Professionalism trending in the right direction’
Professionalism trending ‘in the right direction’
Senior Editor
As he prepares for mandatory retirement at the end of the year, Florida Supreme Court Justice Fred Lewis says he is encouraged by the progress of a statewide effort to raise the level of professionalism in Florida’s legal community.
“I think it’s going in the right direction,” Lewis said. “It’s like anything else, it takes a while to smooth out the rough edges and it’s not perfected by any means.”
Lewis made the remarks after chairing a meeting of the Supreme Court Commission on Professionalism and Civility at the Bar’s Annual Convention in Orlando. Lewis has been championing the effort for more than five years.
Lewis reported that the court concluded that while the system is not perfect, there is no need at this time to adopt a formal professionalism code of conduct. Lewis reached the same conclusion in a 2013 Supreme Court order he wrote titled, “In Re: Code for Resolving Professionalism Complaints.”
The order called for the creation of local professionalism panels in all of Florida’s 20 judicial circuits, “to receive, screen and act upon any and all complaints of unprofessional conduct and to resolve those complaints informally, if possible.”
D. Culver “Skip” Smith III, a West Palm Beach attorney who represented his circuit’s professionalism panel at the commission hearing, said most lawyers will be breathing a sigh of relief.
Smith, who defends attorneys in formal grievance procedures, said the decision is more in keeping with the educational approach that is at the heart of the professionalism process.
“I think it’s the right thing to do,” Smith said. “For one thing, it would be difficult to enforce.”
Overly aggressive lawyers respond better to informal correction, said Duval County Judge Meredith Charbula, a commission member.
“When your Bar license is at issue, you might tend to be more defensive and not as open to looking at the way you practice,” Charbula said. “We give them an opportunity to look at it in a less career-threatening environment.”
Lewis said the professionalism panels are not a reflection of court frustration.
They were designed as a type of legal triage to respond quickly to minor behavior problems before they grow more serious, Lewis said.
“This is designed so that within a week, if something goes wrong, the problem is addressed and dealt with.”
One of the biggest challenges remaining, Lewis said, is getting the word out. The commission works closely with The Florida Bar and its Henry Latimer Center for Professionalism to promote the program and educate lawyers who receive complaints.
While they operate with the same “core values,” the panels require a lot of latitude and flexibility to work, Lewis said.
“The same thing that goes on in Live Oak or Lake City, that’s not the way you practice in Palm Beach, or Ft. Lauderdale or Miami or Tampa, or Jacksonville,” Lewis said. “Florida is like at least three different states, maybe more. This was designed to serve the needs of the local communities.”
