Sep 05, 2024 ByJimAsh Senior Editor TopStories
On November 18, the Standing Committee on Professionalism will host the very first “Required Meeting” of all 20 LPP chairs, as directed by the Supreme Court order
Florida’s Local Professionalism Panels have filed their first full cycle of mandatory, semi-annual reports since the Supreme Court issued In Re: Code for Resolving Professionalism Referrals last summer.
Without naming respondents, the December 2023-June 2024 reports cite behavior that ranged from being rude to a judicial assistant and soliciting clients at a local jail, to a lawyer with suspected “health and wellbeing” issues who exhibited “confusion regarding matters and cases pending before the Court, to include which party the lawyer represented.”
The latter was referred for Bar discipline, but nearly all cases were resolved informally, including one in which a lawyer self-reported for missing a hearing that resulted in a dismissal.
A 17th Circuit referral regarding a lawyer accused of “bullying” and other rude behavior prompted a recommendation to obtain free counseling via the Florida Lawyers Helpline.
Most resolutions involved an apology, meeting with LPP members and/or reviewing professionalism CLEs.
“LPPs,” which have been around for years, are volunteer panels of lawyers and judges, independent of The Florida Bar, that resolve professionalism complaints informally through what justices describe as “peer-to-peer mentoring.”
The latest Supreme Court order and reporting requirements were prompted by the recommendations of the Bar’s Special Committee for the Review of Professionalism in Florida that was formed in 2021.
Sponsors said one of the goals of the professionalism panels is to correct unprofessional behavior before it leads to formal Bar discipline. Reporting requirements offer a more granular way to measure the scope of a concern that consistently tops Florida Bar member surveys.
In addition to the reporting requirements, the Supreme Court mandated that every Florida Bar member complete a Bar-produced professionalism course.
The order coincided with a reduction in the hours Florida lawyers must earn every three-year reporting cycle, from 33 to 30, restoring the initial requirement when the Supreme Court first imposed mandatory CLE in 1987 and aligning lawyers with a continuing education requirement for judges.
The special professionalism committee’s extensive review found that some LPPs were inactive due to a lack of referrals.
Under the latest Supreme Court order, LPP chairs are required to report such things as the process their panels use to resolve referrals, the types of professionalism issues most often seen, and “what are believed to be the causes of the professionalism issues within your circuit.”
Eighth Circuit LPP Chair Raymond Brady blamed an “increase in financial competitiveness,” due to an “explosion in lawyer advertising,” a lack of mentoring in established firms, and a “decrease in meaningful relationships between lawyers,” that he attributes to greater use of remote technology.
“The lack of these relationships seems to embolden many lawyers [to] behave unprofessionally with opposing counsel without concern for the consequences,” Brady wrote.
The reports also include an anonymous description of each referral, including who made the referral, how the referral was resolved, and whether the respondent participated voluntarily and had previous referrals.
No LPP reported more than a handful of complaints in the latest reporting period. Some smaller circuits, where the chairs say the legal community is more tightly knit, listed no cases at all.
“There were zero referrals from January 1, 2024, through June 15, 2024,” wrote 20th Circuit LPP Chair Tamara “Tami” Holliday.
“The Second Judicial Circuit receives very few complaints; the few that we do receive tend to be unprofessional conduct or being disorganized or unprepared,” noted Second Circuit LPP Chair Melissa VanSickle, a Florida Bar Board of Governors member.
Circuit Judge Michael Orfinger cited active membership in the local American Inns of Court chapter as a reason the Seventh Circuit LPP lacked referrals.
“I believe the success of our Inn of Court to be one illustration that the lawyers of the Seventh Circuit take professionalism quite seriously,” he wrote.
In Monroe County, “we have very few professionalism issues,” noted Judge Albert Kelley, who chairs the 16th Circuit LPP, which also listed no referrals. “The most common issue that arises is disparaging language in communication between lawyers.”
The 15th Circuit LPP reported that it was reviewing a case in which a “non-party, interested attorney,” alleged that an attorney at trial, “made improper statements about creating error to secure a new trial for his client.” The same panel received a referral from a judge in a guardianship case who alleged that a respondent “demonstrated unprofessional conduct by failing to appear for hearings and/or cure defects as directed by the court.” That case also remained under review.
Most referrals originated from lawyers or members of the judiciary. Complaints from non-lawyers, or “citizen” referrals, were few.
Presidential politics could have motivated a series of non-lawyer generated referrals to the 11th Circuit LPP — including non-Floridians — that targeted a “federal district judge.” The non-lawyer complainants were instructed where to file complaints against federal judges.
The 13th Circuit LPP received multiple complaints from a “non-lawyer citizen” against her “formal counsel.” However, when the LPP co-chair contacted her, she “mistakenly claimed that the co-chair represented her in the underlying case at issue.” The co-chair noted that he had never met the woman and the referral was dropped.
Meanwhile, the effort to enhance the process continues. On November 18, the Standing Committee on Professionalism will host the very first “Required Meeting” of all 20 LPP chairs, as directed by the Supreme Court order.
SCOP’s LPP Working Group Chair Kara Rockenbach Link said the chairs will review the 2023 Code, the reporting forms, circuit procedures, and conduct “workshops and guidance” for LPP chairs.
