A Florida attorney, Lisa Jacobs, has been disbarred.
In 2016, Jacobs was arrested on DUI and careless driving charges. Shortly thereafter, Jacobs resigned from the Miami-Dade State Attorney's office, where she had been employed as a division chief. She eventually pled no contest to careless driving and performed nine months of probation.
After another car crash in 2018, Jacobs pled no contest to, and was found guilty of, DUI with property damage/personal injury and refusal to submit to a blood or breath test.
Jacobs received a 30-day suspension and did not inform the Florida Bar of her guilty plea within 10 days. She was subsequently found guilty of contempt of court for violating her rehabilitation contract with Florida Lawyers Assistance, an organization that assists lawyers with mental health and addiction issues.
After yet another suspension in July 2023, the Bar stated that Jacobs did not submit a required affidavit nor did she remove any indications in the public domain that she was an attorney. Jacobs says she gave the affidavit to her attorney, but it somehow it was never received by the Bar.
Jacobs received a one-year suspension in May 2024 and allowed her disbarment to proceed to finality in December of 2025.
David J. Neal "Three Miami attorneys have been suspended or disbarred for the same reason" www.yahoo.com (Jan. 18, 2026).
Commentary
Every state has a bar association that governs its attorney members. The rules in all states are similar, but there can be state distinctions.
The most severe discipline a bar association can bestow on a member is disbarment – the revocation of a lawyer's license to practice law and removal from the bar. There are types of conduct which presumptively result in disbarment. For example, if a lawyer steals a clients funds or is convicted of a felony.
The bar association is the guardian for the integrity of the legal profession in the state. In some states, for example, once disbarred, an attorney cannot practice law again for at least five years and must be readmitted upon application. In other states, disbarment is permanent.
An attorney often has public notice requirements after discipline. Pursuant The Florida Bar Association rules, following disbarment, the attorney must give proper notice to the public of the discipline. (RRTFB Rule 3-5.1(h) January 20, 2026) as follows:
(h) Notice to Clients. Unless the court orders otherwise, when the respondent is served with an order of disbarment, disbarment on consent, disciplinary revocation, suspension, emergency suspension, emergency probation, or placement on the inactive list for incapacity not related to misconduct, the respondent must immediately furnish a copy of the order to all:
(1) clients of the respondent with matters pending in the respondent's practice;
(2) opposing counsel or co-counsel in the matters listed in (1), above;
(3) courts, tribunals, or adjudicative agencies before which the respondent is counsel of record; and
(4) state, federal, or administrative bars of which respondent is a member.
Within 30 days after service of the order the respondent must furnish bar counsel with a sworn affidavit listing the names and addresses of all persons and entities that have been furnished copies of the order.
