Why three Coral Gables attorneys have been reprimanded or disbarred
All three Miami-Dade attorneys on the Florida Bar’s monthly list of attorneys disciplined by the state Supreme Court have their professional homes in Coral Gables.
In alphabetical order:
Steven Amster
Steven Amster (admitted to the Bar in 1994) took Tomas Diaz’s Duval County criminal case for a non-refundable $5,000 flat fee. The retainer agreement said the case would be done when charges were dismissed, or Diaz was acquitted or convicted.
Diaz pleaded guilty, ending what was covered by the $5,000 fee. Later, when a violation of probation matter came up, Amster worked on that for Diaz. For a year and a half, he drove up to Duval County for hearings and wound up keeping Diaz out of jail.
But, as Amster’s guilty plea in this discipline case says, he did so without a written fee agreement. Three times, he reached out to Diaz, asking for another $50,000 fee for his work. Eventually, Diaz’s mother paid the $50,000 via three wire transfers.
Amster violated Florida Bar rules of “duty to communicate basis or rate of fee or costs to client.”
Amster has to return $10,000 to Diaz’s mother, attend ethics school and will receive a public reprimand.
This comes less than three years after Amster’s last public reprimand, which he received in November 2022.
READ MORE: The end for a Fort Lauderdale attorney who disappeared with at least $630,000
Ruzy Behnejad
Ruzy Behnejad, 35, has been a Bar member since 2014 with no previous disciplinary history.
Behnejad received $128,597 from a property damage settlement in his trust account during April 2024. But before shooting that money to his client or the service providers owed, Benejhad left the country on a personal matter.
“[Behnejad] failed to communicate with (his client) to explain the delay in payment of her portion of the settlement funds or to explain the failure to pay the public adjuster, water & mold mitigation service, or the consultant,” Behnejad’s application for disciplinary revocation states.
Behnejad told his client in July 2024 that he’d distribute the money as required and, as financial apology for the delay, refund $11,000 of his legal fees. Which is what he did upon returning to the United States in September. In fact, including the $11,000 refund, he paid $130,338.17, which was more than the settlement.
The client filed a Bar complaint. Behnejad filed for disciplinary revocation, essentially disbarment, with leave to seek readmission after five years.
The state Supreme Court granted Behnejad’s request — Behnejad is tossed from the Bar for five years, and the Bar discipline case disappears. If there had been civil or criminal matters arising from this case, they would not be affected.
READ MORE: What happened to a Florida attorney accused of misappropriating $1 million
Michael Murphy
If Michael Murphy’s disbarment were a person, it could legally have a Cuba Libre, having turned 21 on April 28.
Despite being disbarred since 2004, the Bar’s contempt petition said, Murphy sent communication on May 3, 2024, on behalf of a woman trying to get her security deposit refunded from a former landlord and signed it, “Michael Murphy, Esquire.”
When the landlord responded by asking for a “letter of legal representation,” Murphy’s reply email stated, “I represent Ms. Crystal Harris” and signed it “Michael Murphy, Esquire.”
A May 6, 2024, email from Murphy said, “we stick by our original offer to pay the designated items, NOTHING MORE! If you wish to discuss further, call me to discuss, not (his purported client), she is done talking to you all.”
That’s holding himself out to be an attorney. As Murphy already was disbarred, but could apply for readmission, he’s now permanently disbarred.
