by Richard W. Millar, Jr.

There is, or at least was, a business called “Flash Dancers” in Jacksonville, Florida. I hasten to add that I have no personal familiarity with it, nor with Jacksonville either for that matter. That does not stop me from reporting on it, cub reporter that I am.

It may come as no surprise that Flash Dancers bills itself as a “gentleman’s club,” an upscale sobriquet for the more downscale “strip club.”

According to the internet, my source of all knowledge, it has had its share of interaction with the local constabulary. Headnotes include: “8 arrested, strip club shut down after JSO raid, fire inspection,” “Women arrested in Flash Dancers undercover…,” “Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office identifies victim in Flash Dancers,” and the like. Its “Yelp” reviews are mixed, but the bartender is said to be nice.

Speaking of bars—a segue I will clarify in a bit—the Florida Supreme Court recently disbarred a now former Florida lawyer, one Brett Hartley.

The court adopted a sixty-two-page “Report of Referee” which deals with a number of counts in which Mr. Hartley’s trust account plays a leading role.

Count I dealt with Mr. Hartley’s representation of Ben Smith. Mr. Hartley had been suspended by the Florida Bar after he was found in contempt for non-compliance with a subpoena for his trust account records. He failed to appear for hearings in the Smith matter and the judge referred the case to the state bar.

Count II dealt with Mr. Hartley’s representation of James Ishler, a defendant in a civil action. The referee found that he had not told his client about a summary judgment motion or the ensuing summary judgment which Mr. Ishler learned about after accessing the court’s website docket.

Count III related to several failures to appear for a client in a criminal case, after receiving a $5K cash payment.

In Count IV, Mr. Hartley was charged with having received $225,000 from a client which Mr. Hartley “held” in his trust account to be used for the purchase of a business for his client.

Count V alleged that the lawyer had been hired by his father-in-law to draft an irrevocable trust for which his client had given him $255,000 to fund the trust and for the opening of a trust bank account.

Count VI involved Mr. Hartley’s failure to account for a Social Security Disability settlement for his brother-in-law.

Count VII claimed that Mr. Hartley failed to repay a personal loan.

Count VIII alleged that Mr. Hartley received a retainer of $10,000 to represent a client in a criminal case and later claimed that restitution needed to be paid the victims and received $8,200 to be held in trust for that purpose. No restitution had been sought or ordered.

The referee recommended disbarment and the Florida Supreme Court recently so ordered.

So, what happened to the money?

“The [state] bar’s audit determined that, during the audit period, respondent intentionally used his attorney trust account as a business operating account for Flash Dancers, an adult entertainment nightclub respondent owned in Jacksonville, Florida.”

His excuse: “Respondent testified that he did this because he was unable to locate a financial institution that would permit him to open a business checking account for an adult entertainment nightclub.”

Following the old maxim that “whatever goes around, comes around,” I think you could say that Mr. Hartley was stripped of his law license.

Richard W. Millar, Jr. is Of Counsel with the firm of Friedman Stroffe & Gerard in Irvine. He can be reached at rmillar@fsglawyers.com.