A blunt 26-page internal report delivered to the Jacksonville Bar Association’s board accuses the group’s longtime executive director of masking losses, inflating membership counts and shifting costs into the association’s Lawyer Referral Service. Interim executive director Jonathan McGowan warns the practices sharply reduced operational reserves and says the group’s current “burn rate” could drain remaining funds within a few years. The document landed on the board’s desk at the end of March and has already sparked calls for an independent review.
Action News Jax obtained a copy of the report and published its findings on April 6, 2026. According to the station, McGowan submitted the 26-page document to the JBA board on March 31 and warned that the word “false” appears repeatedly throughout the filing.
What McGowan’s Report Found
According to Scribd, which hosts the report, McGowan alleges the former executive director kept what amounted to two sets of financial records and shifted overhead and other expenses from the JBA into the Lawyer Referral Service to make both entities appear healthier on paper. The document says the JBA’s operational reserves dropped from about $405,000 in July 2021 to roughly $160,000 by January 2026, while the LRS held more than $200,000 in a money-market account. It also alleges incorrect IRS Form 990 filings for fiscal years 2022 and 2023 and urges the board to order an independent audit, file amended returns and bring in outside legal counsel.
Membership and Pay Discrepancies
McGowan’s analysis disputes a public claim that the JBA’s membership had exceeded 2,400 lawyers, instead finding about 1,638 paid members, or roughly 34 percent of active Duval County attorneys. The report also documents a near-70 percent increase in the former director’s salary during his tenure and raises questions about bonuses that were tied to the same disputed performance numbers. “Many of you will find the information contained in this report disturbing,” McGowan wrote.
JBA Response and Board Review
In a statement to Action News Jax, the Jacksonville Bar Association noted that McGowan released the report weeks after his employment ended and on the same day he filed to run for a board seat, adding that “the report contains inaccuracies and unfounded assumptions.” The association said independent CPAs have prepared its annual financial statements and that, since questions were first raised in January 2026, it has been reviewing the books with its CPA and an independent bookkeeper. That review is still underway, the JBA said, and no accounting professional has yet expressed support for McGowan’s conclusions.
Calls for an Audit and Potential Exposure
McGowan is urging the board to commission an independent audit of fiscal years 2021 through 2023, to file amended IRS returns before deadlines expire, to restructure the Lawyer Referral Service and to hire outside counsel to assess potential liability. He warns that if the alleged oversight failures are confirmed, individual board members could face personal legal exposure. The report casts those steps as urgent measures meant to protect the association and its programs.
Craig Shoup, the longtime executive director named in the report, resigned in October 2025 after a brief and later-rescinded city job offer, and McGowan stepped in as interim director in late September 2025. The earlier resignation and interim appointment were reported by the Jacksonville Daily Record, which covered Shoup’s public account of health and job matters at the time.
Board members, local lawyers and users of the Lawyer Referral Service are now watching for the next move as the JBA’s internal review continues. The association says its financial review is ongoing, while McGowan’s report and the board’s response have put the organization’s governance and accounting practices squarely in the public eye.
