1. Education, Ethics & Accountability
The Florida Bar as an Instrument Ensuring the Integrity of Government

2. Personal Injury Law Office of James l. o’leary
Contact: James L. O’Leary Vanderbilt Drive Suite 202 Bonita Springs, FL office: Web:

3. “On the theory that he is such an important factor in the administration of justice, this Court has held that a lawyer’s responsibility to the public rises above his responsibility to his client. The very nature of our democratic process imposes on him the responsibility to uphold democratic concepts regardless of how they affect the case in hand.”
Petition of Florida State Bar Ass’n et al., Supreme Court of Florida, en Banc,
40 So. 2d 902, June 7, 1949.

4. Original florida constitution:
Florida Bar membership was voluntary

5. Major Reasons cited by the florida supreme court for an integrated bar , 1949
Develop and promote projects designed to improve the administration of justice
Awaken an interest in the science of jurisprudence
Stimulate professional interest
Give the bar a just concept of its relationship to the public.
Integrated meant “the process by which every member of the bar is given an opportunity to do his part in performing the public service expected of him, and by which each member is obliged to bear his portion of the responsibility.”

6. California Model Administer admissions
Investigate charges of unprofessional conduct
Draft legislation to improve administration of justice
Proposed rules of court procedures
Educate the public and promote legal aid clinics
Define and regulate unlawful practice of law
Promote unity and cooperation among the bar, the courts and the public
End result is a stronger better informed bar that earns public’s confidence and trust.

7. Integration & bar independence
Integration by the Florida Supreme Court was not intended or designed to sacrifice:
The freedom and initiative of the bar,
Its boldness and courage in advocating the cause of the downtrodden, nor
Its inherent independence in taking up the battle for the minority.

8. integrated bar advantages
Regulate the unlawful practice of law
Enact educational qualifications for admission to the bar
Disciplining members for unprofessional conduct.
“The reason for it now is not discipline for unethical conduct but to alert the bar to professional and public responsibility.”
Bar association can speak with one voice,
Maintain awareness of duty to the profession and the public interest,
Mandatory oath to support, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of Florida,

9. “inherent” powers of the supreme court
“Attorneys are not, under the law, State or County Officers, but they are officers of the Court and as such constitute an important part of the judicial system.”
Law practice is intimately connected with the exercise of judicial power in the administration of justice.
The right to define and regulate the practice of law naturally and logically belongs to the judicial department of the government.
Admission and disbarment of attorneys is a judicial and not a legislative act.
Imposing fees on attorneys is not a tax subject to legislative approval.
Legislature may impose minimum standards, but courts retain inherent power to impose additional requirements to practice law.

10. What is The Florida Bar's official governmental status? 1972
Article V, Section 15 of the Constitution of the State of Florida gives the Supreme Court of Florida exclusive and ultimate authority to regulate the admission of persons to the practice of law and the discipline of those persons who are admitted to practice.
The Court performs those official functions through two separate arms:
(1) Florida Board of Bar Examiners , which screens, tests and certifies candidates for admission to the practice; and
(2) The Florida Bar, the investigative and prosecutorial authority in the lawyer regulatory process.
Neither of these two agencies, nor any of their functions, is supported by state tax dollars.

11. Admission to the florida bar, 1950
In Florida, the admission of attorneys to the practice of law is a judicial function.
TFBBE is an administrative agency of the Supreme Court of Florida created by the Court to handle matters of bar admission.
The primary purpose of the character and fitness screening before admission to The Florida Bar is to protect the public and safeguard the judicial system.
The primary purpose of the bar examination is to ensure that all who are ultimately admitted have demonstrated minimum technical competence.
In order to be admitted in Florida, an applicant must have proof of good moral character and must successfully complete the Florida Bar Examination.

12. What is the unlicensed practice of law?
The unlicensed practice of law, in its simplest terms, is when someone who is not licensed or otherwise authorized to practice law in Florida practices law. In determining whether the giving advice and counsel and the performance of services in legal matters constitute the practice of law, it is safe to follow the rule that if giving such advice and performance of services affect important rights of a person under the law, and if the reasonable protection of the rights and property of those advised and served requires that the persons giving such advice possess legal skill and knowledge of the law greater than that possessed by the average citizen, then the giving of such advice and performance of services by one for another constitutes the practice of law.

13. Regulation of Unlicensed practice of law
The Constitution of the State of Florida gives the Supreme Court of Florida the power to regulate the conduct of attorneys. Through this constitutional grant of authority, the Supreme Court of Florida has the inherent authority to regulate and prevent the practice of law by individuals who are not licensed to practice law in Florida. The court created The Florida Bar and requires all lawyers to be members of that organization which funds the total cost of the lawyer discipline system and the unlicensed practice of law system. Unlicensed Practice of Law (UPL) committees, of which one third of the members are not lawyers, investigate instances of unlicensed practice of law. Florida Bar prosecutions are filed with the Supreme Court of Florida and trials are held before judges, called referees, appointed by the court. The Florida Bar acts as prosecutor in unlicensed practice of law cases. The Florida Bar cases are civil in nature. Engaging in the unlicensed practice of law in Florida is also a crime. It is a third degree felony. For this reason, the State Attorney also has the power to bring criminal charges against an individual for practicing law without a license.

14. 7 Ideals of professionalism, 1990
1. A Florida lawyer should, in both professional and personal conduct, recognize that a license to practice law is a privilege which gives the lawyer a special position of trust, power and influence in our society. This privilege brings corresponding duties, for which the lawyer is accountable to the public, namely, to use that position and power in an honest and fair manner which respects the dignity of others, promotes the public good, and protects our system of equal justice under the law.
2. A lawyer should at all times be guided by a fundamental sense of honor, integrity, and fair play, and should counsel his or her client to do likewise.
3. A lawyer's word should be his or her bond. The lawyer should not knowingly misstate, distort, or improperly exaggerate any fact or opinion and should not improperly permit the lawyer's silence or inaction to mislead anyone.

15. 7 Ideals of professionalism, 1990
4. A lawyer should always conduct himself or herself to assure the just, speedy, and inexpensive determination of every action and resolution of every controversy.
5. A lawyer should treat all persons with courtesy and respect and at all times abstain from rude, disruptive and disrespectful behavior. The lawyer should encourage the lawyer's clients and support personnel to do likewise even when confronted with rude, disruptive and disrespectful behavior.
6. A lawyer should respect the time and commitments of others.
7. A lawyer should exercise independent judgment and should not be governed by a client's ill will or deceit.

16. THE HENRY LATIMER CENTER FOR PROFESSIONALISM, 1996
 To promote and encourage professionalism throughout Florida
To promote the fundamental ideals and values of the justice system within the legal system, and to instill those ideals of character, civility, competence, and commitment in all those persons serving therein.

17. Your Professional identity
The way you understand your role, relative to all the stakeholders in the legal system, including:
Clients,
Courts,
Opposing parties,
Opposing counsel,
Your firm,
The legal system itself (or society as a whole).
Credit: Martin Katz, Dean of University of Colorado Strum School of Law

18. Ethics & professionalism: Take “t.i.m.e.” to reflect
Step 1: Reflect on the incivility or unprofessional conduct, and ensure that you did not, even inadvertently, contribute to its cause;
Step 2: Visualize how civility and professionalism could or should have been exhibited;
Step 3: Model a response that adheres to the spirit and letter of the appropriate code of professionalism;
Step 4: Evaluate the need to “take appropriate action” to prevent a future occurrence.
Credit: Phyllis Williams Kotey, Clinical Professor of Law & Senior Judge

19. Stages of self directed learning
Adapted from Gerald Grow, “Teaching Learners to be Self-Directed,” 41 ADULT EDUC. QUARTERLY 125, 129 (No. 3, 1991). See, “The Professional,” Spring 2016

20. Florida Registered Paralegal, 2008
“Paralegal work and paralegal work experience are specifically delegated substantive legal work performed by a person with education, training, or work experience under the direction and supervision of a member of The Florida Bar for which a member of The Florida Bar is responsible.
In order to qualify as paralegal work or paralegal work experience for purposes of meeting the eligibility and renewal requirements, the paralegal must primarily perform paralegal work and the work must be continuous and recent.
Recent paralegal work for the purposes of meeting the eligibility and renewal requirements means work performed during the previous 5 years in connection with an initial registration, and during the preceding year in the case of a registration renewal. Time spent performing clerical work is specifically excluded. The Rules Regulating The Florida Bar, (c).