Bradenton attorney suspended for 60 days

A Bradenton attorney was suspended for 60 days and ordered to repay $5,000 to a client he attempted to represent in federal court despite being unqualified, according to the Florida Bar.

Thomas Harold Ostrander was among the 22 attorneys recently disciplined by the Florida Supreme Court, according to a news release issued Friday.

Ostrander is suspended for 60 days, effective 30 days from an Aug. 18 court order. He was also ordered to repay the $5,000 in restitution to the client he had attempted to represent.

He was unqualified to represent the client because he is not licensed to practice before the 11th Circuit U.S. District Court of Appeals. Ostrander was also disqualified because he was not the client’s court -ppointed attorney.

Once Ostrander is reinstated, he will be placed on probation for one year.

Ostrander has been suspended once more in the past 10 years. In 2014, he received a public reprimand after failing to respond to a client’s calls or emails for about five days.

This story was originally published September 30, 2016 at 3:54 PM with the headline "Bradenton attorney suspended for 60 days."