Attorney discipline: 8 punished in South Florida

The Florida Supreme Court disciplined 8 South Florida attorneys in recent actions brought by The Florida Bar. One was disbarred, another received a disciplinary revocation, three were suspended, and the rest were publicly reprimanded.

The actions by the Bar:

• Robert B. Cook, of Tequesta, will be publicly reprimanded following an Aug. 14 court order. Cook shall pay restitution of $8,310 to four clients. Between 2010 and 2012, Cook engaged in a continuing course of conduct involving cases in which clients sought credits on their credit cards, claiming that the purchased services did not occur. Cook was affiliated with an entity as a referral source, which solicited business on his behalf. Although he was unaware of the solicitation, Cook allowed his non-lawyer staff to handle the cases with little supervision from him. Cook was suspended for 90 days following a November 2013 court order and paid restitution of $57,000 to 13 clients. The public reprimand case concerns complainants who were not part of the 90-day suspension and restitution order.

• John Christopher Getzinger, of Coral Springs, was suspended until further order, effective 30 days from a Sept. 8 court order. Getzinger was found in contempt by a grievance committee for failing to respond to Bar inquiries dated Dec. 11, 2013, and Feb. 11, 2014.

• Mikal Winston Grass, of Coral Gables, was suspended until further order, effective 30 days from a Sept. 11 court order. Grass was found in contempt for failing to comply with a subpoena served by The Florida Bar, requesting trust accounting and other records.

• Carlo Jean-Joseph, of Fort Lauderdale, was disbarred effective immediately, following a Sept. 9 court order. Jean-Joseph was suspended from the practice of law from Dec. 8, 2008, through Oct. 30, 2013, yet he continued to practice law. In one instance, he collected a fee to handle an immigration case, failed to keep the client informed of action taken on the case, and subsequently caused the woman's petition for temporary protected status to be denied.

Shaun Bevan is the digital producer for the South Florida Business Journal. Stay on top of the latest business news with our free daily newsletter. Click here to subscribe.