THE FLORIDA BAR, COMPLAINANT,
v.
PHILIP S. GOLDIN, RESPONDENT
AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.
Philip Goldin was found guilty of converting client trust funds and issuing worthless checks. The Florida Supreme Court affirmed a recommendation for 18-month suspension but struck a condition requiring repayment of borrowed funds, and modified the discipline to require demonstration of fitness before reinstatement.
Goldin is suspended from the practice of law for 18 months from the date of the opinion. The court struck the condition requiring repayment of borrowed funds as a prerequisite to reinstatement, but held that after the suspension period, Goldin must affirmatively demonstrate his mental and temperamental competence to practice law before being readmitted.
[1] Disbarment may be recommended for converting client trust funds and issuing worthless checks.
[2] A referee's recommendation for disbarment may be modified to remove conditions unrelated to professional conduct.
Previewing 2 of 5 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“This lawyer was found guilty of a serious offense, to wit: converting to his own use the trust funds of two clients.”
Establishes the core misconduct at issue—conversion of client trust funds.
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceGoldin converted trust funds of two clients to his own use and subsequently issued worthless checks in repayment. His brother made restitution on his …
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.
Explore caselaw by topic → Browse Reinstatement To Practice Of Law cases and more on FLexlaw
Philip S. Goldin seeks review of a referee’s recommendation that he be disbarred from the practice of law for a period of eighteen (18) months and “indefinitely thereafter until he has repaid the money which he has borrowed from an undisclosed source and is free of other debts, except the usual current expenses normally incurred in maintaining a family * * * We are requested to strike the portion of the recommendation which has been specifically quoted above.
The brief of The Florida Bar recites that the “undisclosed source” of funds borrowed by Mr. Goldin is his mother who is making no demand for repayment. The Bar urges no objection to striking the specific language of the referee’s recommendation quoted above.
This lawyer was found guilty of a serious offense, to wit: converting to his own use the trust funds of two clients. He subsequently issued worthless checks in repayment of the debts. His brother finally made restitution for him. A psychiatric report indicates that the respondent is not psychotic but suffers neurotic conflicts which impair his professional responsibilities and will do so for about one year.
Under the circumstances it appears to us that the report of the referee demonstrates a full consideration of all elements involving the matter of prescribing professional *301discipline. While we are willing to strike, on the recommendation of The Florida Bar, the requirement that borrowed sums should be repaid as a condition to respondent’s resumption of the practice of law, we feel that he should not be automatically reinstated at the termination of the period of eighteen months of disbarment. It appears from the record that this man suffers from a neurotic condition which places a cloud over his current professional ability and sense of responsibility to his clients and to the public. We are, therefore, not willing to restore him to the practice of law routinely merely upon the passage of time. Before he is readmitted, it should be shown that he is mentally and temperamentally competent to undertake the grave responsibilities of an attorney.
The findings of the referee are approved. However, the recommendations of the referee are amended to the extent that respondent Philip S. Goldin is hereby suspended from the practice of law for a period of eighteen (18) months from the date this opinion is filed and thereafter until, under the Integration Rule, he can demonstrate his entitlement to reinstatement.
It is so ordered.
ERVIN, C. J., and ROBERTS, THOR-NAL, CARLTON and BOYD, JJ., concur.