ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — A Winter Park lawyer who has been in practice for nearly 30 years is fighting to keep his license after allegations of misuse of a client’s money.
Todd Long’s license was suspended after the Florida Bar found he used more than $120,000 in funds from a client’s trust account on hotels, strip clubs and bills at his law firm.
Long has said that he may not have kept perfect records on the trust account, but he denies doing anything wrong.
The investigation into Long’s handling of the account was started when an associate at his law firm tipped off the Florida Bar to the alleged actions.
Since his suspension, Long has closed his firm and moved out of his former Winter Park location.
Dipping into clients’ funds is a sure way to lose your license to practice law, said WFTV legal analyst Bill Sheaffer.
“One of the easiest ways to lose your ticket to practice law is to steal from your client and take his money out of the trust account,” he said.
The probe into Long’s activities is ongoing and the Florida Supreme Court will have the final say on any further disciplinary actions against the attorney.
WFTV
