On Thursday, September 1, 2022, the Supreme Court of the State of Florida ruled on the Uncontested Report of the Referee Accepting Consent Judgment in relation to charges for attorney discipline against Jericho attorney Scott Leonard Newman.

The case, titled The Florida Bar v. Scott Leonard Newman, was brought by the Florida Bar. Case number #SC22-148.

The charges cited Rules  1.15(a), 1.15(d), and 8.4(h) of the New York Rules of Professional Conduct.

A lawyer in possession of any funds or other property belonging to another person, where such possession is incident to his or her practice of law, is a fiduciary, and must not misappropriate such funds or property or commingle such funds or property with his or her own.

A lawyer shall maintain for seven years after the events that they record:

(i) the records of all deposits in and withdrawals from the accounts specified in Rule 1.15(b) and of any other bank account that concerns or affects the lawyer’s practice of law; these records shall specifically identify the date, source and description of each item deposited, as well as the date, payee and purpose of each withdrawal or disbursement;

(ii) a record for special accounts, showing the source of all funds deposited in such accounts, the names of all persons for whom the funds are or were held, the amount of such funds, the description and amounts, and the names of all persons to whom such funds were disbursed;

(iii) copies of all retainer and compensation agreements with clients;

(iv) copies of all statements to clients or other
persons showing the disbursement of funds to them or on their behalf;

(v) copies of all bills rendered to clients;

(vi) copies of all records showing payments to lawyers, investigators or other persons, not in the lawyer’s regular employ, for services rendered or performed;

(vii) copies of all retainer and closing statements filed with the Office of Court Administration; and

(viii) all checkbooks and check stubs, bank statements, prenumbered canceled checks and duplicate deposit slips.

It is professional misconduct for a lawyer to engage in any other conduct that adversely reflects on the lawyer’s fitness as a lawyer.

The New York Rules of Professional Conduct can be found here.

The following are as alleged and summarized from the filing:

The respondent engaged in the misconduct of misappropriation of funds, commingling his personal funds with funds entrusted to him as a fiduciary. Respondent also failed to make or maintain bookkeeping records for his escrow account and made cash withdrawals from his escrow account.

The Report of Referee states:

“On May 19, 2015, the respondent, as attorney for the seller in a real estate transaction, deposited downpayment funds in the amount of $28,000.00 into his attorney escrow account located at Citibank, entitled “The Newman Law Firm Attorney Trust Account”(hereinafter escrow account), and as part of this transaction, he was required to maintain those funds in his escrow account until the property’s closing.”

The Report of Referee continues:

“On July 31, 2015, the respondent withdrew $22,000.00 from his escrow account and transferred those funds to a personal checking account belonging to the respondent and his wife.”

The Report of Referee further alleges:

“Subsequently, on March 28, 2016, the day the real estate transaction closed, the respondent withdrew $28,000.00 from his personal savings account and deposited those funds into his escrow account, raising the escrow account balance to $33,700.00.”

The Report of Referee additionally notes:

“In addition, throughout the relevant period, the respondent failed to maintain records of all deposits into and withdrawals from his escrow account, showing the date, source, and description of each item deposited, and the date, payee, and purpose of each withdrawal or disbursement; and failed to maintain a contemporaneous ledger book or similar record for the account, showing the source of all funds deposited into it, the names of all persons for whom the funds were held, and the description and amounts of all persons to whom these funds were disbursed.”

The Report of Referee Accepting Consent Judgment recommended that Respondent be found guilty of misconduct and that he be disciplined by one-year suspension and for Respondent to pay The Florida Bar’s costs amounting to $1,337.00.

With the foregoing facts and discussions, the court ruled against the Respondent in relation to the above-cited Rules of Professional Conduct

The Disposition reads:

“The uncontested report of the referee is approved and respondent is suspended from the practice of law for one year, effective thirty days from the date of this order so that respondent can close out his practice and protect the interests of existing clients. . .”

Judgment is entered for The Florida Bar, 651 East Jefferson Street, Tallahassee, Florida 32399-2300, for recovery of costs from Brian Alfred Mangines in the amount of $1,337.00, for which sum let execution issue.”

Prior to the suspension, Mr. Newman practices in Jericho, New York. He has been licensed in Florida and New York. His info can be found on Avvo.

A copy of the original filing can be found here.