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Victor Tobin
Victor Tobin was the chief judge of the Seventeenth Circuit of Florida. He was elected to the court without opposition in 1996 and retired from the bench on June 30, 2011. He served as the chief judge of the court from 2007 to 2011.[1][2]
Education
Tobin received his B.A. from Florida Atlantic University and his J.D. from the University of Miami. He was admitted to the bar in 1974.[3]
Career
Tobin began his legal career at the Broward Public Defender's Office in 1974. He later started a private practice, working with criminal defense, personal injury and medical malpractice cases. He was elected judge of the circuit court in 1996.[2]
Awards and associations
Awards
- 2010: Judge of the Year, Margate Association of Condominiums
- 2010: President's Award for Willingness, Broward County Bar Association
- 2009: Stephen R. Booher Memorial Award
- 2009: Community Service Award for Outstanding Contribution Toward Betterment of Life in Broward County, various bar associations
- 2009: Achievement Award, University of Miami School of Law Alumni Association
- 2004: Outstanding Jurist Award, American Board of Trial Advocates (Ft. Lauderdale Chapter)
- Wheelchair Foundation Award[4]
Associations
- Member, Broward County Bar Association
- Charter member and board of directors, B'nai B'rith Justice Unit #5207
- Former member, Criminal Procedure Rules Committee, The Florida Bar[4]
Noteworthy events
Tobin joins troubled foreclosure firm
Tobin retired from the bench to join the law offices of Marshall C. Watson in Fort Lauderdale. He joined as a supervisor in 2011 after the firm had been investigated for allegedly questionable practices. No wrongdoing was found, but a $2 million settlement had been reached with the state attorney general. Tobin stated, "It was a personal decision that I had to make, and the law firm appeared to be a good fit for me and they felt I was a good fit for them."[5]
In January 2013, Marshall Watson plead guilty to unethical practices after being accused by the Florida Bar of failing to supervise and train his employees properly. His law license was suspended for 91 days, and he was required to pay $35,931 in fees for the bar's analysis and investigation. The law firm was called a "foreclosure mill" by various legal analysts. The term refers to firms which quickly sign-off on many foreclosure documents without properly reviewing them for accuracy. The firm was soon shut down, and Watson was disciplined by the Florida Supreme Court in July 2013.[6][7][8]
Tobin later left this firm and became a Florida Supreme Court Circuit civil mediator with Salmon & Dulberg Alternative Dispute Resolution, a panelist for the American Arbitration Association and an attorney with Tobin & Tobin, P.A.[9]
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Office of the Florida Governor, "Governor Scott Appoints Anuraag "Raag" Singhal to Seventeenth Judicial Circuit Court," August 31, 2011
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Sun Sentinel, "Broward chief judge resigns for private practice," May 18, 2011
- ↑ Martindale, "Victor Tobin - Lawyer Profile," accessed April 22, 2014
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Information submitted via email on October 29, 2014
- ↑ CBS Miami, "Broward’s Chief Judge Resigns To Join Ft. Lauderdale Law Office," May 18, 2011
- ↑ 4closure Fraud.org, "Whoa! Foreclosure mill head, Marshall C. Watson, faces Florida Bar suspension, closure of firm," January 7, 2013
- ↑ Law Offices of Evan M. Rosen, P.A., "Marshall Watson Foreclosure Mill Shut Down After Guilty Plea And Consent to Judgment, Changed Name to Choice Legal Group," January 9, 2013
- ↑ South Florida Business Journal, "Attorneys disciplined: Marshall C. Watson among 11 in South Florida," July 31, 2013
- ↑ Information submitted via email on October 22, 2014
