Sarasota attorney reprimanded by Florida Bar for money miscues

The Florida Bar announced Friday the Florida Supreme Court in recent court orders disciplined 24 attorneys - disbarring four, revoking the licenses of four, suspending nine and publicly reprimanding seven.

Five attorneys were also placed on probation.

Sarasota attorney Robert William Darnell, 2639 Fruitville Road, Suite 201, was publicly reprimanded following a Feb. 18 court order.

Admitted to practice in 1986, Darnell practiced law with three other attorneys and each maintained an operating and trust account. When the company dissolved, it was discovered Darnell failed to deposit overhead checks into the operating account and owed 10 months of overhead payments.

A Bar audit found Darnell failed to withdraw his earned fees from the trust account. He also made payments for firm and personal expenses directly from his trust account.

Darnell had to amend several federal tax returns (Case No. SC16-197).

The Florida Bar Department of Lawyer Regulation administers a statewide disciplinary system to enforce Supreme Court rules of professional conduct for the 102,000-plus lawyers admitted to practice law in Florida.

Key discipline case files that are public record are posted to attorneys' individual online Florida Bar profiles.

Information on the discipline system and how to file a complaint are available atfloridabar.org/attorneydiscipline.

Court orders are not final until time expires to file a rehearing motion and, if filed, determined. Filing such a motion does not alter the effective date of the discipline.

This story was originally published April 29, 2016 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Sarasota attorney reprimanded by Florida Bar for money miscues ."