The Florida Supreme Court on Thursday suspended an Orlando-area workers compensation defense attorney for coaching a witness via text message during a deposition.

Derek Vashon James had represented an employer in a workers compensation matter. On July 31, 2018, Renee Gray, an adjuster who worked for the employer, was deposed via telephone. Mr. James and the claimant’s attorney also participated by telephone in separate locations.

While the deposition was in progress and Ms. Gray was being questioned, Mr. James sent text messages to Ms. Gray regarding her testimony. The texts included coaching and specific directions on how to respond to questions.

When the claimant’s attorney heard typing sounds, she asked Ms. Gray and Mr. James if they were engaging in texting. Mr. James denied texting the adjuster and stated he was only receiving a text from his daughter. The claimant’s attorney then asked him to put away his phone, and he indicated that he would.

After a break in the deposition, Mr. James inadvertently sent texts to the claimant’s attorney that were intended for the adjuster. In one message, he wrote, “just say it anyway.” In another, he said, “don’t give an absolute answer.”

The claimant’s attorney then stopped the deposition. Mr. James told her he sent the texts to the adjuster during the break, not during the questioning.

The claimant’s attorney later filed a motion for production of all the texts that had been sent. After a judge of compensation claims granted the motion, Mr. James produced two pages of text messages to the adjuster.

He maintained that he had sent the texts during a break in the questioning and that the claimant’s attorney had heard him texting his daughter. The judge found that the text messages to the adjuster were sent during the deposition.

In January 2020, the Florida Bar filed a complaint against Mr. James, alleging that he engaged in misconduct by texting the adjuster and lying to the other attorney about it.

The bar’s complaint was referred to a referee, who recommended that Mr. James be found guilty of unlawfully obstructing another party’s access to evidence.

The referee recommended that Mr. James be suspended from the practice of law for 30 days, but the Florida Supreme Court upped the duration to 91 days, finding Mr. James was also guilty of engaging in conduct that was prejudicial to the administration of justice.