THE FLORIDA BAR

J OII' F. H R!<J' , JR.

65 1 E J EFFERSON TREET T LLAIIA EE, FL 32399-2300

850/56 1-5600
WWW.f'LORIOAIIAR.ORC

t: >.ECIITIVE DIR ECTOR

July 29,2013

Ms. Maria R achs Law Offices of Maria achs, P.A. I E Broward Blvd te 700 Fort Lauderdale, FL 3330 1-1876 Re: Complaint by Timothy tevens against Maria R achs The Florida Bar File o. 20 14-50, 100 ( 171)

Dear Ms. achs : Enclosed is a copy of an inquiry/complaint and any supporting documents submitted by the abo e referenced complainant(s). Your response to this complaint is requ ired under the provisions of Rule 4-8.4(g), Rules of Professional Conduct of the Rules Regulating The Florida Bar, and is due in our office by August 12, 2013. Responses should not exceed 25 pages and may refer to any add itional documents or ex hibits that are available on request. Failure to pro ide a written response to this complaint is in itself a violation of Rule 4-8.4(g). Please note that any correspondence must be sent through the . . mai I; we cannot accept faxed material. You are further required to furni h the complainant with a complete copy of your written r e ponse, including any docum ents submitted ther ewith. Please note that pursuant to Ru le 3-7. 1(b) Rules of Discipline, any reports, correspondence, papers, recordings and/or transcripts of hearings received from either you or the compla inant(s) sha ll become a part of the public record in this matter and thus accessible to the public upon a disposition of this file. It should be noted that The Florida Bar is required to acknowledge the tatus of proceedings during the pendency of an in estigation, if a specific inquiry is made and the matter is deemed to be in the public domain. Pursuant to Rule 3-7. l (f), Rules of Discipline, you are fwther requ ired to complete and return the enclo ed Certifi cate of Disclo ure form . Further, please notify this office, in writing, of any pending civi l, criminal, or adm inistrative litigation which pertain to th is grievance. Pl ease note that this is a continu ing obligation should new litigation develop during the pendency of this matter.

Ms. Maria R achs July 29, 20 13 Page Two

Finall y, the filing of thi s complaint does not preclude communication between the attorney and the complainant(s). Please review the enclosed Notice for information on submitti ng your response. Sincerely.

Annemarie Craft, Bar Counsel Attorney Consumer Assistance Program ACAP Hotline 866-352-0707

Enclosures (Certificate of Disclosure, otice - Mailing Instructions) cc: Mr. Timothy tevens

otice of Grievance Procedures, Copy of Complaint,

OTICE Mailing Instructions

The Florida Bar converts its disciplinary files to electronic media. All submissions are being scanned into an e lectronic record and hard copies are discarded. To help ensure the timely processing of your inquiry/complaint, please review the following guidelines prior to submitting it to our office. 1. Plea e limit your ubmis ion to no more than 25 page including exhibit . lf you have additional documents available, please make reference to them in your written submission as available upon request. Should Bar counsel need to obtain copies of any such documents, a subsequent request will be sent to you. 2. Please do not bind, or index our documents. You may underline but do not highlight documents under any circumstances. We scan documents for use in our disciplinary files and when scanned, your document hi ghlighting will either not be picked up or may obscure any underlying text. 3. Plea e refrain from attaching media s uch as audio tape or CDs, o er ized docum ents, ot photograph s. We cannot process any media that cannot be scanned into the electronic record . 4. Plea e do not submit your original document . All documents will be discarded after scanning and we will not be able to return any originals submitted to our office. The only original document that should be provided to our office is the inquiry/complaint form. 5. Please d o not submit confidential or privileged information. Documents submitted to our offi ce become public record. Confidential/privileged information should be redacted. Such information includes, but is not limited to, bank account numbers, social security numbers, credit card account numbers, medical records, dependency matters, termination of parental rights, guardian ad litem records, child abuse records, adoption records, documents containing names of minor children, original birth and death certificates, Baker Act records, grand j ury records, and j uvenil e delinquency records. If information of this nature is important to your submission, please describe the nature of the information and indicate that it is available upon request. Bar counsel will contact you to make appropriate arrangements for the protection of any such information that is required as part of the investigation of the complaint. Please be aware that material received that do not meet these guidelines rna be return ed. Thank you for your consideration in this respect.

THE FLORIDA BAR

JOl t \

F. H

RK\

, JR.

65 1 EA r J EFFER Q ,\ TREET T LLAII \ EE, FL 32399-2300

850/56 1-5600
W\\ \\ . Fl OR lOAD \R.OR<.

E\ECV Tl\ E DIRECTOR

July 29,2013 Mr. Timothy tevens P.O. Box 1123 Deerfield Beach, FL 33443 Re: Maria R Sach ; The Florida Bar File o. 20 14-50, 100 (171)

Dear Mr. tevens: Enclosed is a copy of our letter to Ms. achs wh ich requires a response to your complajnt. Once you receive Ms. achs's response, you have 10 days to file a rebuttal if you so desire. If you decide to file a rebuttal, you must send a copy to M . acbs . Rebuttals hould not exceed 25 page and may refer to any add itional documents or exhi bits that are avai lab le on reque t. Please address any and a ll correspondence to me. Please note that any correspondence must be sent through the U .. majl; we cannot accept faxed material. Please be advised that as an arm of the upreme Court of Flori da, The Florida Bar can investigate allegations of misconduct against attorneys, and where appropriate, request that the attorney be disciplined. The Florida Bar cannot render legal advice nor can The Florida Bar represent individuals or intervene on their behalf in any civi l or criminal matter. Further, please notify thi s office, in writing, of any pend ing civil, criminal, or administrative litigation which pertains to this grievance. Please note that thi is a continuing obligation should new litigation develop during the pendency of thi s matter. Please review the enclosed rebuttal. , incerely, otice on mailing instructions for information on submitting your

Annemarie Craft, Bar Coun el Attorney Consumer Assistance Program ACAP Hotline 866-352-0707 Enc losures otice of Grievance Procedures, Copy of Letter to Ms. achs; Instructions) cc: Ms. Maria R achs otice- Mailing

CA-Y

OTlCE OF GRI EVANCE PROCEDURES

l. The enclosed letter is an informal inquiry. Your response is required under the provisions of T he Rules Regulating The Florida Bar 4 8.4(g), Rules of Professional Conduct. Failure to provide a written response to this complaint is in itself a violation of Rule 4 8.4(g). If you do not respond, the matter wi ll be forwarded to the grievance committee for disposition in accordance with Rule 3-7.3 ofthe Rules of Discipline.

2. Many complaints considered first by staff counsel are not forwarded to a gnevance comm ittee, as they do not involve violations of the Rules of Professional Conduct justifying disciplinary action. 3. "Pursuant to Rule 3-7. 1(a), Rules of D iscipline, any response by you in these proceedings shall become part of the public record of this matter and thereby become acces ible to the pub lic upon the closure of the case by Bar counsel or upon a finding of no probable cause, probable cau e, minor mi conduct, or recommendation of di ersion. Disclosure during the pendency of an investigation may be made on ly as to status if a specific inqu iry concerning this case is made and if this matter is genera lly known to be in the public domain." 4. The grie ance committee is the Bar"s 'grand j ury." Its function and procedure are set forth in Rule 3-7.4. Proceedings before the grievance committee, for the most part, are nonadversari al in nature. However, you should carefull y review Chapter 3 of the Rules Regu lating The Florida Bar. 5. If the grie ance committee finds probable cause, formal adversarial proceedings, which ordinarily lead to disposition by the upreme Court of Florida, will be commenced under 3-7.6, unless a plea is submitted under Ru le 3-7.