Florida had 111 firms that received from $1 million to $10 million, including the Strems Law Firm in Coral Gables, whose managing partner is facing disciplinary action and suspension.
Florida law firms appear to have received Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans at a higher rate than other businesses from the $2 trillion CARES Act.
The law firms were 2.6% of the total number of state businesses to get the loans, though in the United States attorney jobs are a half of a percent of the total number of jobs.
The Florida Bar brought a case against Scot Strems, sole named partner of the law firm and its owner, claiming he caused public harm through his conduct in assignment of benefit and first party lawsuits against property insurers in recent years, the Insurance Journal reported.
The Florida Supreme Court issued an emergency suspension of Strems’ law license. A Florida judge, appointed by the court as the referee in the case, recommended denying Strems’ motion to dissolve the suspension, the Insurance Journal reported.
The Strems Law Firm received a $1 million to $2 million PPP loan to support a payroll with 151 employees, according to Small Business Administration data reported by the Washington Post.
The smallest number of jobs listed by a law firm as being saved by the loan was one by the Law Offices of Granda and Associates of Miami, which received between $1 million and $2 million, the Washington Post reported. Both Cole Scott & Kissane PA of Miami and Gray Robinson PA of Miami received loans from $5 million to $10 million in support of 500 jobs each. Many companies did not have the number of jobs listed with the SBA.
Lenders were not instructed by the SBA to prioritize minority and female-owned businesses.
"The number of active business owners in the United States plunged from 15 million to 11.7 million over the crucial two-month window from February to April 2020," the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) stated in a June 2020 report.
Minority and women-owned businesses forced to close from February to April included 41% of Black-owned businesses, 32% of Latino-owned businesses and 25% of women-owned businesses, the NBER reported.
On April 24, the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act became law to add PPP funds. Only 12% of Black and Latino business owners got the amount in funds they requested, a Global Strategy Group for Unidos and Color of Change report said, Banking Dive reported. Fewer than 26% got even a portion of their requests needed to maintain operations.
In response to criticism, a $60 billion allotment was made for minority depository institutions, community development financial institutions (CDFIs) and additional community lenders to help minority and women-owned business enterprises, the Subcommittee on Diversity and Inclusion said, HR Dive reported. Another $10 billion was allotted just for CDFIs.
President Donald Trump signed a bill into law that extended the deadline to apply for PPP loan from June 30 to Aug. 8, HR Dive reported.