Bar board puts a wrap on Vision 2016
The Bar Board of Governors has acted on the last recommendations from the Vision 2016 commission, including reaffirming that nonlawyers should not own law firms in Florida and considering a liaison representing law schools on the board.
The board voted on the final 11 proposals — most of which were to accept commission recommendations not to act on various issues — at its December meeting in Clearwater.
Over the past year or so, the board has considered several recommendations from Vision 2016 and its four subgroups. Most notably it approved a suggestion, since adopted by the Supreme Court, to raise the Bar’s CLE requirement from 30 to 33 hours each three years with the extra three credits devoted to technology issues.
Related to that issue, the board created a board-level Technology Committee and also a Standing Committee on Technology.
The board unanimously rejected a suggestion by the Vision 2016 subgroup on Bar Admissions to establish reciprocity with other states after Bar members expressed overwhelming opposition to that idea.
Vision 2016 was “a concept to study the future of the practice of law in Florida and was transformed into action,” said board member Jay Cohen, who served as administrator of the commission. He noted the commission had four subgroups: legal education, bar admissions, technology, and access to legal services.
“The study and recommendations were met with appreciation in some ways and in other ways were absolutely disdained,” he added. “It engaged our Bar in consideration of the practice of law today and in the future.”
The remaining items acted on by the board in December were lower profile, and the board’s action was necessary to wind up the commission’s work.
Two were referred to the board’s Program Evaluation Committee for further study.
One item is having a permanent body, perhaps through revamping the Student Education and Admissions to the Bar Committee, to work with the board on legal education matters. The second is to have a law school position on the board. The board already has nonvoting ex-officio members representing government lawyers, the Cuban American Bar Association, the Florida Association for Women Lawyers, the Tampa Hispanic Bar Association, and the Virgil Hawkins Florida Chapter of the National Bar Association.
On all remaining matters, the board endorsed Vision 2016’s recommendation not to take any action. Those matters included the so-called “Katrina rule,” which would allow out-of-state lawyers to temporarily open offices in Florida to serve their home-state clients following a natural disaster, allowing lawyers licensed in other countries to practice pro hac vice in Florida, and adopting additional rules relating to conflicts, fees, and training for lawyers who have limited-scope representation contracts with clients. On the latter issue, the commission concluded existing Bar rules are sufficient.
Aside from those issues, the board, at a different part of the meeting, acted on two other recommendations that stemmed from Vision 2016: approving a rule to allow lawyer spouses of military personnel stationed in Florida to practice in the state under certain conditions and asking the Professional Ethics Committee to prepare an ethics opinion on Bar members splitting fees with out-of-state lawyers who may work for law firms with nonlawyer owners.
Earlier recommendations from Vision 2016 include:
• Limiting the number of subjects covered on the bar exam to allow law students to focus more on practical experiences, such as working in legal clinics. The Florida Board of Bar Examiners has formed a committee to conduct a review of subjects tested on the bar exam.
• Approving a rule amendment allowing foreign lawyers to be certified as Authorized House Counsel.
• Preparing and completing an e-etiquette handbook now on the Bar’s website.
• Having a Florida Bar Journal issue devoted to technology, which was done in January 2016.
Additionally, Vision 2016 stimulated a larger discussion on how the legal profession would deal with a changing legal marketplace, being transformed by technology and companies that seek to sell legal forms to consumers and also link consumers with lawyers for certain legal problems.
