The Florida Bar. The Florida Bar.

There is more bad news for an embattled litigator, formerly of Fort Lauderdale, as his former "director of litigation" is being investigated for allegedly practicing law in the State of Florida without a license.

This investigation is centered around Ankur Mehta, who, in a complaint filed with The Florida Bar by J.B. Harris, a Coral Gables attorney, was accused of being an unlicensed equity partner in all but name at the firm Howard & Associates in Fort Lauderdale.

Harris said the investigation is part of a larger story of the alleged misdeeds of Phillip Timothy Howard, who now has a law practice based in Tallahassee. Howard is already facing multiple allegations by former employees for the practices at his then Fort Lauderdale law firm. Harris said these multiple complaints are sufficient to have him disbarred.

"The real story here is this is just one more indication of Howard allowing an unlicensed civilian to act as a lawyer and do things that only lawyers are allowed to do," Harris said.

Now, the Broward Circuit Court's Unlicensed Practice of Law Committee A will investigate the unlicensed practice of law complaint against Mehta, since the Bar only investigates lawyers and a fake lawyer is not necessarily its responsibility.

While Mehta did not respond to request for comment, Harris argued that Mehta was not an innocent employee of Howard & Associates who blindly followed orders. Instead, Mehta made command decisions about the law firm's financial operations and management and advised Howard.

The complaint claimed that Mehta's advertisements as a litigation director and having a Doctor of Jurisprudence degree, without a short disclaimer next to these titles, led other lawyers to constantly ask Harris if Mehta was an attorney.

Harris also claimed in the complaint that Mehta had invested around $300,000 into the law firm to stay afloat while it was in "a financial death spiral." While there are exceptions, Rule 4-5.4 of the Rules Regulating The Florida Bar prohibits nonlawyers from investing into a Florida law firm. Mehta later bragged about suing Howard for the investment capital owed to him, according to the complaint.

Read the complaint:

Howard has been the subject of litigation by former employees and clients.

For instance, a former professor at Florida State University filed a lawsuit against Howard after she alleged she gave him more than $500,000. Jasminka Ilich-Ernst paid the money through a financial adviser Howard enlisted as part of an alleged fraudulent real estate scheme, leading the elderly retiree to lose her life savings.

Howard did not respond to request for comment.

In a 2018 complaint filed by Howard's former assistant, Kimberly Poling, the Second Judicial Circuit Grievance Committee of The Florida Bar found probable cause for a complaint alleging Howard violated the Bar's rules.

That complaint, which was also filed against Mehta, accused him 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. But the Bar report found "insufficient information" to pursue sanctions against Mehta.

Harris said this complaint is different and is calling for the Bar to prosecute Mehta for violating Florida law and the Rules Regulating The Florida Bar.

"To do otherwise not only would give license to illegal conduct the rules and law were designed to prevent," Harris said. "It would also make the Bar complicit in Mehta's blatant disregard for the law."

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