| ► Attorney Gerald Kuchinsky of Fort Lauderdale; ethical leprechaun |
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Attorney Gerald Kuchinsky of Fort Lauderdale; ethical leprechaun 
The state of Florida presented Gerald M. Kuchinsky with a law license in 1977 after he graduated from St. John’s University Law School.
The State Bar of Florida found Gerald guilty of the following misconduct.
Two weeks later, Gerald filed a Motion for Extension of Time to file the answer brief, which was granted by the trial court. In its order, the trial court stated that Gerald’s failure to serve the answer brief within the time provided may foreclose his client’s right to file an answer brief or otherwise participate in the appeal.
Despite receiving an extension of time, Gerald failed to file the answer brief on time. Because no answer brief was filed, opposing counsel filed a Notice of Non-Compliance with the Briefing Schedule and a Motion to Preclude Answer Brief by Gerald’s client and for Final Disposition of the Appeal. The motion was subsequently granted by the court.
Shortly thereafter, the 4th District Court of Appeal remanded the case back to the trial court. As a result, the trial court granted the former husband’s Motion for Recoupment and Sanctions and ordered Gerald to return $11,000 to the husband for payment of temporary attorney’s fees on appeal.
Ms. Sichewski made numerous attempts to contact Gerald to ascertain the status of her appeal. When she was able to speak to Gerald, he continually told her not to worry, and reassured her that everything was being taken care of. However, Gerald did not tell her that he missed the deadline for filing her appeal. Moreover, he failed to inform her of the consequences of his failure. In fact, Sichewski did not know that Gerald had never filed an answer brief until she was told by the attorney she hired after firing Gerald.
As a consequence of her misconduct, the cheerleaders for Attorney Misfits sitting on the Florida Supreme Court punished Gerald by gifting him with a complimentary 45-day suspension of his law license. .
As we speak (ca. December 2012) Gerald practices at 633 SE 3rd Avenue in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
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