Florida Supreme Court disciplines 10 lawyers for various acts of chicanery

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Ten lawyers from across the state found to have engaged in various acts of misconduct were disciplined by the Florida Supreme Court in March.

Four of the lawyers were disbarred, another two had their licenses to practice revoked, three were suspended and one was reprimanded by the high court, according to a Florida Bar news release.

One of the more lurid cases involves Maurice DeShawn Hinton of Fort Lauderdale. Hinton was suspended from practicing law for two years by the Supreme Court after he neglected his clients and failed to properly communicate with them.

“In one instance, Hinton engaged in a sexual relationship with a client, and after the relationship ended, he neglected the client’s matter and failed to communicate with the client,” the Bar news release said.

“Hinton also engaged in the practice of law while under a delinquency for (Florida Bar) membership fees and continuing legal education requirements. Additionally, Hinton failed to respond to The Florida Bar during the disciplinary proceedings.”

Thomas Arthur Chandler of Sarasota was disbarred by the Justices after he pleaded no contest to driving under the influence in a third or subsequent conviction in Manatee County.

Malik Leigh of Tallahassee was disbarred for making several threatening social media posts against several defendants involved in litigation, one of them being the Palm Beach County School District. Leigh also made false accusations about opposing legal counsel, committed multiple rule violations in a case, failed to comply with numerous court orders and falsely accused a Circuit Court Judge of racial bias.

Chance McClain of Lake Park was disbarred after representing his mother, then engaged in improperly transferring a Mercedes Benz and then getting disqualified from the case.

Charles Wade Price of Winter Springs had his license revoked but can apply for readmission after five years. Price misappropriated funds provided by a client that were supposed to be used in a bankruptcy case to pay creditors. Price was also suspended from practice before the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of Florida.

Hammad Rashid Sheikh of Knoxville, Tennessee, was suspended from practicing in Florida. Sheikh accepted fees in eight immigration cases but did not diligently respond to handling those cases.

Jeffrey Marc Siskind of Wellington was disbarred after misappropriating large sums of money from two different clients.

Danielle Renee Watson of Tallahassee was suspended from practicing law for 91 days after falsely accusing opposing counsel of forgery and then ignoring phone calls and emails from that attorney who wanted the claim corrected.

Lisa Renee Wilcox of Pilot Point, Texas, had her license revoked, but can seek readmission in five years. Wilcox engaged in a conflict of interest by taking action that was adverse to a client’s interest.

Shayne Jeremiah Epstein of Boca Raton received a public reprimand after being involved in a recruiting company that focused on getting jobs for foreign nationals. One of those foreign nationals was not informed by Epstein about a conflict of interest involving Epstein’s legal representation.