On Thursday, February 5, 2026, the Supreme Court of Florida publicly reprimanded attorney James Peter Demetriou following a report of a referee that detailed multiple violations of the Rules Regulating The Florida Bar. The court approved the referee’s report, which accepted a consent judgment for disciplinary measures against Demetriou.
The case, designated as Supreme Court Case No. SC2025-1092, stemmed from a Florida Bar investigation into Demetriou’s handling of client trust accounts. The referee, Honorable James Alan Yancey, was appointed on July 30, 2025, by the Chief Judge of the Tenth Judicial Circuit of Florida to oversee the proceedings.
According to the referee’s report, Demetriou, a sole practitioner licensed in both New York and Florida, maintained two trust accounts: one in New York for New York clients and one in Florida for Florida clients. The investigation revealed that Demetriou permitted a Florida client to deposit funds into the New York trust account, which was against regulations. An audit of Demetriou’s Florida trust account further revealed non-compliance with the Rules Regulating The Florida Bar.
The report also highlighted an incident in August 2023 when TDBank notified the bar about a check drawn on Demetriou’s law office trust account that was returned due to insufficient funds. Demetriou informed the bar that the TDBank trust account was for clients he represented in New York.
Additional findings indicated that Demetriou permitted clients to directly deposit payments for earned fees into his operating and attorney trust accounts, and that he had forgotten about at least two transactions involving client funds in his Axiom Bank trust account. The bar’s audit also revealed that Demetriou did not maintain the required receipts and disbursements journal, client ledgers, monthly reconciliations, and monthly comparisons for his Axiom Bank trust account.
As a result of these violations, the referee recommended that Demetriou be found guilty of violating several Rules Regulating The Florida Bar, including misconduct and minor misconduct, failure to safeguard property, improper trust account management, and failure to maintain minimum trust accounting records and procedures.
In addition to the public reprimand, Demetriou is required to attend a Trust Accounting Workshop scheduled by the bar within six months and pay associated fees totaling $750 before attending. He is also responsible for covering the bar’s disciplinary costs, which amount to $4,630.13. The court has entered a judgment for this amount, and failure to satisfy it within 30 days will render Demetriou delinquent and ineligible to practice law in Florida, unless the Board of Governors defers payment.
A copy of the original filing can be found here.
