The Florida Bar’s Board of Governors has backed a proposal by the Bar’s Rules Committee to file a comment opposing an effort by Attorney General James Uthmeier to create a new way for out-of-state government lawyers to practice in the state. Uthmeier’s petition would allow “certain state government lawyers” to practice in Florida for up to three years without having to take the Florida Bar exam or undergo a “character and fitness” evaluation.
The Bar Board of Governors’ unanimous decision Friday allowed the Rules Committee to begin drafting a comment in opposition to the proposal. The comment could be filed with the Florida Supreme Court as early as next month, according to The Florida Bar News.
Citing a staffing shortage, Uthmeier filed a petition with the court in May seeking to add a new chapter to rules regulating the Bar and asking the court for a waiver so consideration of the proposal could be expedited. Uthmeier’s request for the rushed procedure said his office is experiencing “significant attorney staffing shortages, as are other agencies” that would be affected by the proposal. The court declined to issue the waiver. The Bar’s Rules Committee last month voted 6-2 to oppose the proposal.
The proposal would permit “certain state government lawyers” to acquire certification to practice law in Florida for a period of up to three years “while employed by or mentored by” a member of The Florida Bar. Public defenders’ offices would be excluded from the plan. Current rules restrict out-of-state lawyers from engaging in general practice before Florida courts.
Employees of the attorney general, state attorneys, public defenders and state offices that represent Death Row inmates can practice for up to a year if they are members of the bar in another state and have applied for admission to The Florida Bar, according to the petition. The time period could be extended if they have passed the exam and are awaiting character and fitness test results. The Bar received two comments responding to the proposal. Both opposed it.
Paul Cherry, an assistant public defender in Sarasota County, said the proposal could lead to “opening the flood gates to expand our practicing Bar unnecessarily and only for the convenience of certain entities, maybe because they cannot find enough qualified people to populate their ranks.”
–News Service of Florida
