FL Supreme Court Disciplines 16 Attorneys, Disbars 3

The Florida Supreme Court this week disciplined 16 attorneys across the Sunshine State, including three who were disbarred and 11 who were suspended.

The Florida Bar said the disciplinary actions, issued between Sept. 24 and Oct. 29, also included one license revocation and one public reprimand.

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In an announcement from the state's highest court on Friday, officials said cases involved misconduct ranging from mishandling client funds and neglecting legal matters to criminal convictions and violations of professional conduct rules.

Among the more serious cases was Fort Lauderdale attorney Reginald Dwayne Hicks, who received a two-year suspension following misconduct involving his management of his incapacitated mother's estate.

The Florida Supreme Court cited a forensic audit that identified an approximately $200,000 shortfall in estate assets, along with other accounting irregularities.

Lauderhill attorney Kenneth Saint George Mair received an emergency suspension after misappropriating approximately $92,000 in client funds.

Miami Beach attorney Nabil Ibrahim Abu Nahlah was also suspended for 90 days following a federal fraud conviction stemming from forged documents used in a government contract involving personal protective equipment during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Three attorneys — W. Jeffrey Barnes of Boca Raton, Nancy Louise Grier of St. Augustine and Charles Edwin Lykes Jr, whose address is listed as a commercial plaza in the Chinese province of Guangdong — were disbarred for misconduct that included violations of court orders, failure to adequately represent clients and failure to cooperate with disciplinary proceedings.

The court also revoked the license of Miami attorney Victor Petrescu, who acknowledged misleading clients about the status of their cases.

The Florida Bar, which oversees professional conduct for

The Florida Bar, which oversees professional conduct for more than 115,000 attorneys across the state, says disbarred attorneys generally must wait at least five years before seeking readmission and must undergo an extensive review process, including a background check and retaking the bar exam.