TALLAHASSEE — Orlando attorney Nicole Blair Dickerson faces reciprocal suspension following a Florida Supreme Court order for unprofessional behavior, a misdemeanor arrest and other allegations, according to a recent announcement by The Florida Bar.
"Dickerson was disrespectful and unprofessional in multiple cases before multiple courts, failed to diligently and competently represent clients, was late or failed to appear in court on behalf of clients, and failed to communicate adequately with clients," the state bar said in its announcement of the discipline and the Supreme Court's order.
Dickerson also was convicted of resisting an officer without violence, a first-degree misdemeanor, according to the announcement.
"Additionally, Dickerson engaged in an impermissible conflict of interest by representing two individuals in different criminal cases who had conflicting interests," the announcement said.
In its two-page order, the Supreme Court approved the uncontested referee's report filed in the matter before suspending Dickerson for two years and ordered her to pay almost $3,000 in costs.
Dickerson's suspension will be effective 30 days from the date of the court's order to allow her time to close out her practice and protect her 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 Dickerson's suspension.
Dickerson was admitted to the bar in Florida on Sept. 21, 2015, according to her profile at the state bar website. No prior discipline before the state bar is listed on Dickerson's state bar profile.
The Supreme Court's discipline of Dickerson follows a year of suspension handed down against her by the U.S. District Court for Florida's Middle District, according to the consent judgment reached between Dickerson and the state bar. The consent judgment also includes Dickerson's conditional guilty plea.
The federal court suspended Dickerson for "for engaging in a pattern of failing to appear, or appearing late, for court hearings and for other dilatory conduct impacting her clients," the consent judgment said.
Dickerson also was sanction in September 2019 by the Fifth District Court of Appeal "for her willful disregard of the court's order and her failure to competently represent her client," the consent judgment said.
A jury also found Dickerson found guilty in March 2018 on the misdemeanor charge and she "subsequently completed the conditions of her sentence," the consent judgment said.