Bar unveils new Corporate Counsel Committee, approves rule amendments
Convening for the last time in 2024, the Board of Governors Friday approved a raft of proposed rule amendments – one would create a new reporting requirement for thousands of Florida Registered Paralegals – and launched a “Florida Bar Standing Committee for Corporate Counsel.”
Addressing her colleagues in a St. Augustine conference room, President-elect Rosalyn Sia Baker-Barnes, a civil trial lawyer from West Palm Beach, said the Corporate Counsel Committee will serve a segment of Florida’s legal community that is too often overlooked.
“They feel that they do not have a role to play in our Bar because we have not paid attention to them,” she said. “I feel that this is desperately needed.”
The committee’s mission will include promoting professionalism among corporate counsel lawyers, providing tailored and practical legal education, serving as a platform for networking and sharing best practices, and addressing “the unique challenges and opportunities” faced by in-house legal counsel.
“Additionally, the Committee will work to enhance the participation, representation, and involvement of corporate counsel attorneys within The Florida Bar, ensuring their interests are aligned with and well-represented in the Bar’s initiatives and activities,” an analysis states.
The committee will emphasize critical aspects of business law, including compliance, risk management, transactional matters, and corporate governance, which are “particularly significant to the corporations and their legal counsels that have been increasingly migrating to Florida to join its robust and expanding economy,” the analysis notes.
By tailoring legal services to serve the needs of corporate clients, the committee will enhance Florida’s position as a “premier destination” for businesses and their legal teams, according to the analysis.
Responses to the last three Florida Bar Membership Opinion surveys, (2019, 2021, and 2024) show that corporate counsel comprise 6% of the membership. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission figures show Florida was the number one state for corporate relocations in 2023. In the first quarter of 2024, more than 100,000 new businesses were formed in Florida.
Open to all Florida Bar members, the committee’s ranks will be selected by the president-elect.
“I just wanted to make you aware that we will be talking about it more in January,” Barker-Barnes said, referring to a January 17 board meeting that will take place in Tallahassee.
In other business the board voted without objection to approve a long series of proposed changes to the Internal Operation Procedures, or “IOPs,” of the Rules of General Practice and Judicial Administration Committee, the Appellate Court Rules Committee, the Criminal Procedure Rules Committee, and the Code and Rules of Evidence Committee.
The revisions are designed to make the rule development process more uniform and efficient and grew out of the recommendations from a Bar-commissioned study in August 2022, “Evaluation of Development and Review of Court Rules Proposals by The Florida Bar Rules Committees” by outside consultant Lisa Kiel, a former Florida State Courts Administrator.
In other action, the board voted to approve a proposed revision to Rule 1-12.1 (Amendments to Rules; Authority; Notice; Procedures; Comments), that would authorize the Bar to file a response to comments filed in rules petition cases within 30 days of the comment deadline.
Another proposal to enhance efficiency, proponents state that the revision would eliminate a procedure that currently requires the Bar to file a “motion for leave to respond to comments.”
“If the rule is amended as proposed, the Bar would no longer have to file the motion and the [Supreme] Court would not have to rule, conserving judicial resources,” according to the sponsor.
In other action, Board Technology Committee Chair Duffy Myrtetus said his panel is continuing to work with the Cybersecurity & Privacy Law Committee to develop practical guides for Florida Bar members.
One of the major initiatives involves developing guidelines lawyers can follow to create their own incident response plans for responding to ransomware and other cyber-attacks, Myrtetus said.
The committee is also studying what is known in the industry as a “Kia Audit,” Myrtetus said.
“The ‘Kia Audit’ was created to determine an outside counsel’s proficiency with technology before they are hired,” he said.
One of five tech-related subcommittees will focus on how generative AI can be used to expand access to justice, he said.
In other business, the board voted to approve a proposed revision to Standing Board Policy 15.91. Within subdivision (b), the revisions would delete subdivisions (1) and (2) that require the Bar to provide copies of a respondent’s replies to Bar counsel and grievance committee inquiries.
Many times, a complainant will respond and dispute the answer or reiterate information Bar investigators already have, causing confusion, according to Bar staff. Sponsors assured board members that complainants will still receive regular updates.
The board voted without objection to approve proposed amendments to Rule 20-5.2 (Duty to Update). The proposed amendments would require Florida Registered Paralegals, instead of The Florida Bar, to report any changes in their registration status to their supervising attorneys or employers.
Sponsors note that with more than 4,600 FRPs, the burden should rest with the paralegal, and not Bar staff.
Hillary Creary
Before adjourning, the board bid an emotional farewell to veteran colleague Hilary Creary, a Ft. Lauderdale legal aid supervising attorney who is stepping down from her seat after being appointed general magistrate for 17th Circuit Domestic Relations Division.
Baker-Barnes praised her friend’s “courage, integrity, and empathy.”
“She is moving on to becoming a judge in Broward County, and I know she has a passion for family law,” Baker-Barnes said. “She passionately knows and cares about the work of this board.”
Creary welled up as she thanked her colleagues for their support.
“It’s the greatest honor of my profession to have served with you on this board, and that’s because what we do matters,” Creary said.
In other action, the board also voted to approve:
- Adding “ADR Support,” a practice management service designed for full-time mediators and arbitrators, to The Florida Bar Member Benefits Program. The company provides administrative support, including client communication, scheduling, invoicing, bookkeeping, case management, marketing, and IT support,” according to ADR promotional material. The company is offering to waive a $7,500 standard set-up fee for qualifying Florida Bar members.
- Adding “PATLive” to The Florida Bar Member Benefit Program. The Tallahassee-based company offers a virtual receptionist and communications support. Florida Bar members would receive a 10% discount, and the company would pay the Bar $150 for every member who signs up, and $5,000 toward Bar initiatives and participate in the Annual Florida Bar Convention.
