BOG Meeting Preview – July 2019
This email was sent to all Florida Bar members to provide information on items for action or discussion coming up at the July 19, 2019, Board of Governors meeting.
Action Items
The Board of Governors is expected to debate a proposal for registering online legal services providers. President John Stewart is expected to present an amendment to Florida Bar Rules that would, among other things, create “Chapter 23, Registered Service Provider Program.” Approved by the Special Committee on Technologies Affecting the Practice of Law, which Stewart chaired, the voluntary program is designed to strengthen protection and expand economic opportunity for Bar members while promoting cooperative relationships with unregulated providers. The proposal was noticed to Bar members on April 15, appeared on first reading at the board’s May meeting, and is up for final board action. It would still require approval by the Supreme Court. Under the proposal, companies would be allowed to promote themselves as “Registered with The Florida Bar” if they agree to comply with certain Bar regulations. Read more in this May 10 Bar News article.
In other business, the board is expected to debate a request for an ethics advisory opinion regarding the approximately 150 lawyers in Florida who serve as Guardians ad Litem in child dependency and parental termination matters. The issue stems from a long-standing debate over whether every child in Florida should have the right to an attorney.
In other matters, the board is expected to:
- Receive a report on the Florida Commission on Access to Civil Justice from Commission Executive Committee Chair Greg Coleman, a former Bar president.
- Decide an advertising appeal from a Bar member who claims Bar rules discriminate against women who hyphenate their names after marriage.