The Florida Supreme Court in recent court orders disciplined nine attorneys, disbarring one, emergency suspending one, suspending five, and reprimanding two.

Michael Andrew Adams, P.O. Box 560489, Orlando, suspended for 45 days and required to complete Ethics School, effective 30 days following an April 20 court order. (Admitted to practice: 2011) Adams did not follow proper procedures for lawyers leaving law firms. Adams failed to negotiate with his employing firm an acceptable joint letter to be sent to the affected clients. Instead, Adams and his law partner unilaterally mailed a letter to the affected clients advising them of their departure from the firm and of the clients’ rights to choose to remain a client of the law firm, to choose representation by the departing lawyer’s firm, or to choose representation by another law firm. (Case No: SC22-1410)

Hazem Reda Bata, 6353 Silver Leaf Drive, Zionsville, Indiana, suspended for 60 days and ordered to attend Ethics School, effective May 15, 2023. (Admitted to practice: 2005) Bata served as an escrow agent for a land deal in the Bahamas. An initial deposit on behalf of the buyer was provided by an investor who subsequently requested the return of the funds. Bata returned the funds and failed to notify the parties to the contract. The contract remained in limbo for over a decade while various issues with the land were resolved. In 2019, when the parties were ready to finalize the deal, the buyer learned for the first time that Bata no longer had the funds in his possession. (Case No: SC22-1361)

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