Hank Adorno Is a Bad Man

Every night, before he goes to sleep, Hank Adorno must get on his knees, fold his hands, and thank Papa Dios he hasn't lost his license to practice law.Last year, the Florida Bar found that the civil attorney and prominent Miami citizen violated nine bar rules when he orchestrated a $7...

By Francisco Alvarado

January 14, 2010

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Every night, before he goes to sleep, Hank Adorno must get on his knees, fold his hands, and thank Papa Dios he hasn't lost his license to practice law.

Last year, the Florida Bar found that the civil attorney and prominent Miami citizen violated nine bar rules when he orchestrated a $7 million class action settlement that distributed money to only seven people instead of all Miami taxpayers.

The bar claimed Adorno breached his fiduciary duty to Miami property owners by making false statements in court, charging excessive fees, and representing one client to the detriment of others in a botched attempt to end a lawsuit aimed at abolishing the city's controversial fire fee.

Adorno negotiated the settlement to the city that guaranteed his firm a $2 million contingency fee. The settlement was thrown out when Adorno and the city's flimflamfoolery was exposed.

Well, this past January 6, a judicial referee threw out part of the bar's findings. Broward Circuit Judge Jack Tuter ruled that Adorno did not mislead the court when he presented the settlement. But he did find that Adorno breached his fiduciary duty to Miami taxpayers "for pecuniary gain by accepting a resulting excessive attorney fee."

Read Tuter's ruling after the jump.

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Francisco Alvarado was born in Nicaragua and grew up in Miami, giving him unique insight into the Magic City and all its dark corners. An investigative reporter with a knack for uncovering corruption, Alvarado made his bones as a staff writer at Miami New Times and remains in dogged pursuit of the next juicy story.

Contact: Francisco Alvarado

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Twitter: @thefrankness