Matt Englett, an Orlando attorney who has been disciplined twice previously, has been suspended by the Florida Supreme Court for three months.
Englett was disciplined for paying bonuses to non-attorney staff at his firm, LawyerASAP, for bringing in clients; the Bar also received “several” complaints from his clients about delays and lack of communication, according to court records.
Some of the complaints were from clients who said they paid Englett to file a bankruptcy case for them. Paul Cruciotti of Palm Bay said he experienced delays on his bankruptcy case.
“I can’t get them to draft my petition in order to go before the judge. At this point, I can’t get them to do anything for me. I have email upon email of interaction between me and numerous others,” Cruciotti said in an email.
Englett will get his license back after the suspension. The court order, drafted by the Florida Bar, says his suspension settles “all complaints present and future” regarding the recent client complaints.
The corrective action plan outlined in the suspension says Englett is meeting with every new client before a retainer fee is set.
Englett didn’t respond to requests for an interview Thursday. The court order says he agreed to the suspension “only to avoid the time, expense, and uncertain outcome” of fighting the Bar in court.
There was no reference in the court order about ensuring that Englett follows the corrective action plan. Francine Walker, spokeswoman for the Florida Bar, declined to answer several questions about the suspension or provide a Bar official for an interview.
The suspension is set to begin in mid-March and run through mid-June. During that time, Englett won’t be licensed to practice law in Florida.
Englett’s firm was called KEL before 2016. After two of his law partners left, Englett laid off at least 50 people. At LawyerASAP, he has four attorneys working with additional support staff.
According to the suspension order, client communication was interrupted when cases were reassigned during the downsizing. Englett told the Florida Bar that his firm has represented many clients who “have not complained.” He also claimed that his firm was set up to handle many cases for middle-class people who couldn’t pay large legal fees.
Englett and the other two founders of the KEL firm, Craig Lynd and Jeffrey Kaufman, were all disciplined previously by the Bar, twice. In 2015, Englett and his law partners acknowledged that they violated the state’s attorney regulations regarding regular communication with clients, and also allowed non-attorney staff to share in legal fees.
In 2010, Englett and his two law partners received admonishments for violating advertising rules.
KEL was best known for taking on hundreds of foreclosure defense cases during the Great Recession, and it got into trouble with the Florida Bar over failing to communicate with its clients at that time also.
Englett has also used the name Englett & Associates since dropping the KEL name.
The Sentinel has reported regularly on KEL and LawyerASAP, including the following stories:
KEL law firm rebrands as Lawyer ASAP »
KEL firm broke rules on bankruptcy fees, lawsuit alleges »
KEL attorneys to receive public reprimand »
Layoffs hit troubled Orlando law firm »
Got a news tip? pbrinkmann@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5660; Twitter, @PaulBrinkmann
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