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FLORIDA RECORD

Friday, March 29, 2024

Fort Lauderdale attorney suspended following reprimand by federal court committee

Discipline
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TALLAHASSEE (Florida Record) — Fort Lauderdale attorney Kevin Lawrence Hagen was suspended for 10 days following a Florida Supreme Court decision after he was reprimanded by a federal court committee, The Florida Bar said in a recent announcement.

"Hagen was publicly reprimanded by a federal court committee and prohibited from accepting any new cases in the Southern District of Florida for six months thereafter," the state bar said in its May 29 announcement of the discipline and the Supreme Court's April 19 order. "Hagen and his client repeatedly failed to comply with court orders and failed to appear in court."

Hagen's 10-day suspension was effective 30 days from the date of the high court's order to allow him time to close out his practice and protect his existing clients' interests, according to the high court's two-page order. The court also ordered Hagen to pay $1,336.40 in costs.

In Florida, court orders are not final until after the time to file a rehearing motion expires. Filing such a motion would not have altered the effective date of the Hagen's suspension.

Hagen was admitted to the bar in Florida on Sept. 22, 1994, according to his profile at the state bar website.

Allegations against Hagen arose from a show cause order issued in March 2017 by the U.S. District Court for Florida's Southern District in Unilin Beheer, V.C., et. al. v U.S. Wood Flooring, a patent case in which Hagen was counsel for the defense, according to the consent judgment filed with the high court. The consent judgment also includes Hagen's conditional guilty plea.

The district court issued that order after Hagen and his client repeatedly failed "to comply with orders requiring the defendants to file certificates of interested parties and corporate disclosure statements," the consent judgment said. After Hagen and his client failed to appear for hearing over the show cause order, the court referred Haven to the ad hoc committee on attorney admissions, peer review and attorney grievance "for investigation of his actions and omissions," the consent judgment said.

Hagen admitted to lack of diligence and failure to abide by a court order. The committee publicly reprimanded Hagen in November.

Hagen was admitted to the bar in Florida on Sept. 22, 1994, according to his profile at the state bar website.

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