TALLAHASSEE – Robert Ouriel, a suspended attorney from Pacific Palisades, California, has been voluntarily disbarred following a May 9 Florida Supreme Court order regarding allegations that he failed to report a decade-old felony theft arrest, according to a recent announcement by The Florida Bar.
"In 2009, Ouriel was arrested in Los Angeles and charged with felony grand theft of personal property," the state bar said in its May 30 announcement of the discipline and the Supreme Court's order. "On July 13, 2010, he entered a no contest plea to one count of felony theft," the announcement said. "The court accepted the plea and found him guilty. Ouriel was sentenced to three years’ probation, 45 days of community service and ordered to pay restitution of $221,775 to the victim. He failed to report his felony arrest and conviction to The Florida Bar as required by The Rules Regulating The Florida Bar."
In its two-page order, the Supreme Court granted Ouriel's petition for disciplinary revocation, tantamount to disbarment, with leave to seek readmission after five years. Ouriel was already suspended, which meant his disbarment was effective immediately.
The high court also ordered Ouriel to pay $1,368 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 Ouriel's disbarment.
Attorneys disbarred in Florida generally cannot reapply for admission for five years and must pass an extensive process that includes a rigorous background check and retaking the bar exam.
Ouriel was admitted to the bar in Florida on Dec. 19, 1986, according to his profile at the state bar website. No attorney by Ouriel's name turned up in an attorney search of The State Bar of California's website and Ouriel said in his petition that he is not a member of any other state's bar.
Ouriel, 57 when he filed his petition in March, has been suspended since January following a Supreme Court order in December, according to the petition.
Ouriel "lives and works in California and has not represented any Florida clients in over 10 years," the petition said. "(Ouriel) does not have a lawyer's trust account in any state. (Ouriel) submits this disciplinary revocation in lieu of contest bar disciplinary proceedings to avoid the expense and time to all concerned."