Broward's Chief Judge Resigns To Join Ft. Lauderdale Law Office
FORT LAUDERDALE (CBS4)- Broward County Chief Judge Victor Tobin is resigning from the bench to join an embattled foreclosure processing law practice, the judge informed Gov. Rick Scott in a letter this week.
Tobin plans to resign on June 30, and return to the private sector at the Law Offices of Marshall C. Watson in Fort Lauderdale.
In March, the Watson law firm reached a $2 million settlement with the state attorney general after an investigation into questionable foreclosure practices. The settlement cited no specific finding of wrongdoing, but the firm has had at least one major client pull all its files, according to CBS4 news partner The Miami Herald.
Tobin said he will join the firm in a supervisory role, and promote "professional standards and best practices" among its lawyers.
Tobin has served as Broward County's chief judge for four years, and has served the county in some capacity on the bench for 15 years.
"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," he said. "I have accomplished in my opinion everything that I wanted to accomplish as a judge."
Critics of the move say that the county's top judge should not go to work for a firm accused of skirting the legal process in foreclosure cases.
"It's surprising that a judge would want to go into that area of law, especially for a firm that has been investigated," said Chris Immel, a foreclosure defense attorney with Ice Legal, which handles cases throughout South Florida. "It might raise a question of how long this has been in the works, or whether or not he presided over Marshall Watson cases."
Tobin said he would not work on any case files he had signed as chief judge, and that he would not spend much time in the courtroom.
As chief judge, he did not regularly hear cases in Broward County's foreclosure division, he said.
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