Sarasota attorney Jordan Lloyd Wallach, practicing law for 38 years, has been suspended until further order following an Oct. 27 Florida Supreme Court order over allegations he misappropriated at least $215,000 in client funds.
Wallach's suspension was effective 30 days from the state court's three-page order, which included detailed instructions on how to handle his client trust account. The high court's order followed a petition for emergency suspension filed by the Florida Bar Association. In Florida, court orders are not final until after time to file a rehearing motion expires. Filing such a motion would not alter the effective date of the Wallach's suspension.
The Florida State Bar announced the discipline and the state court's order Nov. 21. Wallach was admitted to the bar in Florida on Sept. 18, 1979, according to his profile at the state bar website. Wallach has had no other discipline before the state bar for at least 10 years, according to his profile.
The alleged misappropriated amount appears to come from two client matters, according to the state bar's Oct. 24 petition, which details ledger amounts and how much should be in Wallach's client trust account. As of October, the client trust account had a balance of almost $438,050 when there should have been at least approximately $653,403, according to the state bar's petition.
Wallach "has caused, or is likely to cause, immediate and serious harm to clients and/or the public", the state bar's petition said, calling upon the high court to "that immediate action must be taken for the protection of the [Wallach]'s clients and the public".
The state supreme court approved the state bar's petition for emergency suspension three days later and also accepted many of the bar's recommendations to protect Wallach's client trust account. The high court ordered Wallach to accept no new clients from the date of this court's order and to cease representing clients thirty days after the court's order.
The state supreme court also directed Wallach to stop acting as personal representative for any estate, guardian for any ward and as trustee for any trust, according to the order. Wallach also was required to send copies of his suspension order to all clients, opposing counsel and courts and, within 30 days, to furnish the state bar with a list of those notified.