This cannot be direct quoted because it is on the previous thread that is now locked. But, I believe it is important enough to address so there is no confusion.
"Alethea -I can only speak for myself but I have never lost a client. I am actually concerned about the competence of his lawyer since his lawyer is not admitted to practice law in Florida and he practices REAL ESTATE in New York. So I don't know why he feels competent to advise a client in a jurisdiction in which he is not admitted in such a serious case involving a missing person. In much less serious matters I have recommended and facilitated a client hiring a local attorney who can help on the day-to-day issues in jurisdictions where I wasn't admitted or in cases outside of my core practice areas. Being investigated for a potential homicide is not the time to cheap out and call a family friend. And it's borderline unethical for the attorney IMO."
I respectfully disagree with this. While it is true that the attorney who made the statement appears to be from NY, his website clearly indicates that he is a general practitioner who yes, does criminal work. To the magnitude of what BL got himself into? Does not appear so. But he still does have experience in some criminal matters. In a crisis (for them) they called a trusted advisor (not cheap out), and I don't see anything particularly bizarre about this. Their atty friend would be in a position best suited through his contacts to find them local counsel. With respect to not being admitted in Florida, this appears to be correct. But, we're actually dealing with Federal law here too - law I know he needed to know or he wouldn’t have passed the bar.
As far as multiple admissions go, some attys are licensed to practice in multiple jurisdictions while others are not. The Florida/New York relationship presents a unique obstacle that is not widely known, unless you are an attorney seeking to be admitted in both states at the same time over a 3-day testing span. Because of the transient nature between the states, Florida and NY each make it much more (procedurally) complicated for someone to take both bars within the same time period. 1. The exams are intentionally given on the same day (or at least they were 30 years ago) forcing attys to choose which bar to sit for. If you choose NY, you have to wait for the next Fla exam date to go back and sit for it - a pain not worth it unless you actually plan to live there. 2. There is no reciprocity between the states as there is with some others, that allows for an attorney to waive-in after 5, 10, etc. years of practice in good standing. Additionally, people should know that attorneys appear in court out of state all the time through a process known as pro hac vice admission. So, the beat down on this guy isn't exactly accurate and it kind of loses the focus of the thread, imo.
oviedo - "Could not agree with you more - our lawyers never advise outside of their practice area. Maybe the first statement was ok but as soon as he saw this case turn - and most definitely by Friday when parents called LE- he should have told them to hire a FL bar certified attorney. JMO"
This last part I certainly agree with. I fully expected him to have someone else onboard if not completely taking over by the middle of last week.
Lastly, it had always been feeling/opinion/whatever you want to call it, that his attorney’s direction to him to keep his mouth shut was strategic more than it was self-preservation. His attorney was told what happened and realized his client’s best bet was to wait for LE to go for days with no solid leads hoping they’d then come to him with a deal for her location (MOO). For as unappealing as this sounds, I still think this is where his head was. He has a duty to zealously defend his client.
That said, he still should have handed this off by mid-week because logic dictates that leaving BL sitting for days stewing with the “I’m going to prison. It doesn’t matter how short or long. I’m going and my life is over.” certainly feeds into the decision to flee.