A Month In Florida
From the June 2023 Florida Bar discipline summaries
Stephen Matthew Bander, 121 NE 46th St., Miami, disbarred, effective 30 days following a May 11 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1999) Following an SEC investigation, Bander was put on notice and reminded that commissions or kickbacks to a law firm are prohibited when representing clients in EB-5 immigration applications. After being put on notice, Bander accepted monies from a local regional center to which he referred three EB-5 clients for investment. Bander testified before the SEC that those monies belonged to the clients as a reimbursement for legal fees. However, Bander failed to notify his clients of receipt of the funds, placed them in his operating account rather than his trust account, and used the funds to pay firm expenses, rather than timely reimburse his clients. During the disciplinary proceedings, Bander changed his position and claimed the funds were direct payments to him for legal fees. (Case No: SC21-11)
Alex S. Barnett, P.O. Box 2890, Silver Spring, Maryland, suspended, effective immediately following a May 11 court order. (Admitted to practice: 2018) Barnett entered a plea of nolo contendere to the charge of written threats to conduct a mass shooting or act of terrorism, in violation of Florida Statute 836.10(2)(b), a second degree felony, and the court withheld adjudication. (Case No: SC23-0667)
Tallahassee Democrat reported on this matter
A one-time assistant public defender in the midst of a Florida Bar disciplinary hearing was arrested for allegedly emailing and tweeting violent threats to a state attorney, a lawyer and the Florida Bar.
Alex Barnett, 34, was charged Tuesday with making a written or electronic threat to kill or do bodily harm or conduct an act of terrorism, according to Leon Circuit Court records.
On Friday, a series of tweets purportedly written by Barnett in May were sent to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. According to a probable cause affidavit, he wrote, “I want to … blow up the courthouse,” in reference to his bar hearings in Tallahassee.
The initial communications also included “a pattern of threatening communications to multiple members” of State Attorney Dave Aronberg’s office. For example, on Dec. 29, he tweeted “I got my gun aronberg.”
Mark Alan Kamilar, 2921 SW 27th Ave., Miami, public reprimand, effective immediately following a May 25 court order. (Admitted to practice: 1980) Kamilar consented to a public reprimand for a conflict of interest between two clients: the law firm and its employee, the latter also subject of two separate Bar grievances. Kamilar served as Bar defense counsel for various attorneys from the law firm; authored the confidential termination agreement by which the employee left the law firm; and sent a letter to same employee threatening legal action on behalf of the law firm. Kamilar has withdrawn representation in the two Bar matters. (Case No: SC23-0683)
Kathleen Lynn Smades, 217 Earl St., Tarpon Springs, suspended for three years nunc pro tunc December 4, 2021 (the date of respondent’s suspension from the practice of law after the filing of a felony determination), two years of probation upon application for reinstatement, and, prior to application for reinstatement, must complete the Multistate Professional Responsibilities Examination, obtain a determination from Florida Lawyer’s Assistance, Inc., that respondent is fit to practice and comply with medical and substance abuse treatment. (Admitted to practice: 1998) In 2013, Smades was arrested on three separate occasions for Driving Under the Influence (DUI) in Pinellas County. In each of these criminal cases, Smades was adjudicated guilty for first-degree misdemeanor offenses. In 2019, Smades was arrested on two separate occasions for DUI and Refusal to Submit to Testing in Pinellas County. She was adjudicated guilty for a third-degree felony offence in each of the 2019 criminal cases. Smades failed to inform The Florida Bar of any of the arrests or convictions. She argued that at the time of arrest she was suffering from Auto Brewery Syndrome. The referee found that respondent did not suffer from Auto Brewery Syndrome but rather alcohol use disorder. (Case No: SC21-1521)
Auto-brewery syndrome is defined here by the National Library of Medicine.
Because of the production of significant alcohol levels, people can test over the legal driving limit without consuming any alcohol. The randomness of intoxication episodes can result in difficulties for the patient, including injuries from falls, legal difficulties following driving citations, and strain on social relationships.
(Mike Frisch)