Cape Coral attorney Renee Binns has been permanently disbarred following an Sept. 14 Florida Supreme Court order over allegations she was found in contempt for violating several Florida State Bar rules.
Binns practiced law while suspended and was a delinquent member of the state bar, according to the bar's petition for contempt. Binns also allegedly failed to pay restitution, to timely provide notice of her suspension to her clients, opposing counsel and the courts, and to pay costs, according to the petition.
Binns had been found guilty of neglecting a client matter, failing to provide trust account records and commingling funds, according to the petition.
The state high court issued its two-page order granting the state bar's petition and directing Binns to pay almost $1,931 in costs.
The Florida State Bar announced the discipline and the Supreme Court's order Oct. 30. In Florida, court orders are not final until the time to file a rehearing motion expires.
Binns was admitted to the bar in Florida on Dec. 30, 1994, according to her profile at the state bar website. Binns was suspended in February follow a state supreme court order that granted the state bar's earlier petition for contempt.
Binns previously was suspended in August 2016 following a state supreme court order after allegations outlined in the state bar's formal complaint over five client matters.
In one of those matters, Binns represented an out-of-state client beginning in November 2012 in a post-judgment family law matter regarding child support and custody issues. She allegedly failed to respond to client requests for status updates. Binns also allegedly failed to provide discovery requests to her client or responses to those requests, according to the complaint.
In another of those client matters, in which Binns was retained in February 2013 to represent a client in the client's dissolution of marriage proceeding, she allegedly failed to respond to her client's requests for status updates. The following August, Binns' client contacted the state bar for assistance in contacting Binns.
Binns previously was suspended in November 2015 following a state supreme court order. Binns allegedly had failed to respond to an official state bar inquiry, according to the state bar's petition for contempt filed prior to that order.