TALLAHASSEE (Florida Record) — Chicago attorney Steven Gary Shaw faces reciprocal suspension following a Nov. 21 Florida Supreme Court order over allegations he overbilled a client, according to a recent announcement by The Florida Bar.
"Shaw agreed to represent a client at an hourly rate of $100. However, he presented the client with a bill reflecting a rate of $175," the state bar said in its Nov. 26 announcement of the discipline and the Supreme Court's order. "When confronted, Shaw backdated the agreement to reflect $175."
In its two-page order, the court approved the uncontested referee's report filed in the matter before suspending Shaw for 91 days and ordered him to pay $1,380 in costs. His suspension was effective 30 days from the date of the court's order to allow him time to close 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 Shaw's suspension.
Shaw was admitted to the bar in Florida on Nov. 24, 2008, according to his profile at the state bar website. No prior discipline before the state bar is listed on Shaw's state bar profile.
Shaw was admitted to the bar in Illinois on Nov. 23, 2010. Shaw is eligible to practice law in Illinois, according to his profile as the Attorney Registration & Disciplinary Commission of the Illinois Supreme Court.
Shaw's suspension in Florida came more than four years after the Illinois Supreme Court issued its own order in March 2014 to suspend Shaw for 90 days.
The reciprocal discipline in Florida was based on the petition to impose discipline on consent and the order accepting the petition, dated in March 2014, according to The Florida Bar's formal complaint for reciprocal discipline, which was issued in February.