of his circuit's requirements about notifying the court of related cases.
Denaro absolved Strems of some charges, recommending that he shouldn't be found guilty of breaking five bar rules governing diligence, fairness to opposing counsel, unlawful or dishonest acts and violating the Rules of Professional Conduct.
The report said Strems was always informed of and "unhappy" about sanctions orders and dismissals. But although he did implement remedial measures, Denaro found they weren't reasonable "in light of the mounting caseload at SLF."
"Mr. Strems could have possibly mitigated the harm which he caused to the judiciary, attorneys, and members of the public across the state of Florida by refraining from taking in 20 to 50 new cases per week for a period of time, identifying problematic cases and working to stabilize them," Denaro's report said.
Denaro also addressed recent orders the bar flagged, though Strems wasn't involved in the cases as they followed his emergency suspension. In one, then-Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Alexander Bokor found the plaintiffs and their lawyers knew or should have know their claim was meritless. In another, Broward Circuit Judge Keathan Frink found the plaintiff made deliberate misrepresentations and gave false information about damage to their home.
Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Pedro Echarte also found Strems had personally signed false or misleading affidavits — reportedly providing part of an email instead of the whole chain.
Denaro considered four aggravating factors, including that Strems followed a pattern of misconduct despite having 13 years of experience, and that he was "not completely forthcoming" about his financial relationship with a former staff member who had founded his own firm.
But the mitigating factors: Strems has never been disciplined, paid all sanctions in full and "continuously stated that his goal was to supply good legal counsel for his clients to defend their rights against insurance companies with vast resources," according to the report.
Strems also submitted more than 50 letters from people detailing his character and charitable donations. He also sought outside help to improve his firm and expressed remorse throughout the proceedings.
Strems' legal team did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but one of his attorneys, Scott Tozian, has said that a public records request showed the bar communicated with insurance industry lobbyists about Strems — allegedly indicating that the insurance industry had a hand in the discipline case.
Denaro found Strems' two-year punishment should start from June, when he was suspended, and suggested requiring a Florida Bar monitor to oversee his probation.
The Florida Supreme Court has the final say on attorney discipline and is yet to rule.
Read the referee's report: [falcon-embed src="embed_1"]
Read more:Raychel Lean
Raychel Lean is ALM's Florida bureau chief, overseeing the Daily Business Review. Email her at [email protected] or follow her on Twitter via @raychellean.