JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — An attorney under investigation by the Florida Bar following numerous failures to appear in court may have had a more tenuous legal practice than some clients realized.
First Coast News has learned that the headquarters of Benjamin Buck Law in Tampa law is actually a mail slot at a UPS Store. His website and LinkedIn page list Buck's law firm at 503 E. Jackson St., "Suite 260." 503 E. Jackson is a UPS Store that rents mailboxes.
Buck’s unexplained absences at multiple court appearances in Jacksonville and around the state have left his clients -- and the courts -- in chaos. Buck began filing formal motions to withdraw from cases in January, saying he was closing his law firm Jan. 20. But he has since failed to show up for hearings on those motions, as required.
Some clients say they paid Buck tens of thousands of dollars for legal services that have not been provided. They were also not notified he was withdrawing from their cases, and some have been in jail months without any contact with Buck.
As of Wednesday, the Florida Bar listed Buck as a member in good standing. But a Bar spokesperson confirmed he is under investigation. His law firm website has been shut down, as has his professional Facebook page. Buck did not return emails or phone messages from First Coast News.
Buck also failed to return an urgent message from Judge Roberto Arias after he missed a Jan. 18 hearing on his motion to withdraw. Arias ordered him to appear the next day, but he again did not show. When Arias called him directly from the bench, Buck explained he had “just landed” in New York City to be with his sick mother.
Buck said he expected to be in New York for some time, and Arias grudgingly agreed to delay his next court date until February.
But in an email obtained by First Coast News, on Saturday, Buck reached out to the judge’s assistant asking to appear before the judge this week on Monday afternoon or Tuesday morning. He did not explain why he was back in Jacksonville. However, he subsequently agreed to stick with the original February court date set by Judge Arias, and said he would be there.
