TALLAHASSEE (Florida Record) — Suspended Brandon attorney Richard Luther Bradford has been suspended an additional two years following a May 3 Florida Supreme Court order over allegations arising from two client matters, according to a recent announcement by the Florida Bar.
"In two separate instances, Bradford was retained and he failed to provide diligent and competent representation," the state bar said in its June 29 announcement of the discipline and the Supreme Court's order. "He failed to perform services, and he failed to communicate with the clients and the Florida Bar."
In its single-page order, the high court approved the uncontested referee's report filed in the matter before handing down its order. Bradford was already under suspension from a previous discipline, so his latest suspension was effective immediately. Bradford also was ordered to pay $500 restitution to a client, plus a little more than $1,618.
In Florida, court orders are not final until time to file a rehearing motion expires. Filing such a motion would not have altered the effective date of Bradford's suspension. Bradford was admitted to the bar in Florida on Nov. 22, 1995, according to his profile at the state bar website.
Bradford's prior disciplinary history includes a state Supreme Court order handed down May 31, 2017, when the court held him in contempt and suspended him indefinitely after he allegedly failed to respond to the state bar inquiries. In November 2017 the high court suspended Bradford 91 days after finding him in contempt for failing to comply with the terms of the prior suspension when he failed to notify his client that he had been suspended.
Bradford's most recent suspension marked his third in less than a year.
"The respondent is not board certified in any practice area," the referee's report said. "The referee also notes that the respondent has also been a delinquent member of the bar, ineligible to practice due to non-payment of disciplinary costs and annual membership dues, which has not been cured or removed."