Three attorneys in county barred from practicing law
Two Palm Beach County attorneys voluntarily surrendered their licenses to practice law — one after pleading guilty to 15 felonies — and a third is contesting the Florida Supreme Court’s decision to suspend his license while authorities investigate claims that he misappropriated $34,000.
The disciplinary action against Boca Raton attorneys Steven Slootsky and Gary Kovacs and West Palm Beach attorney Brett Elam was announced Tuesday by the Florida Bar.
Slootsky, who faces a maximum five-year prison term when he is sentenced on April 19, agreed to relinquish his law license with the understanding he can apply to get it back in 10 years, records show.
In October, Slootsky pleaded guilty in Broward County Circuit Court to 10 counts of patient-brokering, one count of organized scheme to defraud and four other charges. He and five other personal-injury attorneys were accused of accepting a total of roughly $500,000 in kickbacks by referring car-crash victims to clinics, which then filed insurance claims to treat them for bogus
injuries, according to state prosecutors.
As part of his plea deal, Slootsky, 57, agreed to help authorities identify others involved in the scam and to repay insurers $170,000.
Kovacs, 53, also agreed to give up his Bar license after allegations surfaced that he had misappropriated $184,000 from his former Boca law firm, Frank, Weinberg & Black. While a lawsuit filed against him was settled, in papers filed in December, he said Boca Raton police were investigating him for an unspecified
As part of his plea deal, Slootsky,
57, agreed to help authorities identify others involved in the scam and to repay insurers $170,000.
crime and Bar officials were pursuing allegations that he had violated professional standards.
He can apply for readmission to the Florida Bar within five years, the Florida Supreme Court said. But, as in Slootsky’s case, it noted that the discipline is tantamount to being disbarred.
The court ordered an emergency suspension of Elam’s license after a federal judge barred the 43-year-old West Palm Beach attorney from practicing in bankruptcy court for a year. In October, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Paul Hyman found that Elam had violated numerous court orders and improperly used $34,000 that was supposed to be held in his trust account for a client.
In court papers filed with the Supreme Court this month, Elam claims he didn’t violate any of Hyman’s orders, and the money was rightfully his as payment for the work he did on behalf of the client.