June 1, l999

Ms. Kathi Lee Kilpatrick
Assistant Director - Lawyer Regulations
The Florida Bar
650 Apalachee Parkway
Tallahassee, Florida 32399-2300

Re:

Meryl and Norman Lanson’s Complaint against Ronald Carl Kopplow, Esq.
The Florida Bar File No. 99-70,104(11F)
Meryl and Norman Lanson's Complaint against Marc Cooper, Esq.
The Florida Bar File No. 99-70,103(11F)

Dear Ms. Kilpatrick:

On Wednesday, March 17, 1999 we spoke with regard to the above Complaint. At that time I expressed to you my displeasure and utter shock at the treatment I received from the Miami branch of The Florida Bar. You explained to me the procedure that needed to be followed within the "chain of command" at The Florida Bar. I was quite reluctant to give the Miami branch another chance to fully investigate this matter but I acquiesced out of respect for you, your position and the genuine, sincere concern in your voice. I believe now I have reached the next level of my "journey for justice" and I trust that it will be found right here and now at The Florida Bar in Tallahassee. Of course, this matter is of personal concern for me but more importantly it should be of greater concern for you, The Florida Bar, and for the public that you are empowered to protect. I am sending you factual, contractual hard evidence of unethical attorney misconduct. What more will it take and how catastrophic will the situation have to be for you to finally get the message and take the appropriate action against Ronald Carl Kopplow. Please, I urge you to give me the courtesy and take the time to read this file in its entirety and you will no doubt see that Ronald Carl Kopplow is not only incredibly unethical but you will concur that he totally disregards the law of which he is licensed to uphold. For what Mr. Kopplow has done to us is absolutely criminal. Ms. Kilpatrick, please keep in mind that this is no small matter. Mr. Kopplow has personally caused us damage in excess of $10 million. That will be addressed in the appropriate civil forum. I will reiterate again and again - we trusted our attorney, Mr. Kopplow, as we had the right to do and he, Mr. Kopplow, took advantage of that trust and lead us up a path of emotional and financial destruction all for his own gain and that of the defendants and others in the underlying lawsuit.

In responding to our initial Bar complaint, Messrs. Cooper and Kopplow so transparently took advantage of their legal training for their own self-serving needs in hopes of distracting the Bar from Mr. Kopplow’s numerous ethical violations. Please pay special attention to our response to Cooper and Kopplow’s response dated September 6, 1998. Our response was written from the heart and the mind based on absolute validity and truth so help me God.

A member of The Florida Bar recently gave me the attached letter. I have highlighted the part which says "another argument against using the ethical rules as evidence of malpractice is that disciplinary bodies may hesitate to enforce the rules if they know enforcement will also result in civil penalties. If that is such, which is apparent to be, then you owe a duty to the public to make them aware that disciplinary actions will not be enforced if civil redress will be instituted. Again, I ask to be provided with information as to why this matter is being "shoved under the rug" and by whom?

I hold true to my promise that this matter will not be ignored and I will not go away until JUSTICE, in every sense of that beautiful word, will PREVAIL!

Sincerely,

Meryl M. Lanson

cc: Tony Boggs, Director, Legal Division
John F. Harkness, Jr., Executive Director
Bill Hendrix, Director, Lawyer Regulations

Enclosures