locate a lawyer

hiring a lawyer may be one of the most importantdecisions you will ever make, but when an attorney fails to represent their clients'best interest, the fallout can be devastating. wfts-tv uncovered a local attorney is nowunder suspension by the florida bar association after bank records show he spent nearly amillion dollars of clients' money at casinos, gun stores and fancy restaurants. “we loved that house. it hurt to leave,” said janet crawford. she and her husband, tom, hired tampa attorneyjames lee clark to save their wesley chapel home from foreclosure.

“we were getting behind in payments on thehouse. my husband was sick, he had a heart attack,”said janet crawford. they paid clark thousands, then followed hisadvice and signed their deed over to a company owned by clark's paralegal and former roommateeric liebman. “they all worked together. they seemed like they were a team, and i trustedmy lawyer,” said janet crawford. the crawfords moved out, after they say theywere told liebman would pay them $5,000 and the bank would forgive their loan. but they say they got nothing.

liebman quickly leased the house to anotherof clark's clients, who made a down payment and made monthly payments for nearly two years,believing they were leasing to own the home. she filed for bankruptcy to try to keep thebank from taking it, but the bank ended up foreclosing, giving them just days to moveout. the crawfords didn't know that clark had beenplaced on probation by the florida bar association while he was handling their case for failingto diligently represent other clients. “i didn't do research. i should have done research,” said janetcrawford. “it appears as though mr. clark removedover $900,000 of my client's money,” said

morgan & morgan attorney l. reed bloodworth. bloodworth’s clients are now suing clark,alleging clark took money the client received from selling two assisted living facilities. “i don't know if that are any assets leftto recover for my clients,” bloodworth said. the florida bar subpoenaed hundreds of pagesof bank records related to that case, which appear to show clark transferred money fromhis client's trust accounts into his own bank account. they show clark spent more than $518,000 atthe hard rock casino, $13,000 at bars and liquor stores, $21,000 at gun stores and $17,000on meals at a casino steakhouse.

clark also paid for vacations in the bahamas,london, paris and amsterdam. “using other people's money to enjoy himself,it makes me pissed off. i want him disbarred and thrown in jail aswell,” said janet crawford. the bar suspended clark from practicing lawlast month. after multiple attempts to locate clark, wefound him working on his bmw at his south tampa home, which is under foreclosure. “i can't talk about it. i'm sorry,” clark told us. “hiring an attorney is an important decision,whatever that matter may be.

i think clients should look into their attorneys,”said bloodworth. bloodworth says clients should consult thebar and avoid attorneys who have been in trouble. the crawfords agree. “get comments from other people. check it out before you sign on any dottedline,” janet crawford said. “do the footwork or you could end up likemy wife and myself,” said tom crawford. log on to the florida bar association’swebsite to find out if any licensed attorney has been disciplined.