TALLAHASSEE (Florida Record) — Coconut Grove attorney Juliana Gonzalez has been publicly reprimanded following an Aug. 23 Florida Supreme Court order over allegations involving her law firm's trust account, according to a recent announcement by The Florida Bar.
"Further, Gonzalez shall be placed on probation for two years, effective immediately," the state bar said in its Aug. 31 announcement of the discipline and the Supreme Court's order. "Gonzalez was negligent in managing her law firm's trust account, following dismissal of the bookkeeper."
In its single-page order, the state high court also ordered Gonzalez to pay a little more than $1,647 in costs.
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 Gonzalez's reprimand.
Gonzalez was admitted to the bar in Florida on Aug. 7, 2008, according to her profile at the state bar website. No prior discipline before the state bar is listed on Gonzalez's state bar profile.
Gonzalez waived her right to have the matter considered by a grievance committee and stipulated to probable cause in the case, according to the consent judgment filed with the court. The consent judgment also includes Gonzalez's unconditional guilty plea.
Allegations against Gonzalez arose from an unrelated state bar investigation involving a partner in her law firm and when the firm's trust accounts were audited, according to the consent judgment.
"In past years, the firm had hired a bookkeeper to manage the account, but the bookkeeper had left the firm long before the instant investigation was initiated," the consent judgment said. "[Gonzalez] took over responsibility for the trust account at that time, despite having no training or experience with the rules and principles of trust account management."
The audit revealed Gonzalez had not kept "the appropriate records" as required by state bar rules of professional conduct. During a reconstruction of the records, Gonzalez turned up three transfers from the trust account to the operating fund that had not been recorded during the bookkeeper's time at the firm, according to the consent judgment.
"The bar's staff auditor found no evidence of malfeasance in this case," the consent judgment said.