On Thursday, April 20, 2023, the District of Columbia Court of Appeals ordered the disbarment of Deltona attorney James R. Leone in consideration of the certified order from the State of Florida, which revoked his license to practice law in that jurisdiction.
The case is styled Ïn the Matter James R. Leone,” and was brought by the Disciplinary Counsel under Case #DDN2022-D125.
According to the filing, on February 6, 2023, the Court suspended Leone pending the final disposition of the proceeding and ordered him to show cause why the functionally equivalent discipline of disbarment should not be imposed as a reciprocal discipline. However, Leone neither filed his response nor his affidavit with the Court.
The Supreme Court of Florida entered an order revoking Leone’s license to practice law on April 21, 2022. The revocation was the Court’s response to Leone’s petition for disciplinary revocation without leave to apply for readmission despite a pending misconduct complaint accusing Leone of engaging in the unlicensed practice of law.
Based on the foregoing facts, the District of Columbia Court of Appeals imposed identical discipline as that of Florida.
The disposition reads:
“ORDERED that James R. Leone is hereby disbarred from the practice of law in the District of Columbia. . . it is
FURTHER ORDERED that for purposes of reinstatement, respondent’s disbarment will not begin to run until such time as he files an affidavit that fully complies with the requirements of D.C. Bar R. XI, § 14(g).”
Prior to the disbarment, Mr. James Russell Leone practiced in Florida. He graduated from George Washington University Law School, class of 1973. He had been admitted to the state bars of the District of Columbia, Illinois, and Florida. His info can be found on Avvo.
A copy of the original filing can be found here.
