Board to take up conflicts of interest
Board to take up conflicts of interest
A change to conflict of interest rules to encourage lawyers to offer limited services through clinics and hotlines, an address by Chief Justice Jorge Labarga, and legislative matters will be on the Bar Board of Governors January 20 meeting agenda.
The Tallahassee meeting will also feature the Annual Pro Bono Service Awards program January 19 at the Supreme Court, which features The Florida Bar President’s Pro Bono Awards and the Tobias Simon Pro Bono Service Award. The board will also be updated on efforts to meet its strategic plan goals.
Conflicts
The conflict of interest issue involves an amendment to Rule 4-1.2 and creation of new Rule 4-6.6. The effect of both is to “slightly” relax “application of conflicts rules in the context of short-term, limited representation through a nonprofit organization, court, government agency, bar association, or an American Bar Association-accredited law school,” according to information provided to the board.
Such organizations frequently sponsor hotlines, clinics, information booths, and provide consultation to pro se litigants that usually involve a single meeting between the lawyer and client and where the limited service is provided.
In such cases, it is difficult for the lawyer to perform a conflicts of interest check and there is little risk the lawyer will use or have information about an existing client to the detriment of that client.
“If the lawyer knows of a conflict of either the lawyer or the lawyer’s firm, the lawyer would be precluded from giving the limited assistance and that person would be referred to another lawyer from a different firm,” according to board materials. “This slight relaxation of the rules would encourage lawyers to agree to engage in these limited representations, which will increase access to justice.”
The Bar’s Pro Bono Legal Services Committee approved the changes 16-0 and they passed the review of the board’s Rules Committee, which initially presented the modifications to the board at its December meeting.
The Chief
The chief justice traditionally addresses the board at its January meeting, and other justices also attend the meeting and have lunch with the board. The meeting will come in the midst of state House and Senate committee meetings in preparation for the 2017 Regular Session, which begins March 7. One issue of interest to both the courts and the Bar that is expected reintroduction of a constitutional amendment to impose term limits on all or part of the judiciary. (See story in the December 15 Bar News.)
Legislation
On legislative matters, the Code and Rules of Evidence Committee is asking permission to readopt all six of its legislative positions from the 2014-16 sessions for the 2016-17 biennium. Those are:
• Supporting amendments to F.S. §§90.202(9) & 90.205, regarding judicial notice, to modernize language.
• Supporting an amendment to F.S. §90.406, regarding relevance to conform to Fed. R. Evid. 406 and to codify Florida common law.
• Supporting amendments to F.S. §§90.603-90.607, regarding witnesses to make provisions consistent with other statutes and federal rule counterparts, to clarify that a child testifying must understand both the need to tell the truth and the duty not to lie, and the standard for determining the need for an interpreter and to ensure that the interpreter is properly qualified.
• Supporting revisions to four subdivisions of F.S. §90.803, regarding hearsay to make usage/grammatical/punctuation changes and to conform to the Federal Rules of Evidence.
• Supporting amendments to F.S. §90.951, regarding contents of writings, recordings, and photographs to modernize language by adding new technology such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).
• Supporting amendments to F.S. §§458.3175(2)(b), 459.066(2)(b), and 466.005(2)(b), to add “if otherwise qualified under Chapters 90 and 766, F.S.” at the end of each subdivision so that existing language is not construed as overriding detailed predicates for expert testimony contained in F.S. Chapter 766, and general expert qualifications in Chapter 90 — with the further understanding that The Florida Bar considers F.S. §766.102(12) to be unconstitutional.
Strategic Plan
On the strategic plan, Bar President Bill Schifino has scheduled reports on specific efforts this year to help the Bar advance its plan goals. Those include improving diversity on judicial nominating commissions, enhancing member benefits, improving communications with the public and Bar members, helping members with technology, educating the public about the upcoming Constitution Revision Commission, and streamlining Bar and court procedural rules.
