Chief Justice Muñiz: The priority this session will be to secure ‘critical due process needs’
The Florida Bar Board of Governors met in Tallahassee last week
Chief Justice Carlos Muniz
“Critical due process needs” for Florida trial courts and salary increases for judges are some of the Supreme Court’s biggest priorities for the upcoming legislative session, Chief Justice Carlos Muñiz told the Board of Governors.
“Our No. 1 priority legislatively is trying to get additional resources for the trial courts,” Muñiz said, adding that “critical due process needs” mostly means court interpreters, staff attorneys, case managers, and IT support.
At a January 27 meeting in Tallahassee, Muñiz said the Supreme Court is also requesting raises for Florida’s trial court judges. Comparing trial judge compensation can be a challenge, Chief Justice Muñiz said, but a state-by-state ranking shows Florida judges have fallen behind.
“What are you supposed to compare it to? Federal judges? Other state workers?” Muñiz asked. “We think a reasonable benchmark is state averages around the country and by that metric there’s a strong case to be made.”
Implementation of the Sixth District Court of Appeal – Florida’s first new DCA since 1979 – was a success and much of the credit belongs to Chief Judge Meredith Sasso, Muñiz said.
“They’ve done a remarkable job getting that up and running, everything seems to be on track,” he said.
Carolyn Timmann
In keeping with the pre-legislative session theme of the annual Tallahassee Board of Governors meeting, Florida Court Clerks & Comptrollers President Carolyn Timmann told the board that her members are eager to work with The Florida Bar, judicial conferences, and other justice partners to advocate for a strong third branch when the 60-day session convenes March 7.
“We really have so many shared goals between the clerks and comptrollers and members of the Bar,” Timmann said. “We all care about case resolution, and we all care about fast case resolution. We also care deeply about appropriate court funding.”
President Gary Lesser said he has already made the rounds at the Florida Capitol and conducted a series of meetings with legislative leaders. He assured the board that the Bar has a strong advocacy team in place.
Michael Fox Orr
In other business, Board Review Committee on Professional Ethics Chair Michael Fox Orr told the board that the panel is continuing to weigh whether a Florida lawyer may be a passive investor in an alternative business structure (ABS) in another state that allows nonlawyer ownership of law firms.
Alternative business structures are prohibited in Florida, but under current Arizona law, they are perfectly legal – so long as the investors are not involved in providing the legal services.
In March of last year, Bar staff initially declined to issue an opinion based on a lack of Florida precedent. The inquirers requested a Professional Ethics Committee review of the denial. The committee directed staff to prepare a draft opinion with ABA Ethics Opinion 499 as a guiding precedent.
At the Florida Bar’s Winter Meeting in Orlando earlier this month, the Professional Ethics Committee postponed consideration of Proposed Advisory Opinion 23-1. The inquirer’s Tallahassee attorney was unable to attend and sent a colleague instead. He now wants to present additional information to the BRC, Orr said.
“We’ve invited their counsel, Richard Greenberg, to speak at our next meeting,” Orr said.
In an unrelated ethics-related matter, the board voted to approve Board Review Committee on Professional Ethics proposed amendments to Rule 4-7.15 (Unduly Manipulative or Intrusive Advertisements), and Rule 4-7.13 (Deceptive and Inherently Misleading Advertisements).
The proposed changes contain a new subdivision (c) to Rule 4-7.15 that states that a lawyer “may use a testimonial of a celebrity who is a current or former client if the testimonial complies with the requirements of subchapter 4-7.”
The proposed revision to Rule 4-7.13 updates the rule’s comments to reflect “that a celebrity may offer a truthful testimonial if they are a current or former client, and the testimonial complies with the existing requirements in Rule 4-7.13(b)(9).”
The proposed changes go next to the Supreme Court for final consideration.
Josh Chilson
In other business, Communications Committee Chair Josh Chilson said his panel received an update on the progress of the mentoring program from former Young Lawyers Division Presidents Katherine Hurst Miller and Zackary Zuroweste. The Communications Committee has been tasked with assisting in the promotion of the program and recruitment of mentors and mentees. Last year, President Gary Lesser appointed the pair co-chairs the Special Committee on Mentoring New Lawyers.
The special committee, one of Lesser’s top priorities, has developed a mentoring program for beginning lawyers with less than three years of experience who work in firms of three or fewer lawyers.
Expected to launch at the Annual Meeting in June, the program will rely on an electronic platform that will help match mentees with volunteer mentors, Florida Bar members in good standing who have at least five years of experience.
Chilson urged his colleagues to begin spreading the word.
“We’re going to need the help of all to make that a success,” he said.
Gary Lesser
Lesser urged board members to promote another Florida Bar initiative that he is championing, “Life’s Legal Moments.”
The initiative was developed after a June 2022 survey found three in four Floridians consider the state’s legal system difficult to navigate.
The program will help Floridians understand the value attorneys offer as trusted legal advisors during particularly important and challenging life events. More information is available on the initiative’s website.
Tool kits are available to help board members make presentations to community groups, Lesser said, adding that he was recently invited to present “Life’s Legal Moments” to his local chamber of commerce.
“It’s your job,” Lesser said. “It’s not really helpful if lawyers talk to other lawyers, it’s helpful if lawyers talk the public and share these resources in their community.”
