Gawayne A. Kelly

⸻ Hiring Gawayne was the worst decision I could have made. From day one he was unprepared, completely clueless about the parenting plan, and his incompetence sabotaged my hearing. After initially agreeing to a flat rate and verbally promising to meet critical deadlines, he later demanded another... $3,000 just to show up in court — claiming the retainer had been burned through on “basic communication,” yet never once providing a proper receipt. This attorney is a liar, a thief, and flat-out terrible at what he does. He left my case in shambles, dodged accountability, and tried to bleed me for more money instead of actually doing his job. He is nothing more than a clown in a suit who preys on vulnerable clients. Avoid him at all costs.

Complaint Against Attorney Gawayne Kelly To Whom It May Concern, I am filing this complaint against attorney Gawayne Kelly for serious misconduct, incompetence, and unethical behavior that caused significant harm to my legal matter and personal well-being. 1. Lack of Preparation and Competence ...at Hearings: At a key hearing, Mr. Kelly appeared completely unprepared and unfamiliar with the outlined parenting plan. His lack of preparation undermined my position and caused irreparable harm to my case. 2. Failure to Prepare for Financial Deposition: At a financial deposition involving my tax preparer, opposing counsel had properly interviewed my tax preparer in advance and came well-prepared. In contrast, Mr. Kelly failed to contact or interview my tax preparer prior to the hearing. When the judge asked him why he had not conducted this basic and necessary preparation, Mr. Kelly stated that he “didn’t think it was important.” The judge was visibly shocked by this response. As a result, Mr. Kelly attempted to conduct a rushed, five-minute interview with my tax preparer in the hallway outside the courtroom during the trial, while opposing counsel listened in. This inadequate preparation left me defenseless, and I lost horribly in the financial portion of my case because of his negligence. 3. Dishonesty Regarding Retainer and Fees: After initially hiring Mr. Kelly through Marble Law, I retained him directly under a flat-rate agreement. He verbally promised to meet critical deadlines. Despite this, he later demanded an additional $3,000 to appear at a hearing, claiming that my retainer had been exhausted on “basic communication.” No detailed receipts or itemized invoices were ever provided. 4. Failure of Communication and Accountability: Throughout his representation, Mr. Kelly failed to respond to important questions and left me without critical guidance. Many of the communications that did occur were only necessary because of his lack of preparation and follow-through. 5. Abandonment and Withholding of Client Documents: When I confronted Mr. Kelly about his unprofessional behavior, he abruptly withdrew from my case one week before a scheduled court date, leaving me without representation at a critical moment. After I retained a new attorney, Mr. Kelly refused to release my case file or documents, forcing my new attorney to start from scratch. This obstruction wasted valuable time and resources, while further jeopardizing my legal position. 6. Harm to My Case and Personal Impact: As a result of Mr. Kelly’s negligence, dishonesty, and abandonment, I suffered significant financial and personal harm. His lack of preparation at multiple stages of the case — especially compared to the opposing counsel’s thorough work — directly led to devastating outcomes. His actions not only ruined my case but nearly ruined my life. Conclusion: Attorney Gawayne Kelly’s conduct reflects incompetence, dishonesty, abandonment of a client, and a serious lack of professionalism. His actions fell well below the standards of the legal profession and violated the trust that clients are entitled to place in their attorneys. I respectfully request that the Florida Bar investigate these violations and hold Mr. Kelly accountable for his misconduct. Sincerely, Laron Frazier 7631 West Atlantic Ave Delray Beach, FL 33446 Phone: 954-673-0928 Email: [email protected]

This lawyer told me he will no longer represent me 1 week before trial after I asked him why he charged me for several things such as motions that were never filed after me retaining him for 1o months and spending over 15 grand . He laughed and said don't worry about the past , worry about my court d...ate in 5 days. He said he can look back in his notes but would rather resign then do that . This comes after him being gone for almost 3 weeks on a vacation and him failing to give me information that could have started temporary visitation with my son. This information was emailed to him from the opposing counsel agreeing to supervised visitation. His staff never called me , in fact I called them when this guy wasn't answering me regarding a emergency in my case. I had to wait 3 weeks for this information , and the first day he comes back from vacation he quits. 5 days before trial. This court date took 5 months to be set. There is 5 days left for trial and no lawyer has the availability with all the prep that needs to be done as well as attending a couple hours hearing at such short notice . This guy was so incompetent , he had a guardian ad lit em a judge and the opposing counsel all laugh at me as the ending to a hearing by horrible butchering and misrepresenting facts related to my suspended time sharing. His office sends you a monthly update that just includes the court upcoming court date and that's it . A court day is months away and he repeatedly sends a copy and paste every months and bills you for a "status update" it's like 2 or 3 pages long and the only information is the upcoming court date. The first time I received it I actually thought there was a update and read it only to find out it's just a court date. After a court date the date changes and it's just copy and paste again. Then on the month of court you get billed for a reminder that court is coming up. You get billed generally 3-5 times per hearing just on being emailed your court date. Everytime I call him he will sit quiet on the phone for no less then 5 minutes after you say anything... and says he's writing notes. Your simple question turns into at least a half hour of silence , and 10 minutes of conversation filled with long silent gaps , then rounded up to a hour and you get billed a couple hundred for a simple question at a high hourly rate. Then when you ask him about your case he always says he does not remember and that he does not have his notes in front of him . Not 1 time did he have his notes in him in 10 months. Just think about the ethics of a lawyer to quit 5 days before trial when all invoices were always paid on time and the only issue was you bringing him concerns about being charged for things on invoices that were never filed . There was a emergency where the other party stopped complying with a court order so I had to wait 3 weeks for this con to get back and update him. The same day he came back he quit. Took 3 week vacation with no notice to me . Then came back 5 days before trial and quit . Failed to file a contempt motion for a whole 3 weeks and ultimately just quit. He send me a consent to withdraw and after I refused unless I get compensated to be able to find a attorney on such short notice. I refuse to sign it . He filed a urgent motion to withdraw and left me in this horrible predicament where I probably won't see my son for another 5 months when it was suppose to be this court date in 5 days. So traumatized by this experience. Please look elsewhere as there is no ethics or morals by this man. BEWARE! Please spend your hard earned money on a lawyer who has the ethics not to quit 5 days before the day you been preparing and spending over 15 grand for 10 months . Feels like I have been robbed .