The Florida Bar Board of Governors met in person (with some members attending via Zoom video conference) on October 1, 2021. The major actions of the Board and reports received included:
The Board requested a four-month extension (to February 11, 2022) from the October 11 deadline the Supreme Court set for developing proposed Bar Rule 3-5.2 for temporarily suspending lawyers who face felony charges. The Disciplinary Procedure Committee asked the board to seek more time to develop the rule after the Criminal Law Section expressed due process concerns and committed to providing an alternative proposal for consideration by December 1. In a June letter, justices cited a “continuing need to protect the public,” and noted that Bar Rule 3-7.2 provides for suspensions only after a determination of guilt has been made in a criminal case.
The Special Committee for the Review of Professionalism in Florida reported that it is on track to deliver final recommendations to the board by December. The committee was directed to review the Bar’s professionalism standards, how they are taught to law students and lawyers and reinforced throughout a lawyer’s career, and how they are enforced.
The Board approved a recommendation developed by the COVID-19 Pandemic Recovery Task Force to ask the Supreme Court to consider a managed mediation program to address an expected flood of evictions. The recommendations are based on a 2009 report by a Florida Supreme Court task force that recommended a managed mediation program to address an avalanche of mortgage foreclosures that accompanied an economic downturn.
The Board of Governors completed an initial review of several proposed rule amendments regarding disciplinary procedures. The proposals include amendments to Bar Rule 3-5.1, which addresses minor misconduct. Another proposed amendment to Rule 3-5.1 would give a respondent 30 days instead of 15 to accept or reject a Board of Governors or grievance committee offer of minor misconduct.
A proposed amendment to Bar Rule 3-7.9, regarding Consent Judgment, would make changes to subdivisions (a) and (b) that would “ensure that the appropriate constituent of the client, the designated reviewer, reviews and approves rejection of an offer by a respondent, and Bar counsel alone cannot reject an offer by a respondent,” according to a staff analysis. Read more in the Bar News.
Special appointments to be made at the December meeting:
- Florida Realtor-Attorney Joint Committee (6 lawyers, one from each appellate district and one at-large; 2-year terms beginning January 1, 2022)
- Eleventh Circuit Judicial Conference (Northern District) (1 lawyer for 4-year term beginning January 1, 2022)
- Florida Rural Legal Services Board of Directors (1 lawyer for 3-year term beginning January 1, 2022)
Important Links & Reminders
