HOT OFF THE PRESSES!
(If you have a Marshall Watson case, contact my office IMMEDIATELY!)
The owner of the Fort Lauderdale-based Law Offices of Marshall C. Watson has agreed to plead guilty to offenses found during a Florida Bar investigation in what is believed to be the first disciplinary action taken by the regulatory group against a so-called foreclosure mill.
The consent judgment, which still requires approval by the Florida Supreme Court, would suspend attorney Marshall C. Watson for 91 days _ a move that means the closure of his firm _ and require him to pay $30,000 for a record-keeping analysis, plus $5,931 for the Bar investigation.
All suspensions of 91 days or greater require proof of rehabilitation and approval of the Florida Supreme Court before a lawyer may be reinstated to the practice of law.
Signed in December, the agreement accuses Watson of failing to develop foreclosure policies for firm employees and includes charges that the firm routinely filed court documents alleging a mortgage note was lost without confirming that its clients had in fact lost the note.
The head of one of Florida’s well-known so-called foreclosure mill law firms has agreed to state bar discipline that will require him to close down his law office.
Marshall C. Watson has also agreed to a 91-day suspension, which will require approval by the state supreme court before he can be readmitted to practice, the Palm Beach Post’s Real Time blog reports.
The consent judgment, which must be approved by the state supreme court before it takes effect, says Marshall did not properly supervise his law firm employees and failed “to develop, implement and maintain acceptable policies and operating practices for his firm,” the newspaper reports.
