Six Central Florida attorneys disciplined

The Florida Bar announced the latest round of attorney discipline action in the state, and six of 22 attorneys on the list are from Central Florida.

Two of the attorneys, Terrence L. Dowdel of Orlando and Neal Johnathan Blaher of Altamonte Springs, were suspended until further notice when a Bar investigation showed they were paying themselves out of client trust accounts when they were not authorized, according to a news release from the Bar.

Dowdel was suspended on a Dec. 4 order from the Florida Supreme Court. (Case No. SC14-2295)

Blaher was suspend on a Nov. 25 court order. (Case No. SC14-2241)

Two other Central Florida lawyers asked to have their licenses revoked when they were confronted with serious allegations from the Bar:

Charles Everton Lewis, of Longwood, was revoked on a Nov. 14 court order, effective 30 days after the order. Charges pending against Lewis included allegations of misappropriation of client funds, gross neglect of trust account records and procedures and lack of supervision of his non-lawyer staff. (Case No. SC14-1959)

Rhonda Rankin Fisher of Daytona Beach was revoked on a Nov. 20 court order, effective 30 days later. A charge pending against Fisher alleged that she improperly used client funds for a purpose other than which they were intended. (Case No. SC14-1811)

According to the news release, two other local lawyers received public reprimands:

Adam Paul Philpott, Orlando, received a reprimand after he was arrested for DUI on three separate occasions, resulting in two convictions since 2006. He failed to notify the Bar of his latest conviction. (Case No. SC14-2074)

Timothy Wayne Terry, Orlando, after he failed to remit funds he withheld from employees’ wages for unemployment, Social Security, Medicare and income taxes from 2009 to 2012. (Case No. SC14-2078) 

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Six Central Florida attorneys disciplined