The Florida Supreme Court has suspended the license of Coral Gables attorney Jay Lewis Farrow, following an emergency petition by the Florida Bar accusing him of causing “great public harm” to several clients.
The order, issued Monday, requires Farrow to cease all legal practice in Florida within 30 days and to withdraw from all client representation. He must also report to the Bar any fees or funds received related to his legal work as the Bar moves forward with a contempt case against him.
Farrow’s suspension will remain in effect “until further order of this court.” The Florida Supreme Court oversees disciplinary actions against attorneys found in violation of ethics and professional conduct rules.
Farrow, 49, a graduate of the University of Miami School of Law, was admitted to the Florida Bar in 2003. Once based in Coral Gables, he now appears to be working in Davie. He could not be reached for comment.
In a June petition for emergency suspension, the Bar accused Farrow of misleading the Supreme Court by falsely claiming an agreement had been reached to dismiss a contempt case brought against him. The Bar stated that Farrow had:
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Used abusive litigation tactics
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Ignored court orders
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Charged exorbitant legal fees without delivering adequate legal work
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Submitted fraudulent documents to the Supreme Court
The petition added that Farrow’s filings falsely implied the Bar had agreed to dismiss the contempt proceedings. In reality, the Bar said no such agreement existed. The pleadings were riddled with errors and even misspelled the assigned Bar counsel’s name.
A pivotal moment in the Bar’s case came in late November, when its lawyers filed a petition urging the court to hold Farrow in contempt for failing to respond to 13 separate client grievances. Though the court didn’t suspend him at that time, Farrow later filed documents in March claiming a resolution had been reached—an assertion the Bar firmly denied in its emergency petition.
Farrow previously faced public scrutiny in a Miami Herald investigation, which featured interviews with over a dozen former clients. Many said he abandoned their cases and took their money without providing services.
Among them were Bobbie and Terry Downs, a couple from St. Petersburg who paid Farrow $80,000 to represent them in a lawsuit against the landlord of their go-kart racing track. Farrow allegedly never filed the lawsuit, prompting the couple’s complaint to the Florida Bar.
Following the Herald’s report, Farrow filed a 267-page federal lawsuit in February, naming dozens of defendants—ranging from law firms and insurance companies to McClatchy Media (parent of the Herald) and one of its journalists—alleging a coordinated cyber-conspiracy against him and his family. That lawsuit remains pending in Miami federal court.
The Bar emphasized in its emergency filing that Farrow’s actions presented an immediate threat to clients and the public.
“He has caused, or is likely to cause, immediate and serious harm to clients, the legal system, or the public, and immediate action must be taken,”
— Florida Bar emergency petition
The Florida Bar declined to comment on the suspension, pointing instead to the official filings.
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