TALLAHASSEE (Florida Record) — Spring Hill attorney Mark L. Wilkins has been publicly reprimanded following an Sept. 20 Florida Supreme Court order over allegations arising from a civil suit, according to a recent announcement by The Florida Bar.
"After Wilkins filed a complaint in a civil case, he took no further action and allowed the case to languish in the court system for approximately two years," the state bar said in its Sept. 28 announcement of the discipline and the Supreme Court's order. "He did not communicate with his client for months at a time and failed to have vital discussions with his client, which were necessary to advance his case."
In its single-page order, the state high court approved the uncontested referee's report filed in the matter before reprimanding Wilkins and ordered him to pay almost $2,189 in costs.
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 Wilkins's reprimand.
Wilkins was admitted to the bar in Florida on Sept. 30, 2008, according to his profile at the state bar website. No prior discipline before the state bar is listed on Wilkins's state bar profile.
In her report the referee assigned to the matter, Donna M. Keim, accepted the consent judgment in the case, which included Wilkins' conditional guilty plea and information about the civil case in which the attorney allegedly took no action for about two years.
"Initially, [Wilkins] stated that he did not know what action to take to bring the case to a conclusion," Keim said in her report. "However, at his sworn statement, [Wilkins] clarified that he knew what to do but he was waiting until the bar proceeding was concluded."
In her report, Keim said Wilkins failed to provide adequate communication to his client about the status and advancement of the client's case and failed to serve defendants "stating that he was unable to hire a process server."
Keim recommended that Wilkins be found guilty of violating professional conduct rules regarding client-attorney relationship and competence, abiding by a client's decisions, diligence and communication.