MIAMI — A Tallahassee personal injury attorney already under emergency suspension for not turning over records of his trust account as the Florida Bar investigated client grievances decided, officially, to give up.
The Soto Injury Law Firm’s Gus Soto, a 65-year-old admitted to the Bar in 1984, gave up his career by applying for disciplinary revocation without leave to seek readmission. Soto’s application, which was accepted by the state Supreme Court, also says he’ll give up $396,931 in restitution to five clients who allege Soto misappropriated their settlement funds.
As the state Supreme Court states, “disciplinary revocation is tantamount to disbarment.” The attorney petitions for the action, either with leave to reapply in five years or without leave to reapply in five years. As far as professional discipline, the pending discipline cases disappear. Disciplinary revocation has no effect, however, on any civil or criminal matters borne from the attorney’s actions.