Senate President Kathleen Passidomo scheduled to address the Board of Governors in Naples
Board will also hear a Florida Public Defender Association proposal to allow law school graduates to practice for up to a year, under the supervision of an attorney, while they await Bar admission
Sen. Kathleen Passidomo
When it meets next month in Naples, the Board of Governors will consider a proposed rule amendment that could help prosecutors, public defenders, and legal aid organizations recruit beginning lawyers.
The May 12 meeting is expected to begin with remarks from Senate President Kathleen Passidomo. The Naples attorney and member of the Real Property, Probate, and Trust Law Section will address the board after having just wrapped her first session as the upper chamber’s presiding officer.
In keeping with the board’s ongoing efforts to increase access to legal services, the Rules Committee is scheduled to present a Florida Public Defender Association proposal to allow law school graduates to practice for up to a year, under the supervision of an attorney, while they await Bar admission.
Prosecutors and public defenders told legislative committees in January that they needed pay raises to counter “unprecedented” turnover and a dearth of applicants.
In a September 9 letter to Lawyer Regulation Division Director Elizabeth Clark Tarbert, FPDA President Carlos Martinez said a new practice program for law school graduates could also bolster recruiting for public defenders, prosecutors, and legal aid organizations.
“The Rule change is needed to increase the availability of recent law school graduates applying for admission to The Florida Bar, who may not have completed a law school practice program, to be able to practice under the supervision of a licensed attorney while pending admission,” the letter states.
Martinez, who is also the Miami-Dade public defender, reiterated the challenges he and his colleagues are facing.
“Due to shifting demographics in Florida, high inflation and exorbitant cost of renting in almost every region of the state, Public Defender and State Attorney offices are experiencing unprecedented difficulties in attracting new applicants, particularly those who have completed a law school practice program,” Martinez wrote.
Martinez noted that the Florida Supreme Court in 2020 created a Temporary Supervised Practice Program to assist law students whose Bar examination dates had been changed due to the pandemic.
The Rules Committee proposed amendment to Florida Bar Rule 11-1.8 (Practice After Graduation), would add a subdivision (b) that would state, in part:
“A graduate of an American Bar Association approved law school who has filed an application to The Florida Bar and received an initial clearance letter as to character and fitness from the Florida Board of Bar Examiners may make appearances for the maximum term of certification of 12 months from graduation for the same entities and under the same restrictions that are applicable to students in law school practice programs under this chapter.…”
Supervising lawyers would be required, among other things, to file a certificate verifying the applicant’s law school graduation, and the Florida Board of Bar Examiner’s initial clearance letter.
If the Board of Governors approves the proposal, it would be forwarded to the Supreme Court for final determination.
The board will weigh “acceptance, rejection, or amendment” of a Criminal Procedure Rules Committee proposed amendment that would require judges to grant a request to use “communication technology” for pretrial conferences and non-evidentiary proceedings scheduled for 30 minutes or less – absent good cause to deny the request.
The proposed amendment to Rule 3.116 “Use of Communication Technology” would align the rule with Rule of General Practice and Judicial Administration 2.530, “Communication Technology,” according to a staff analysis.
The board will also consider:
- A proposed amendment to Rule 1-3.7 (Reinstatement to Membership). The proposed amendment would give the executive director the authority to waive or extend a deadline for completing CLE or basic skills courses “due to unforeseen hardship.” A staff analysis notes that a 92-year-old member faced certain challenges retiring after his membership became delinquent.
- Awarding a $50,000 grant to the Trial Lawyer Section to assist with expenses for the 2023 “Teacher Law Symposium” in Orlando in January. The event drew more than 150 high school and middle school teachers from 20 counties.
