TALLAHASSEE (Florida Record) – Longwood attorney William Bryan Park II was reciprocally suspended following an Sept. 20 Florida Supreme Court order following his indefinite suspension from a federal appeals court, according to a recent announcement by The Florida Bar.
In its two-page order, the high court approved the uncontested referee's report filed in the matter before suspending Park for 91 days and ordering him to pay approximately $2,020 in costs.
"This is a reciprocal discipline based on an order of indefinite suspension from practicing law before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit," the state bar said in its Sept. 28 announcement of the discipline and the Supreme Court's order. "The indefinite suspension was based on Park's failure to follow the proper appellate procedure, to file an initial brief, and to timely respond to the order to show cause issued by the court. He remained indefinitely suspended from the U.S. Court of Appeals at the time of the bar’s case."
Park's suspension was effective 30 days from the date of the court's order to allow him time to close out his practice and protect his existing clients' interests, according to the high court's order.
Florida court orders are not final until time to file a rehearing motion expires. Filing such a motion does not alter the effective date of Park's suspension.
Park was admitted to the bar in Florida on April 23, 1993, according to his profile at the state bar website. No prior discipline before the state bar is listed on Park's state bar profile.
The appeals court issued its order of indefinite suspension against Park in May 2017 after he allegedly failed to comply with the appeals court's rules and failed to respond to communications from the clerk's office in United States v. Lewis, according to the referee's report. Park had been appointed to represent the defendant in the case in a direct criminal appeal and another attorney was appointed in Park's place in February 2017.
The state bar filed its formal complaint for reciprocal discipline against Park in December. The referee assigned to the matter found that Park's indefinite suspension was "conclusive proof" of misconduct and that Park had violated professional conduct rules regarding diligence, competence and duties owed to the profession.