In Hurricane Ian's wake, The Florida Bar is on the lookout for improper solicitation
'We want to remind lawyers that this is a serious violation that could land you in very serious trouble'
In the days and months ahead, some Hurricane Ian victims may seek a lawyer’s help to navigate the long and complicated recovery.
Experts say consumers and practitioners alike would be wise to remember that Bar ethics rules prohibit lawyers from directly soliciting prospective clients and that Bar takes unlawful solicitation very seriously.
“There’s a couple of different reasons for the rule,” said Bar Division of Lawyer Regulation Director Elizabeth Tarbert.
As trained advocates, lawyers have an unfair advantage, Tarbert said.
“They are in a unique position to take advantage of someone, to use coercion, undue influence, or duress to persuade someone to hire them who might not otherwise be inclined to do so,” she said.
Enforcement is another reason, said Tarbert, noting disciplining lawyers for using undue influence isn’t easy.
“Inherently in that situation, it’s ‘he said, she said,’ so those are difficult cases to prove,” she said. “It’s a prophylactic ban.”
Disaster and accident victims are especially vulnerable, Tarbert said.
“You have the situation where somebody might have the devastation of losing a family member, or losing a home, and we just don’t want anyone to take advantage of that,” she said.
Bar rules prohibit the solicitation — in person, by phone, via cold call, or through a third party — of a client who is not a family member or with whom the lawyer does not have a prior professional relationship.
Florida Bar Rule 4-7.18 (a) (Solicitation) states that a lawyer may not “solicit in person or permit employees or agents of the lawyer to solicit in person on the lawyer’s behalf, professional employment from a prospective client with whom the lawyer has no family or prior professional relationship when a significant motive for the lawyer’s doing so is the lawyer’s pecuniary gain.”
The rule exempts a lawyer’s family members for obvious reasons, Tarbert said.
“You would expect someone who needs legal help to turn to a family member first,” she said.
Another section (b) addresses written solicitation.
Attorneys may not send direct mail solicitation to prospective clients within 30 days of an accident, and the mailing must meet several conditions, including stating where the attorney got the recipient’s name, be marked as an advertisement, and begin by advising the recipient to ignore the letter if he or she has already retained another lawyer.
Lawyers who violate solicitation rules face severe penalties, Tarbert said.
In 1993, a Florida attorney was disbarred for soliciting a brain-injured patient in a hospital.
After a series of deadly tornadoes struck Seminole and Osceola counties in 1998, a Central Florida lawyer visited the homes of several victims, including a woman whose husband had been killed, and handed out brochures promising large insurance settlements.
The lawyer was suspended for a year, Tarbert said.
“We want to remind lawyers that this is a serious violation that could land you in very serious trouble,” Tarbert said. “And to the public, we want to say, hey, don’t be persuaded by somebody who just shows up at your door.”
Consumers who feel they have been unfairly treated by a lawyer should contact The Florida Bar’s Attorney Consumer Assistance Program (ACAP) at 866-352-0707. The Florida Bar is responsible for prosecuting unethical lawyers and sanctions are imposed by the Florida Supreme Court.
Attorney General Ashley Moody
Meanwhile, Attorney General Ashley Moody has activated Florida’s price gouging hotline, and is urging Floridians to be alert to potential fraud.
“Rebuilding will take months or longer, creating an inexhaustible demand for qualified contractors and debris removal services,” Moody said. “Sadly, bad actors may exploit this demand to take advantage of people trying to rebuild their lives.”
Moody said reports of fraud and price gouging will be referred to a “Rapid Response Team.”
State law prohibits extreme increases in the price of essential commodities, such as food, water, hotels, ice, gasoline, lumber, and equipment needed as a direct result of an officially declared emergency, Moody stressed.
Consumers who suspect price gouging during the declared state of emergency should report it to the Attorney General’s Office by calling 1-866-9-NO-SCAM.
Problems with an insurance company can be directed to the Office of the Attorney General of Florida at (866) 966-7226 or the Florida Department of Financial Services at 800-342-2762.
The Florida Division of Consumer Services is assisting insurance consumers in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian. Their insurance experts can answer the many insurance-related questions that arise following a storm. You can call their toll-free insurance consumer helpline at 1-877-693-5236, 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. EST, or file a complaint online by visiting their Get Insurance Help homepage.
The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation provides an insurance resources webpage with useful information and links including consumer alerts, links to other state agencies, and hurricane claims data information. Call the insurance consumer hotline at 877-693-5236.
Florida Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis
Florida Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis is warning Floridians not to be duped by fraudulent charities purporting to benefit Hurricane Ian victims.
“I’ve seen disasters bring out some of the best in humanity but unfortunately, the worst in some,” Patronis said. “As we saw during the tragic Surfside building collapse, scam artists will use the devastation caused by Hurricane Ian to scam people for their own personal gain.”
Crowdfunding websites like GoFundMe are often littered with fraud, Patronis warns.
“Do not give to a cause unless you have verified its legitimacy and never feel pressured to donate,” he said. “To avoid fraud, I encourage anyone who wants to give to those across Florida who were impacted by Hurricane Ian to donate to FloridaDisasterFund.org.”
