Henry Latimer Center for Professionalism
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Florida Guidelines of Practice For Lawyers Who Represent Children in Abuse and Neglect Cases

On January 18, 2006, The Florida Bar's Standing Committee on the Legal Needs of Children adopted a set of voluntary guidelines for attorneys representing children in abuse and neglect cases in Florida. These guidelines have not been approved by the Florida Bar Board of Governors and are non-binding. These guidelines seek to inform practitioners of the special situations one might encounter in representing children in abuse and neglect cases. Access the Florida Dependency Attorney Guidelines.

Professionalism Works!
"You can do well by doing good." Chesterfield Smith, Past President, Florida Bar 1964.

Do you know an attorney that has demonstrated an act of outstanding professionalism? Do you know an attorney who is successful because of the good they have done? If so, we would like to hear about it.

So often we hear about only the negative actions of lawyers when we know there is a lot of good being done throughout the legal community. We want to capture these good works and highlight them in The Professional, the Center's quarterly newsletter.

If you would like to tell us about someone who you feel is deserving of this type of recognition, please let us know. Email the Center at cfp@flabar.org. Let's start sharing the thought that Professionalism Works!

• Professionalism Defined
• History of the Center, Commission, and Standing Committee
• The Supreme Court’s Commission on Professionalism governs the Center according to its mission statement, and guides the activities and focus of the Center.
• The Florida Bar's Standing Committee on Professionalism works closely with both the Center and Commission in carrying out the mission of the Commission as well as conducting events, awards, and contests (see below). The Committee Project Manual (23 pg. pdf) contains complete information on all projects.
• Resolution renaming the Center.

• Sign up to be paired with a law student and communicate via email.
• The FAQ's about eMentoring will tell you more. See our Mentor Resource page also.
• E-mail us to order The Do's and Dont's of Mentoring. This Professionalism CLE is available for $35 plus tax, which includes a VHS or DVD and Participant Guide.

• CLE Guidelines explain what is necessary in qualifying for Professionalism CLE.
• Online Professionalism CLE Course provides 5 hours of Professionalism CLE online!
• Historical Video Series is made up of more than 30 interviews, each approved for one hour of Professionalism CLE, are available for $35 each plus tax.
  (One example from the video series: Sandy D'Alemberte discusses the definition of professionalism. There is a 34 second video clip preview. You must have RealPlayer to view this file. You can download the RealPlayer 8 Basic Beta for free at www.real.com
• Program Guide (15 pg. pdf) Provides examples of prior Professionalism Programs, to assist with design concepts for your program.

• E-mail us to sign up for Faculty Training Workshop. The workshop is a two-day seminar provides information about how to become a better presenter. This free seminar is CLE approved!
• E-mail us to sign up for Certified Diversity Training. This two-day seminar which allows participants to become Certified Diversity Trainers. This free program also is CLE approved.

• William Hoeveler Judicial Award seeks nominations annually for members of the Judiciary that have exemplified professionalism.

• Subscribe via e-mail to our quarterly newsletter, The Professional. View past issues.
• Research Database - find articles, reports, and other information on professionalism issues.
• 2004 Annual Report for the Center for Professionalism (22 pg. pdf)
• Law School Reports on Professionalism show efforts being made by law schools toward professionalism.
• Overview of Professionalism Circuit Committees highlight the many activities being done by Professionalism Circuit Committees throughout the state.
• Law Student Handbooks are provided annually to all law students in Professional Responsibility classes and can be downloaded for your use.
• Final Report and Recommendation of the 2004 Florida Bar Diversity Symposium is available in pdf format.

In This Section

• Ideals
• Guidelines
• About the Center
  • Professionalism Defined
  • History
  • Supreme Court's Commission
  • Committee on Professionalism
• CLE
  • CLE Guidelines
  • Online Professionalism CLE Course
  • Historical Videos Series
• eMentoring
• Training
• Awards
• Resources
  • The Professional
  • Research Database
  • Law School Reports
  • Circuit Committees
  • Law Student Handbooks