Title: The Florida Bar v. Neely
Citation: 675 So. 2d 592
Docket Number: 84646, 85121
State: Florida
Issuer: Florida Supreme Court
Date: June 20, 1996

675 So. 2d 592 (1996)
THE FLORIDA BAR, Complainant,
v.
Gary H. NEELY, Respondent.
Nos. 84646, 85121.

Supreme Court of Florida.
June 20, 1996.
John F. Harkness, Jr., Executive Director and John T. Berry, Staff Counsel, Tallahassee, and Jan Wichrowski, Bar Counsel, Orlando, for Complainant.
*593 Thomas E. Cushman, St. Augustine, for Respondent.
PER CURIAM.
We have for review the complaint of The Florida Bar (the Bar) and the referee's report regarding alleged ethical breaches by Gary H. Neely. We have jurisdiction. Art. V, § 15, Fla. Const. We approve the report and disbar Neely permanently.
The Court in 1991 disbarred Neely from the practice of law in Florida for ethical violations. Florida Bar v. Neely, 587 So. 2d 465 (Fla.1991). The Bar subsequently filed a petition to show cause why Neely should not be further disciplined for continuing to practice law after he was disbarred.
The referee found that after Neely had been disbarred he met with a would-be client and accepted $1000 to prepare a legal malpractice suit against another lawyer. Neely has since returned only $500 of the fee. The referee also found that Neely filed a complaint in circuit court on behalf of a corporation and represented that corporation in a legal capacity for nearly two months. The record contains both documentary exhibits and testimony of witnesses that support these findings. We approve the referee's findings of fact.
The referee made the following recommendations as to guilt and discipline:
We find that the recommendations of guilt are adequately supported in the record and that the recommended discipline is appropriate for violating this Court's disbarment order, particularly in light of Neely's prior disciplinary record. See Florida Bar v. Neely, 587 So. 2d 465 (Fla.1991); Florida Bar v. Neely, 540 So. 2d 109 (Fla.1989); Florida Bar v. Neely, 502 So. 2d 1237 (Fla.1987); Florida Bar v. Neely, 488 So. 2d 535 (Fla.1986); Florida Bar v. Neely, 417 So. 2d 957 (Fla.1982); Florida Bar v. Neely, 372 So. 2d 89 (Fla. 1979).
We hereby disbar Gary H. Neely permanently from the practice of law in Florida. We order Neely to return within thirty days of the filing of this opinion the remaining $500 he accepted from Veronica Cottle. Judgment for costs in the amount of $2,564.73 is entered in favor of The Florida Bar against Neely, for which sum let execution issue.
It is so ordered.
KOGAN, C.J., and OVERTON, SHAW, GRIMES, HARDING, WELLS and ANSTEAD, JJ., concur.