In Re: Amendments to Rule Regulating The Florida Bar 21-4.1 ( 2020 )

Supreme Court of Florida
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No. SC19-1861
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IN RE: AMENDMENTS TO RULE REGULATING THE FLORIDA BAR
21-4.1.
May 21, 2020
PER CURIAM.
The Florida Bar petitions the Court to amend Rule Regulating the Florida
Bar (Bar Rule) 21-4.1 (Military Spouse Authorization to Engage in the Practice of
Law in Florida; Activities and Requirement). We have jurisdiction. See art. V,
§ 15, Fla. Const.
Previously, in In re Amendments to the Rules Regulating the Florida Bar
and the Rules of the Supreme Court of Florida Relating to Admissions to the Bar—
Military Spouse Rules, 249 So. 3d 1256 (Fla. 2018), the Court adopted new chapter
21, establishing a “process whereby the spouse of a service member who is
licensed to practice law in another jurisdiction may obtain authorization to practice
law in Florida for up to five years without taking the Florida Bar Examination.”
Id. at 1256-57. In order to obtain authorization, the spouse of a service member
must, among other things, “establish [his or her] qualifications as to character and
fitness to the satisfaction of the Florida Board of Bar Examiners.” R. Regulating
Fla. Bar 21-2.1(l). In a letter to the Court, Bob Dillinger, Public Defender for the
Sixth Judicial Circuit, observed that the Board’s character and fitness review can
take several months to complete, hindering the ability of a service member’s
spouse to obtain employment, as well as frustrating potential employers. Upon
consideration of Mr. Dillinger’s letter, the Court asked the Bar to consider whether
chapter 21 should be amended to permit a service member’s spouse to engage in
the supervised practice of law as a certified legal intern until the Board completes
its character and fitness review and he or she obtains authorization to practice law
in Florida.
In response to the Court’s request, the Bar submitted the instant petition,
wherein it proposes the addition of new subdivision (c) (Temporary Certification)
to Bar Rule 21-4.1. Under the new subdivision, the spouse of a service member
who has applied for certification under chapter 21 to engage in the practice of law
in Florida may be certified by the Court to act as a certified legal intern while his
or her application is pending. The Bar’s proposal was unanimously approved by
the Board of Governors of The Florida Bar, and formal notice of the proposed
amendments was published in The Florida Bar News. The notice directed
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interested persons to file their comments directly with the Court. No comments
were received.
Having considered the Bar’s petition, the Court hereby adopts the
amendments to Bar Rule 21-4.1 proposed by the Bar with the following
modification. We add the phrases “a member of an out-of-state bar in good
standing,” and “submit to the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court of Florida for
disciplinary purposes,” to new subdivision (c) to ensure that persons temporarily
certified under the subdivision are eligible for certification under chapter 21 to
practice law in Florida as the spouse of a service member and are subject to the
Court’s disciplinary authority.
Accordingly, we thank Mr. Dillinger for bringing this matter to our attention
and amend Rule Regulating the Florida Bar 21-4.1 as set forth in the appendix to
this opinion. Deletions are indicated by struck-through type, and new language is
indicated by underscoring. The amendments shall become effective July 20, 2020.
It is so ordered.
CANADY, C.J., and POLSTON, LABARGA, LAWSON, and MUÑIZ, JJ.,
concur.
THE FILING OF A MOTION FOR REHEARING SHALL NOT ALTER THE
EFFECTIVE DATE OF THIS AMENDMENT.
Original Proceeding – Florida Rules Regulating the Florida Bar
Joshua E. Doyle, Executive Director, John M. Stewart, President, Dori Foster-
Morales, President-elect, William A. Spillias, Director, Unlicensed Practice of
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Law, and Elizabeth Clark Tarbert, Ethics Counsel, The Florida Bar, Tallahassee,
Florida,
for Petitioner
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Appendix
RULES REGULATING THE FLORIDA BAR
CHAPTER 21 MILITARY SPOUSE AUTHORIZATION TO ENGAGE IN
THE PRACTICE OF LAW IN FLORIDA
21-4 PERMISSIBLE ACTIVITIES AND PRACTICE REQUIREMENT
RULE 21-4.1 ACTIVITIES AND REQUIREMENT
(a) Generally. Except as provided elsewhere in this chapter, lawyers certified
to practice law in Florida as military spouses are entitled to all privileges, rights,
and benefits and subject to all duties, obligations, and responsibilities of members
of theThe Florida Bar in good standing and eligible to practice law in Florida.
(b) [NO CHANGE]
(c) Temporary Certification. A military spouse who has made application
under this rule may be certified by the Supreme Court of Florida to act as a
certified legal intern while the application for certification as a military spouse
lawyer is pending. A military spouse applicant certified as a legal intern must be a
member of an out-of-state bar in good standing, employed by or in a mentorship
relationship with a member of The Florida Bar who is eligible to practice law in
Florida, and submit to the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court of Florida for
disciplinary purposes. Certification as a legal intern will terminate on certification
of the applicant as a military spouse lawyer or on denial of certification as a
military spouse lawyer.
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