Florida disciplinarians just put a Fort Lauderdale litigator on notice that it has probable cause to prosecute him for alleged ethics violations.

The Second Judicial Circuit Grievance Committee found probable cause to prepare a complaint against Phillip Tim Howard, founder of Howard & Associates, which has offices in Florida and Massachusetts.

The committee based its findings on a 2018 complaint filed by Howard's former assistant, Kimberly Poling, who worked for the litigator in his Broward office in 2017 and 2018. It found probable cause for a complaint alleging Howard violated Florida Bar rules governing responsibilities of partners, managers and supervisory lawyers; responsibilities regarding nonlawyer assistants; and direct contact with prospective clients.

The notice of probable cause recommends that Howard review the procedures for admission of "minor misconduct and conditional guilty pleas."

Now, the bar will likely file a formal complaint before the Florida Supreme Court.

Poling filed her 2018 complaint against Howard and a nonlawyer at the law firm, Ankur Mehta. She accused Mehta of establishing a company, Mehta Consulting, to shield Howard from "illegal and unethical conduct." Howard & Associates paid Mehta as an independent contractor through Mehta Consulting.

The Florida Bar closed an investigation into Mehta without pursuing sanctions against him. Its report cited "insufficient information."

Mehta did not immediately respond to request for comment.

Poling alleges Mehta, with Howard's knowledge and consent, told law firm employees to take several improper actions. These range from having Mehta listed as an attorney on several cases, illegally soliciting clients and repeatedly failing to pay the law firm's bills.

Mehta allegedly also told a former colleague — and later on, Poling — to transfer funds from the firm's Interest on Lawyer Trust Account to Mehta Consulting or to another account to cover the firm's operating expenses.

Poling also alleged in her complaint that Mehta told her and a co-worker to contact people on the national "Do Not Call" registry to recruit them for potential class actions against telemarketers. She claimed Howard also failed to report to the bar that the law firm had issued checks it could not honor, including bounced checks for salaries and rent on its Fort Lauderdale office.

Poling claims she did not file the complaint with the bar for any personal monetary gain.

"I simply was trying to defend myself in case Howard did get sued, which he did, 20 times to Tuesday," she said. "And because I was told to do illegal things. I just didn't know if somehow he could twist it around and I could somehow get into trouble. I still don't know."

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