Munson leads the Florida Board of Bar Examiners
'The board staff are the most efficient and dedicated group of people that I can honestly say I’ve ever worked with'
Rachelle Munson
Rachelle Munson of Tallahassee has become chair of the Florida Board of Bar Examiners, which implements the Florida Supreme Court’s constitutional authority to oversee and regulate admissions of new attorneys to The Florida Bar.
Munson, a senior assistant attorney general in the Administrative Law Bureau of the Office of the Attorney General, became chair on November 1. Admitted to The Florida Bar in 2000, Munson served as vice chair of the board last year and serves as a member of The Florida Bar’s Administrative Law and Government Lawyer sections.
Munson says that the chance to lead the board is humbling.
“I’m very excited to serve as chair among such an amazing and dedicated group of professionals who truly champion the work in front of us,” Munson said.
First appointed to the board in 2018, Munson has served variously as a senior attorney with the Department of Economic Opportunity/Reemployment Assistance Appeals Commission, program administrator for the Agency for Workforce Innovation in Central Florida, and as an administrative hearing officer with the former Department of Labor and Employment Security.
Munson praised the staff members who work for the board for their efforts since her initial appointment.
“The board staff are the most efficient and dedicated group of people that I can honestly say I’ve ever worked with,” Munson said.
Munson has served as the past president of the Virgil Hawkins Florida Chapter National Bar Association, past president of the Paul C. Perkins Bar Association, and former member of the Florida Supreme Court Standing Committee on Fairness and Diversity. A double Gator, Munson is a graduate of the University of Florida College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and the Levin College of Law.
Munson expects the standard of the board’s work to remain outstanding during her tenure as chair.
“I want to be able to continue the level of excellence since the beginning of my time on the board. This is a collegial group and I want to emphasize [to them] that the work that is being done is meaningful and the level of appreciation is sincere,” Munson said.
“As chair, I want to continue to maintain what is required in our review of character and fitness and the appreciation of the rules of the Supreme Court,” Munson said.
Melinda (Mindy) McNichols
Additionally, Melinda (Mindy) McNichols will serve as vice chair this year and will become chair of the board a year from now. Admitted to The Florida Bar in 1985, McNichols started her legal career in private practice with Stearns Weaver Miller in Miami and worked with Legal Services of Greater Miami, Inc., the Department of Children and Families, the Miami-Dade County Commission, and the Miami-Dade County School Board Attorney’s Office from 2002 to 2021.
The Board of Bar Examiners’ website, located at www.floridabarexam.org, has the board’s computerized bar application forms and features the full text of the Rules of the Supreme Court Relating to Admissions to the Bar, Frequently Asked Questions, and links to other agencies, including The Florida Bar and the Florida Supreme Court.
