Tanner: Support for the profession’s core values is ‘wide and strong’
'I personally believe that as long as we hold to these core values the future of our profession is bright'
Mike Tanner
From proposals to experiment with nonlawyer ownership of firms to fee sharing with nonlawyers to constitutional challenges to the unified bar system itself, the Board of Governors dealt with an array of serious and difficult issues this year.
But in navigating those and other challenges, the Board of Governors always looked to the profession’s core values when determining how to act, outgoing Bar President Mike Tanner said in his State of the Bar address at the Orlando Annual Convention’s General Assembly.
“I’m also pleased to report that as I’ve traveled the state this year and spoken to our members that the commitment to our core values is wide and strong, as is the belief in the importance of protecting them,” said Tanner, adding the future of the profession is bright “as long as we hold to our core values — whatever changes may come along.”
The proposals to experiment with nonlawyer ownership of law firms and fee sharing with nonlawyers came from the Supreme Court’s Special Committee to Improve the Delivery of Legal Services.
“After a thorough review, your board spoke against those,” Tanner said.
While the court ultimately declined to accept those recommendations on nonlawyer ownership and fee sharing, it emphasized that it remained committed to meeting the needs of Floridians for timely and affordable legal services and requested that The Florida Bar provide alternative proposals to “improve the delivery of legal services to Florida’s consumers and…assure Florida lawyers play a proper and prominent role in the provision of these services.”
The court gave the Bar until December 30 to provide those alternative proposals.
The Bar also closely watched ongoing litigation across the country challenging the constitutionality of unified bars on First Amendment grounds.
“That litigation is still ongoing, we don’t know what the end of that will be. We will probably see the end of it in the next few years, but we are watching that,” Tanner said. “In recognition of the challenges against other bars…our Board of Governors has been very careful this year to make sure our activities remain within our constitutional boundaries.”
Tanner said the Bar and many other legal groups are currently addressing proposals for significant change to how Florida manages civil litigation being put forth by the Judicial Management Council’s Workgroup on Improved Resolution of Civil Cases.
In its comment to the court, the Bar acknowledged that setting strict deadlines for responses to motions and for court resolution of motions are potentially effective case management tools, the sweeping proposals to speed the resolution of civil cases would require additional court resources, could give large firms an even bigger advantage, and risk making life harder for young lawyers. (See story, here.)
“It is important to remember that as our board has looked at those issues, and other issues like it, we can’t forget that because of our mandatory bar status, some of our members embrace these ideas, or at least a discussion about them — and they pay mandatory fees to us. While other members, who pay the same mandatory fees, are horrified by even discussing it.”
But, Tanner said, he’s “very grateful” to say that the guiding question for the Board of Governors in navigating through these issues has been, and continues to be, “Does this advance or detract from our core values?” which he described as:
• Public service.
• A fully independent judiciary.
• A robust Bar of lawyers exercising independent judgment for their clients.
• A diverse and inclusive profession and branch with opportunity for everyone based on their merit.
• Respect for the Rule of Law— especially the right of others to have and hold ideas with which we disagree.
“I’m please to say as I’ve gone around the state this year speaking to voluntary bar groups and others the belief in and support for our core values is wide and deep,” Tanner said. “And the belief in the importance of protecting our core values is wide and deep. And I say I’m pleased to report that because I personally believe that as long as we hold to these core values the future of our profession is bright.”
Tanner also commended leadership of Executive Director Josh Doyle and the Bar’s staff.
“I want to lift up for you our wonderful Florida Bar staff. The professional men and women who keep our Bar running day in and day out. These are the folks who keep the member benefits and programs that benefit our members running from day to day and they do it with extraordinary skill and dedication. And they really do set the standard of excellence for organized bars across the country.”
Tanner also praised the Supreme Court for its leadership during the pandemic.
“We congratulate Chief Justice Canady on completing his third term as chief justice and we thank him for his exemplary service,” he said. “I also personally thank each member of the court for the personal time you’ve spent this year attending events with our members. I can’t overstate how meaningful that is to our members.”
Tanner said leading the Bar was a “wonderful experience.”
“It has been a great privilege and honor to serve as your president this year and I thank you very much for allowing me to do that,” Tanner said.
