On Friday, August 29, 2025, The Florida Bar filed a formal complaint against attorney Christopher John Karpinski. The complaint, lodged with the Supreme Court of Florida, outlines two primary counts of misconduct stemming from Karpinski’s actions in two separate cases.
The case is entitled “The Florida Bar v. Christopher John Karpinski,” with case nos. 2021-00,489(2B) and 2021-00,509(2B).
Karpinski is accused of failing to maintain adequate communication and diligence in his representation of clients. The first count involves a complaint from George Cross, who retained Karpinski for his divorce case in September 2019. According to the complaint, Cross had been representing himself in his divorce case until he hired Karpinski to assist with the legal matters. Following the signing of a representation agreement, Karpinski filed only a notice of appearance and a notice of confidential information but failed to take any further action in Cross’ case.
The complaint states that by May 2021, Cross had not heard from Karpinski in ten months, prompting the court to set a hearing on its own motion to dismiss the case for lack of prosecution. Cross subsequently filed a pro se motion and appeared at a final hearing without legal representation. The complaint asserts that Karpinski’s lack of communication and failure to finalize the divorce constituted violations of several rules regulating The Florida Bar, including rules concerning diligence and communication.
The second count of the complaint involves allegations from Shane Allen, who hired Karpinski in December 2019 for representation in a criminal matter in Leon County. Allen paid Karpinski a partial fee of $600 toward a total fee of $1,700, with the expectation that Karpinski would help resolve an outstanding arrest warrant related to probation violations. Despite ongoing communication, Allen claims that Karpinski did not provide updates on the status of his case, citing issues with the State Attorney’s Office and the unavailability of relevant documents.
In January 2021, Allen signed a Plea in Absentia prepared by Karpinski, who later claimed to have submitted it to the State Attorney’s Office. However, when Allen checked on the status of his case in May 2021, he discovered that no documentation had been filed with the court. After consulting another attorney, Allen learned that the Plea in Absentia Karpinski had prepared was not recognized as a valid legal document. Ultimately, Allen hired a new attorney, who successfully managed to have the case dismissed in June 2021.
Karpinski’s actions regarding Allen’s case also led to allegations of misconduct, specifically failures to communicate and exercise diligence in his legal practice. The complaint cites similar violations of the rules regulating The Florida Bar as in the case with Cross.
The Florida Bar’s complaint requests appropriate disciplinary action against Karpinski based on the alleged violations. The case is now in the hands of the Supreme Court of Florida, where it awaits further proceedings.
According to Avvo.com, Mr. Karpinski is a criminal defense attorney in Tallahassee, Florida. He attended the Florida State University, graduating in 1994. He acquired his law license in Florida in the same year.
A copy of the original filing can be found here.
