Committees of The Florida Bar.

Admiralty Law

The mission of the Admiralty Law Committee is to keep informed and to educate legal professionals in Florida concerning developments in the field of admiralty and maritime law. In the past, this has also included occasionally advising the legislature concerning maritime legal issues.

The committee has recently completed a fourth edition of the Maritime Law Practice and Procedures Manual, which is intended for the maritime practitioner. While this manual puts emphasis on issues specific to Florida, it is designed to be a helpful tool for anyone interested in admiralty law. The manual is published by Lexis/Nexis.

In conjunction with the publication of the new manual, the committee is also planning a one-day seminar on general admiralty and maritime law and issues to be scheduled in the early fall of 2005.

Despite a protracted year for meetings due to the hurricane season of 2004, the committee had an active lineup of speakers and presentations this year which has included programs on vessel documentation, the legal aspects of hurricane and emergency preparations as they concern maritime interests, the legal aspects of arbitration clauses in employment contracts, as well as a presentation on issues concerning electronic filing and its effect on the maritime practice.

MARK ERCOLIN, Chair

Advertising

The Standing Committee on Advertising is responsible for advising members of The Florida Bar on permissible advertising and marketing practices. The committee, which meets monthly, reviews appeals of opinions issued by staff counsel, offers guidance to staff in evaluating lawyer advertisements, makes recommendations regarding rule changes, and provides guidance to Florida Bar members concerning both the substantive and procedural requirements of the advertising rules.

The committee advises Bar members on the substance of the advertising rules through a variety of methods. An in-depth analysis of the filing requirements, substantive regulations, and committee interpretations is provided by the committee's Handbook on Lawyer Advertising and Solicitation (Sixth Edition, updated May 2004). The handbook is designed to provide both a quick and easy reference to filing and substantive guidelines through various checklists and examples, as well as more in-depth discussions of particular types of advertising regulations and recurring situations. The handbook is reviewed and updated by Bar staff with the input of the committee to provide an excellent up-to-date guide to Florida's lawyer advertising regulations. It also includes the latest changes to the advertising rules, set forth in the Supreme Court's Rules Regulating The Florida Bar--Amendments, 820 So. 2d 210 (Fla. 2002), and Rules Regulating The Florida Bar--Amendments, 875 So. 2d 448 (Fla. 2004). These most recent Supreme Court changes to the advertising rules expanded the types of images that are allowed in television advertisements and also applied the size requirement for disclosures in attorney advertisements to all required disclosures under Rule 4-7.2, Florida Rules of Professional Conduct.

The committee, through its staff, continues to publish a column in The Florida Bar News from time to time, entitled Advertising Update and published articles explaining the most recent revisions to the advertising rules in May 2004. The committee further updates the Bar's Web site with new material and information when needed in order to provide Bar members with as much information as possible to assist them in complying with the attorney advertising rules.

The committee has been active in assisting other Bar committees this year. Members of the Standing Committee on Advertising worked with the Professional Ethics Committee as participants in subcommittees dealing with issues affecting both legal ethics and lawyer advertising. The committee made several recommendations regarding changes to the advertising rules, many of which were approved by the Board of Governors and enacted by the Supreme Court in May 2004. The committee has also served in an advisory capacity to the new statewide grievance committee on lawyer advertising, assisting the members of the new grievance committee in understanding the advertising rules and the advertising review process. Committee members have also actively participated in the Advertising Task Force 2004, which is conducting a comprehensive review of the Bar's current advertising rules and has made recommendations to the Board of Governors regarding proposed changes to these rules to make them clearer and easier for Bar members to follow.

By far the most time-consuming task of the committee this year, as in past years, has been reviewing advertisements filed by members of The Florida Bar to determine whether they comply with the advertising rules. The committee reviews decisions of its staff regarding lawyer advertisements if the staff's interpretation of a particular rule or advertisement is appealed by an advertising attorney. Advertisers can appeal decisions of the committee to the Board of Governors if they wish to do so. The committee also provides guidance to its staff and advertisers, pursuant to requests for guidance, in order to foster compliance with the rules and permit advertisers to accomplish their legitimate advertising goals. The committee works hard to apply the advertising rules fairly to all types of advertisements and to balance the rights of advertisers with the needs and concerns of the public.

As in previous years, the committee has taken an active role in ensuring that lawyer advertising in Florida is filed with The Florida Bar and properly reviewed. When complaints are filed with the Bar regarding advertisements, committee staff reviews the ads to determine whether they have been filed and whether they comply with the Bar's advertising rules. Attorneys who have not filed their ads as required by Rule 4-7.7 must pay a $250 late filing fee approved by the Florida Supreme Court in 1999 and may be subject to further discipline from the Advertising Grievance Committee.

The Standing Committee on Advertising is made up of nonlawyers as well as lawyers. We believe that this has contributed substantially to our work and our broad perspective on advertising and marketing. I would like to thank each of our committee members for their tremendous contribution to the work of the committee.

Finally, the committee thanks our board liaison, Dr. Solomon Badger, who has been an active participant in our work this year, DEUP division director Mary Ellen Bateman, and our hardworking staff headed by ethics counsel, Elizabeth Tarbert. Without the participation and hard work of these individuals, the business of this committee could not be accomplished.

SHANE T. MUNOZ, Chair

Animal Law

In August 2004, The Florida Bar, based on a recommendation from the Program Evaluation Committee, approved an interim year for a new substantive law committee, the seventh of such committees along with Admiralty, Aviation, Computer, Education, Eminent Domain, and Media. Our initial proposal was submitted to The Florida Bar Program Development Committee in November 2003. Our current membership is 59 members, representing attorneys from throughout Florida. Our first full formal meeting was held October 29, 2004, at Nova Southeastern University School of Law. At that time, we were organized into five subcommittees including a meeting and CLE subcommittee, a membership and outreach committee, a Web siteand quarterly newsletter development and design committee, an attorney referral network subcommittee, and a compliance with Florida Bar requirements subcommittee.

The second full committee meeting was held in Miami on January 20, 2005, in conjunction with the midyear meeting of the Bar. At that meeting, we put on an educational program relating to animal cruelty cases as seen from both sides of the aisle (state attorney's office and public defender's office) although we were unable to meet the time requirement for obtaining CLE certification based on our initial approval date as a standing subcommittee by The Florida Bar.

The next formal full meeting of the committee is scheduled to be held on June 24, 2005, in Orlando in conjunction with the annual meeting of the Bar. A business meeting is planned for late afternoon and we do intend to offer a full-day program of continuing legal education in animal law as it pertains to Florida and have just received approval to offer and issue CLE credits. All of the speakers and topics have been selected with a view toward helping practicing attorneys in Florida to both understand and potentially incorporate animal problem related cases into their practice. All topics should be highly relevant and identifiably practical for most general practitioners and those that are not already highly specialized.

As there has been a great deal of work to do because we are a new committee, we have held several additional "planning meetings," primarily among the officers and subcommittee chairs, every month or two since our inception. These meetings are open to all members but are primarily dedicated to all of the many business tasks inherent in the formation of any new substantive law committee.

The committee does have a Web site on The Florida Bar Web page and this currently contains our mission statement along with the information contained in our application for committee status and has some text files relating to animal law topics and issues.

We have recently added one additional standing subcommittee, an award subcommittee, whose mandate is to develop some criteria and procedures for setting up and making an award to an individual within Florida felt by the entire committee to be worthy of recognition in any single year for his or her contribution to animal law in Florida.

The committee is pleased to be one of the newest entries among the many states who have organized and recognized animal law committees and further notes that the American Bar Association approved under its auspices and currently supervises the National Animal Law Committee, chaired by Barbara J. Gislason of Minnesota. This national animal law committee is currently within the Tort and Insurance Practice Session (TIPS) of the ABA, and was approved by a unanimous vote of the TIPS section council on October 4, 2004.

The committee is supportive of and potentially capable of providing guidance, manpower, and its resources to the growing number of animal law courses which are now being offered and organized by various law schools throughout Florida, including the University of Miami, Florida State University, Nova Southeastern University, and St. Thomas. Nationally, there are approximately 40 law schools offering animal law courses in their curricula. The purpose of The Florida Bar Animal Law Committee is to study and to keep the members of The Florida Bar informed regarding significant developments within the growing practice area of animal law.

Working in conjunction with our Florida Bar liaison, Maria Johnson, we are actively looking forward with enthusiasm and dedication to our second year of existence, which will begin in July 2005.

FRED L. COHEN, M.D., Chair

Antitrust and Trade Regulation Certification

The Antitrust and Trade Regulation Certification Committee is beginning to see the fruits of amendments made to Rule 6-22 and unanimously approved by the Board of Governors in December 2003. The amendments were designed to encourage experienced antitrust practitioners to become certified by clarifying the committee's expectations regarding an applicant's knowledge, skills, and experience in antitrust and trade regulation. The amendments also offer a limited opportunity for antitrust practitioners with 20 years or more of relevant experience to apply for certification without having to take an examination. Specifically, Rule 6-22.3(a)(3)(e) was amended to provide for an exemption from the examination portion of the certification process for applicants who have "been substantially involved in antitrust and trade regulation law for a minimum of 20 years" and "who apply within two years of the effective date of the approval of this exemption and meet all other requirements for certification."

This two-year window ends October 31, 2005. One lawyer with more than 20 years' antitrust experience has already taken advantage of this opportunity, applying for certification last fall. He was determined by the committee to meet the requirements for examination exemption and his application was otherwise approved in January. Another applicant, with less than 20 years' experience, took the examination and was approved for certification in 2004. This year, as word of the examination exemption opportunity has gotten out, several more lawyers experienced in antitrust and trade regulation have indicated that they are working toward fulfilling the various CLE requirements and minimum standards for certification. If we receive the applications we expect, the committee's goal in amending Rule 6-22 to encourage many of the "cream of the crop" in antitrust and trade regulation law in Florida to apply for certification will be realized.

As I indicated in my report last year, our primary focus throughout 2004 was to get the word out to experienced Florida Bar members about this limited examination exemption opportunity early enough for them to have the time to work toward fulfilling other requirements for certification. Beginning in early 2004, we did a number of things to target our notice. First, in addition to writing about the exemption in our last annual report, which was read by several potential applicants, including the one recommended this year to the BLSE to be board certified in antitrust and trade regulation, we also published a notice in The Florida Bar News prior to the 2004 application period. Additionally, we asked the Business Law Section to send email notices to its members so that they would be aware of the opportunity. The Section of Antitrust Law of the American Bar Association assisted as well by disseminating an email notice to all of its members with Florida addresses. Based on the number of inquiries we received afterwards, this last approach, in particular, was very effective. Finally, as a followup to our e-mail notice efforts, we again sent an e-mail early this year through the Business Law Section to remind its members of this opportunity and to ensure that potential applicants knew that they could get many of the antitrust CLE credits they may need at the spring meeting of the ABA Antitrust Section in Washington, D.C., at the end of March. Several Florida lawyers took advantage of this opportunity. We expect that at least one more notice will be disseminated as the last opportunity to apply for antitrust certification approaches beginning September 1, 2005. The deadline for filing applications for those wishing to seek an examination exemption is October 31, 2005.

For any antitrust lawyers interested in applying for certification, please review Rule 6.22 and the minimum standards and other requirements for certification in antitrust and trade regulation. We look forward to welcoming more of Florida's most seasoned and respected lawyers skilled in antitrust and trade regulation into our ranks.

PATRICIA A. CONNERS, Chair

Appellate Court Rules

Although our first meeting in Tampa was cancelled due to hurricanes, the Appellate Court Rules Committee did not allow the storms to interfere with business. The ACRC executive committee convened under its fast-track Internal Operating Procedure and determined Fla. R. App. P. 9.140 should be amended to incorporate a new statutory right of appeal by the state from orders withholding adjudication. After approval by the entire ACRC, the proposed rule change was submitted to the Board of Governors and published in the Bar News. Following publication the ACRC moved it be adopted by the Supreme Court of Florida. In Re: Amendments to Florida Rule of Appellate Procedure 9.140(c)(1), No. SC04-2487 (Fla. April 7, 2005), approved the rule change.

In Amendments to the Florida Rules of Appellate Procedure, 30 Fla. L. Weekly S 84 (Fla. February 2005), the Supreme Court of Florida adopted the 17 appellate rule changes moved by the ACRC in its regular two-year cycle.

At the January meeting of the ACRC the Family Law Rules Subcommittee chaired by John Mills submitted the following amendment, which passed unanimously:

"Rule 9.130(a)(5)

"Orders entered on an authorized and timely motion for relief from judgement [begin strikethrough]on motions filed under Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.540, Small Claims Rule 7.190, and Florida Family Law Rule of Procedure 12.540[end strikethrough] are reviewable by the method prescribed by this rule.

"2005 Amendment. Rule 9.130(a)(5) is intended to authorize appeals from orders entered on motions for relief from judgment that are specifically contemplated by a specific rule of procedure (e.g., the current versions of Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.540, Small Claims Rule 7.190, Florida Family Law Rule of Procedure 12.540, and Florida Rules of Juvenile Procedure 8.150 and 8.270."

This rule change will be submitted and prepared for the next regular rules cycle (2006).

The Family Law Rules Subcommittee is also in the process of reviewing a proposed rule clarifying the basis for nonfinal appeals in juvenile dependency and termination of parental rights cases, under Rule 9.130(a)(3)(C)(iii).

The Civil Law Rules Subcommittee, chaired by Steven L. Brannock, is in the process of refining a potential change to Rule 9.310(b) to allow trial judges discretion to stay money judgments pending review without requiring the losing party to post a bond. The Third District Court of Appeal historically interpreted the rule as requiring a bond to stay a money judgment. The Second DCA disagreed in Platt v. Russek, 2004 WL 784730 (Fla. 2d DCA 2004), and held that trial courts have the discretion to waive the bond requirement in appeals from money judgments, thereby creating a conflict that may be addressed by a rule change.

The General Law Rules Subcommittee, chaired by Brandon Vesely, is reviewing Rule 9.300(d)(10) to determine whether it is still necessary to include subdivision 10 of the Rule entitled "Motions Not Tolling Time."

The General Law Rules Subcommittee reviewed Rule 9.600 in light of the decision in Schultz v. Schickedanz, 884 So. 2d 422 (Fla. 4th DCA 2004), for clarification of the trial court's jurisdiction to enter an attorneys' fees award after the trial court record has been sent to the appellate court on the main appeal. The subcommittee recommended no change to the rule. The General Law Rules Subcommittee also reviewed and recommended no change to Rule 9.200(b)(2), regarding extensions of time for briefs, and reviewed and voted no change to Rule 9.120(d), regarding jurisdictional briefs.

The Record on Appeal Subcommittee, chaired by Robert Biasotti, is refining a potential amendment to Rule 9.200(b)(2) to require court reporters to include an electronic copy of each written transcript filed for inclusion in the record on appeal. After much discussion the rule was referred back to the subcommittee for refinement. This rule and its impact on court reporters will be considered at the June 2005 meeting. The Record on Appeal Subcommittee is also currently addressing a referral to review Rule 9.040, regarding submission of electronic documents, referred pursuant to Rule of Judicial Administration 2.130(b)(2).

The Workers' Compensation Law Rules Subcommittee, chaired by Kristy Gavin is, currently considering a referral by the chair pursuant to a letter from Thomas Hall, clerk of the Supreme Court, regarding the repeal of the Florida Rules of Workers' Compensation Procedure by the Florida Supreme Court.

Finally, the ACRC submitted a report and research on privacy and protection of identities to the Supreme Court's Committee on Privacy and Court Records. The research and letter were the result of a rule tailored to redaction of information in briefs, originally drafted as a result of the ACRC's receipt of The Florida Bar's Report on the Legal Needs of Children. The Family Law Subcommittee, chaired by John Mills, met and proposed a rule to maintain the privacy of personal information not merely with respect to children, but in general. After the subcommittee began work on a rule change, the Supreme Court created the Florida Committee on Privacy and Court Records. During this time the Supreme Court imposed a moratorium on the placement of court materials on the Internet, which had excluded appellate briefs. The ACRC voted against the amendment largely because of concern that the Supreme Court's committee would ultimately promulgate a comprehensive rule, potentially as a rule of judicial administration. Several committee members also expressed concerns about problems of enforcement that made the proposed rule unworkable as propounded. The ACRC determined that it would be better to have a comprehensive rule protecting privacy and identity in electronic records and filings and that the court's committee would benefit from the research and discussion of the ACRC.

It has been an honor to serve as chair of the ACRC. I have been humbled to serve with such learned and dedicated members. Special thanks to my vice chairs, Jack Reiter, Judge Joseph Lewis, Barbara Eagan, Secretary Ed Mullins, Parliamentarian Valeria Hendricks, and to the tireless efforts of the subcommittee chairs: John Mills, Brandon Vesely, Robert Biasotti, Steve Brannock, Kristy Gavin, Harvey Sepler, Kathleen O'Connor, and Greg Philo (who during his tenure was hired by the Supreme Court of Florida). Thank you to the bar staff and in particular to our liaison, Joanna Mauer, and to Raoul Vazquez for all your hard work. Finally, I also wish to extend my thanks to the clerk of the Supreme Court, Thomas Hall for attending all of the meetings and orientation.

SIOBHAN HELENE SHEA, Chair

* After the fast-track rule-making process had been utilized, the chair appointed a subcommittee to analyze whether the ACRC's fast track internal operating procedure worked as efficiently as possible. The subcommittee, headed by Vice Chair Jack Reiter, compiled and compared other rules committees' fast-track procedures. The subcommittee ultimately determined the only refinement warranted was a historical note.

Appellate Practice Certification

The Appellate Practice Certification Committee worked diligently throughout the 2004-05 year to accomplish its mission. The year began with the evaluation of applications for certification and recertification to ensure compliance with the rules governing standards for certification of a board certified appellate lawyer. As set forth in the rules, "The purpose of the standards is to identify those lawyers who engage in appellate practice and have the special knowledge, skills, and proficiency, as well as the character, ethics, and reputation for professionalism, to be properly identified to the public as certified appellate lawyers." Where necessary, additional materials were sought to examine each applicants' qualifications for board certification. We are grateful to all Florida Bar members who assisted in this process by responding to our peer review requests.

The committee next turned to the time-consuming task of drafting the examination. In addition, we revised the Recommended Study Guides List and 2005 Exam Specifications to bring them in line with the focus of the 2005 examination. Finally, the committee is working on several rule amendments intended to clarify the necessary qualifications for appellate certification. The committee also continues to work on pending proposed rule amendments to address the circumstance in which various judges and court staff may be deemed to have satisfied the requirements for certification and recertification. All proposed amendments will be submitted to the Board of Legal Specialization and Education and the Board of Governors for approval.

The year 2004 marked the 10th year that the appellate certification exam has been offered. With the passage of this milestone, the ranks of board certified appellate attorneys in Florida rose to 148. Ten individuals were approved to sit for the 2005 examination and five took the test in March. The upcoming grading of the exam will be conducted applying holistic principles. There are 28 attorneys eligible for recertification in 2005. The next examination is scheduled for March 10, 2006.

We encourage all appellate practitioners to apply for appellate certification. The examination consists of a combination of multiple choice and short and long essay questions. The examination tests the substantive and procedural knowledge expected of an experienced appellate practitioner in Florida and the ability to apply that knowledge to a variety of fact patterns that an appellate practitioner would expect to encounter in practice.

I sincerely appreciate the hard work of the committee members, all of whom have graciously given of their time and talent in a continuing commitment to excellence in appellate practice. I especially want to thank Carol Vaught for the extraordinary service she provides as our certification specialist.

ANGELA C. FLOWERS, Chair

Aviation Law Certification

The field of aviation law is rapidly evolving. After the cultural and economic upheaval resulting from the events of 9/11/01, our open way of life has changed (Whoever thought you would have to take your shoes off in an airport?), but our economy has recovered and aircraft sales, lending, leasing, imports, and exports have steadily risen. The need for executive security and efficient time management has resulted in widened corporate ownership of large civil aircraft. With the development of the Transportation Security Administration and increased scrutiny by U.S. Customs and the Federal Aviation Administration, the practice of aviation law is diversifying. There are new rules for aircraft, crew, and passenger security, as well as for the carriage of cargo. Aircraft maintenance, the use of approved parts and components, and crew qualifications is drawing more attention from government regulators than ever before. New rules for the registration of aircraft and international interests in this highly mobile equipment are emerging. For example, this year Congress approved the Capetown Treaty and President Bush signed the legislation which will lead to the treaty becoming law in the United States. The practice of aviation law, perhaps more than any other practice area, has most recently undergone significant and varied change.

Because the Florida economy is, in part, dependent upon vacationers and tourists, Florida is a primary area for both public and private air travel. The needs of air travelers and air carriers, and all of the ancillary service related industries (such as fuel, maintenance, and catering) for competent aviation counsel bodes well for the expansion of the practice of aviation law.

Law firms are increasingly looking for emerging practice areas for expansion, and aviation law presents just such an opportunity. Accordingly, the need for skilled and certified aviation law practitioners is evident and the Aviation Law Certification Committee has worked diligently to meet the needs of the growing number of attorneys whose interest lies in aviation.

The Aviation Law Certification Committee is composed of a group of dedicated attorneys (many of whom are also pilots) whose interest in, and dedication to, the growth of this practice area has no equal. In March of this year four attorneys took the aviation law certification exam. The committee is optimistic that the number of exam applicants will increase in the years ahead as the field of aviation law continues to grow and diversify and the need for knowledgeable counsel becomes more acute. The committee invites all attorneys having an interest in aviation to apply for certification.

On behalf of the committee, I would like to express the sincere thanks and appreciation of the committee for all of the hard work of our staff liaison, Mustafa Mahdi, who made my stewardship of the committee a pleasure.

BRUCE D. GREEN, Chair

Board of Legal Specialization and Education

A New Blueprint for Taking Board Certification to the Next Level

Several years ago, then Bar President John Frost gave me the opportunity to chair the Bar's CLE Committee. As chair of CLE, I espoused the philosophy of "do no harm," and I kept a tender hand on the helm while the Bar's staff and the volunteers on the committee continued, unfettered by my direction, the good work they had done for years before I came on the scene. One of the additional duties of the CLE chair is a seat on the Board of Legal Specialization and Education. During BLSE meetings that year, I was amazed by the number of volunteers serving in the certification area and the enormous workload undertaken by a small, but efficient staff. Even more remarkable was the way BLSE and staff navigated a complicated mosaic of important and difficult issues with competing interests. I was already board certified in civil trial, but I had no idea of how the certification program was administered by the Bar; and I had even less understanding of how controversial, difficult, and important it is to properly maintain the certification program. This chance interaction with BLSE turned me into a believer in the value of the board certification program to our profession, which in turn led to many years' service on BLSE and chairmanship this past year. Unlike my enjoyable but subtle leadership of the CLE Committee years ago, this past year has been much more challenging and interactive. As current chair of BLSE, I am blessed with the opportunity to work with many talented and dedicated volunteers and staff. Any shortcomings in our progress are my own. I thank Kelly Overstreet Johnson for the privilege of leading a committee and overseeing a program that can make a positive contribution in an area of special interest to me, lawyer professionalism. Riding on a wave started by last year's chair, Jeffrey Michael Cohen, the BLSE this past year organized, planned, and began to execute an effort to take the board certification program to the next level. This year BLSE began a two-year long range plan with established goals and objectives and an organized, professional public relations effort to inform the Bar and the public about board certification.

The public relations effort is approved and monitored by the BOG's Communications Committee for consistency with overall objectives for the entire Bar, and carries the essential message of certification to members of the Bar and the public. Our P.R. professional on the Bar staff, Lisa Garcia, has been nothing short of amazing in grasping our P.R. needs and addressing them. Funding for this effort, and for all other aspects of the board certification program, including staffing and administrative costs, comes from fees and funds generated by the certification program and not Bar dues.

The long range plan also carries the goal of expanding opportunities for certification to as many qualified members of the Bar as possible. Toward that end, the BLSE is working on updating experience requirements to comport with current realities of law practice, such as lack of availability of jury trials, for example. We are also currently looking at expanding certification to new specialty areas that are suitable for certification. The challenge is to ensure that certification is an option for as many truly qualified lawyers as possible without affecting the quality and value of certification in any of the current areas. Meanwhile, the BLSE and our capable Bar staff led by Dawna Bicknell, and 171 volunteers on 19 certification committees continued administration of applications for certification and recertification, in all 20 certification areas. This means receipt and review of applications, request and analysis of peer review, and preparation and administration of examinations. The BLSE has worked with BOG oversight committees to ensure that our program follows rules and policies, to modify rules and policies as necessary, and to handle fairly appeals of qualification decisions, peer review, and examinations. Certification exams are carefully drawn and graded using proven and reliable industry standards under the expert guidance of Dr. Sue Legg of the University of Florida. Volunteers on area committees work hard to fairly, completely, and accurately review each candidate using blind grading and confidential peer review.

Our immediate past chair, Jeff Cohen, is exploring the potential of having a section or division of the Bar for certified lawyers. This would free the BLSE to continue its oversight role while turning to the section or division to promote certification and improve the benefits available to certified lawyers and give them a unified voice.

In addition to board certification, BLSE oversees staff's evaluation of lawyer CLE compliance and authorization of credit for CLE programs. During the last fiscal year, staff accredited 14,700 CLE submissions; processed 24,200 CLER affidavits or compliance notices; notified 2100 attorneys of delinquency for CLE; manually posted 42,000 CLE credit entries to member records; processed over 300 applications for initial certification and 800 for recertification; tested 234 certification applicants; and handled 24 exam challenges and six appeals. The effective management of this enormous effort is a credit to our staff director, Dawna Bicknell, who has been with BLSE from the outset of the certification program, and is nationally respected for her knowledge, effectiveness, and professionalism. Those of us who work with Dawna on BLSE projects attest to her leadership, management, and dedication. Simply put, the program would not be the same without her.

I learned that it takes hundreds of volunteers and a dedicated staff to make this program go. Fortunately for The Florida Bar, we have willing hands who are up to the task. It has been my privilege to work with them this year, and I thank each of you who are part of the process.

RALPH ARTIGLIERE, Chair

Business Litigation Certification

The Business Litigation Certification Committee has continued to investigate ways in which the BLSE and the Board of Governors can inform the public and members of the Bar of the existence and purpose of the board certification program. The purpose of this effort is three-fold. First, the process of selecting attorneys becomes easier if the public is aware that attorneys who are board certified are highly competent in their areas of certification. Once the public is more aware of the certification program and the level of competency of persons who are certified, then the public will be more likely to retain a board certified attorney than one who is not board certified. Second, once attorneys realize that potential clients are making decisions to retain counsel in part based on whether the attorney is board certified, more attorneys will apply for certification and will undertake to educate themselves well enough to pass the examination. Third, when asked for referrals, more attorneys are turning to the section of the annual directory containing the list of board certified attorneys to make their referrals. As this practice becomes more widespread, more members will appreciate the benefit of becoming board certified.

The examination for 2005 remains consistent with the format that was adopted in 2004. The examination consists of a general business litigation essay requiring the identification of legal issues found in a commercial litigation matter and a litigation skills essay requiring factual analysis, issue spotting, forum selection, remedies, damages, and other items that would be considered by a highly skilled business litigator in advising a client. There are two parts to the examination. Each part is three hours long and is administered in a morning and afternoon session. Part I includes a mandatory long essay as well as three mandatory sections of multiple choice questions on ethics, civil procedure, and evidence. Part II includes one mandatory long essay. In addition, the examinee selects two multiple choice question sections to answer from the following topics: business organizations; creditors' rights/bankruptcy/ UCC; intellectual property/restrictive covenants; real estate/construction law; business torts; and alternative dispute resolution. The topics may include contracts, business torts, business entities, creditor/bankruptcy, uniform commercial code, real estate and construction law, eminent domain, intellectual property, alternative dispute resolution, civil procedure, evidence, ethics, and litigation skills. Because not all of the substantive subjects must be taken by each applicant, applicants are no longer required to study for areas in which they generally do not perform services. While this reduces the scope of study needed by an applicant, it does not reduce the amount of time necessary to study as the areas covered by the examination are covered in significant depth. At this writing, 12 attorneys have applied to sit for the May 20, 2005, examination. Currently, there are 204 board certified business litigators.

The committee expended significant time this year reviewing recertification applications and ensuring that both the litigation skills and the ethical standards of the applicants merit recertification. Despite the trend toward ADR in the profession, the committee found that some attorneys had a difficult time meeting the evidentiary hearing criteria. However, it is the view of the committee that attorneys who wish to hold themselves out as board certified in business litigation need to continue to appear in evidentiary proceedings to keep sharp those skills necessary to be successful on behalf of their clients. The committee also stressed in its review of candidates their history of professionalism, giving serious consideration to peer reviews of attorneys who have practiced with them, as well as the comments of judges before whom they have appeared. The committee again debated whether to recommend that the certification rules be amended to count evidentiary hearings in county court matters. It was determined that county court matters should not count toward the evidentiary hearing requirements; therefore, the suggestion to recommend amendment to the certification rules was voted down.

I thank all committee members who worked so hard throughout the year, taking time off from their practice and paying all of their own costs to perform this difficult and worthwhile task. Carol Vaught, our certification specialist, deserves special thanks for the hard job she has in coordinating the schedule and workload for a committee of busy litigators. I also want to thank Harry Payton, our BLSE liaison, who leads by example, including attending not only the BLSE meetings, but also some of our committee meetings.

STEVEN ROBERT REININGER, Chair

City, County and Local Government Certification

The City, County and Local Government Law Certification Committee is now in its ninth year of existence. Presently, there are 155 attorneys certified in city, county and local government law, with 20 qualified individuals submitting applications to take the May 2005 examination. Attorneys certified in city, county and local government law now represent about 10 percent of the 1,600 section members of the section, which is above average when compared with other sections with legal specialization certification.

The committee has labored long and hard in its exam preparation and application review and will concentrate on grading soon in Tampa (June 2005). The committee was greatly assisted by Lindsay Worsham, who replaced Michelle Acuff last fall. Analogous to the City, County and Local Government Law Section members, our committee is composed of both private and public lawyers, representing cities, counties, school boards and water management districts, and the public when they need legal assistance before any of these types of entities.

The committee this year focused on trying to include additional specialized services to local governments, such as eminent domain. Clearly, the assistance of the City, County and Local Government Law Section in preparing the qualified applicants with their course for the exam helped greatly not only for certification applicants, but those wishing to have an excellent overview of local government law.

Finally, I would like to especially acknowledge Hank Ennis, who is leaving the committee due to term limits. Hank thoughtfully shared his knowledge on how to prepare the examination and what should be considered when grading an individual application. I can only hope that current committee members will share the same enthusiasm and mentoring to new members.

AUDREY E. VANCE, Chair

Civil Procedure Rules

The Civil Procedure Rules Committee had a busy and productive year. In response to requests from the Supreme Court, various commissions and members of the Bar, the committee examined and considered changes to numerous civil procedure rules, forms, and guidelines.

A particularly challenging project, undertaken at the request of the Supreme Court, was an extensive examination of the civil procedure rules relating to trial court procedures. This work was conducted in response to the Judicial Management Council's Jury Innovations Committee Report. The charge of the Jury Innovations Committee was to review the existing Florida jury system and evaluate the need for improvements. Judge Jennifer Bailey began this project during her term as chair of the Civil Procedure Rules Committee and continued this past year to guide the work to completion. This extensive analysis will be completed in April and a report will be filed with the Supreme Court on May 2, 2005.

The committee also filed its 2005 biennial report with the Supreme Court. This report, which remains to be ruled upon, proposes changes to the following rules and forms:

Rule 1.380. The proposed amendment encourages litigants to attempt to resolve discovery disputes before filing a motion with the court.

Rule 1.420. The proposed amendment attempts to ensure that an action is not dismissed for lack of prosecution without notice and an opportunity for the claimant to recommence prosecution.

Rule 1.431. The proposed amendment provides for challenges of jurors "for cause" based upon bias regarding nonparties against whom liability may be imposed.

Rule 1.510. The proposed amendment seeks to ensure that parties receive notice and, when appropriate, copies of evidentiary materials upon which the other party relies in support of a motion for summary judgment.

Form 1.989. The proposed amendment modifies the form to reflect proposed changes to Rule 1.420.

Form 1.997. The proposed amendment modifies the form to notify the clerk and trial court when an action involves a challenge to a legislatively initiated proposed constitutional amendment.

The proposed changes to the rules and forms were published in the Bar News and comments from members of the Bar and the general public were invited. Comments received were forwarded to the committee members for review and included in the report to the Supreme Court. Scott Dimond, chair of the Drafting Subcommittee, has done an excellent job throughout the year on these proposed changes.

The committee also approved several other proposed rule changes that will be submitted to the Supreme Court in the 2007 biennial report. The proposed changes include:

Legal Needs of Children. Several proposed amendments modify rules that relate to children's rights in depositions and the settlement of claims brought on behalf of minors. These changes are based upon recommendations by The Florida Bar Commission on the Legal Needs of Children.

Rule 1.280. The proposed amendment modifies the rule to reflect the 2003 amendment to Rule 1.370, which limited the number of requests for admissions.

Rule 1.351. The proposed amendment specifies that Rule 1.351 is the exclusive means to obtain nondeposition discovery from nonparties and permits the court to resolve objections to such discovery.

Rule 1.820. The proposed amendment allows, under certain circumstances, parties with third-party claims in arbitration to pursue such claims in circuit court.

Proposed changes to the Uniform Statewide Guidelines for the Taxation of Costs in civil cases were filed in 2004. This year, the subcommittee responded to comments from members of the Bar. Oral argument on the proposed changes was scheduled for May 5, 2005, before the Supreme Court. Dan Bean, who is no longer on the committee, has continued to provide excellent assistance on this issue.

The committee also reviewed and modified its internal operating procedures and rules. The main goals of the revisions were to: 1) enable quicker responses to time-sensitive issues such as legislative changes and Supreme Court requests; 2) encourage every committee member to actively serve on at least one subcommittee or participate in one special project; and 3) promote more efficient functioning of subcommittees so that issues are extensively researched and debated before a subcommittee recommends action by the full committee. Donnie McKenzie has led this important subcommittee.

It has been an honor to serve as chair of the committee. I thank vice chairs Judge Kevin Carey, Courtney Kneece Grimm, and Adrienne Frischberg Promoff, who provided valuable assistance and advice. I would also like to express appreciation to all subcommittee chairs for their diligent work and for keeping the myriad projects on track. I am especially grateful for Bar staff attorney/liaison Madelon Horwich for her continued excellent assistance to this committee.

ROBERT N. CLARKE, JR., Chair

Clients' Security Fund

The Clients' Security Fund was established to reimburse those clients of an attorney who have suffered a loss of their money as a result of "misappropriation, embezzlement, or other wrongful taking or conversion by a member of The Florida Bar." The maximum award on any claim is $50,000. The committee is made up of 24 attorneys appointed from all geographic regions of Florida by the Bar's president. The committee meets three times during the year, typically in February, June, and October.

Claims are assigned to committee members in the same county or geographic region as the attorney who is the subject of the investigation. The committee attorney reviews the claim application, all backup documents and, if necessary, contacts the claimant, the accused attorney, and other individuals who may have knowledge concerning the claim. The investigation may include the review of all relevant court and public records. The member prepares a written report with a recommendation to either approve or deny the claim. The recommendation is presented to the full committee at its next meeting. The committee's action is then forwarded to the Board of Governors for review.

The committee is authorized to pay claims up to $10,000, unless within 14 days from the date of assignment for review, the reviewing board member recommends to CSF staff the claim be placed on the next available board agenda. On all awards in excess of $10,000, the committee's recommendation goes to the Board of Governors for final action.

The most common claims are those for attorneys' fees for legal services that were never rendered. Under the rules regulating the CSF, The Florida Bar is limited to reimbursement of $2,500 for claims involving unearned fees.

The fund is financed by $20 of every Bar member's annual dues. The CSF has over $1.4 million budgeted for FY 03-04 to pay claims. See Ch. 7, Rules Regulating The Florida Bar.

The CSF is assisted by the invaluable efforts of Suzanne Dunn, CSF coordinator, Michael A. Tartaglia, director, programs division, and Andrea Vanstone, CSF clerk.

Too often, the image of the entire legal profession is tarnished by the acts of a few members. The work of the committee is one way to improve the public opinion of the legal system and restore its shine. Members of the committee find satisfaction in serving on this committee and making this restoration possible.

BRUCE M. SMITH, Chair

Code and Rules of Evidence

The Code and Rules of Evidence Committee of The Florida Bar, a standing Bar rules committee, differs from the other rules committees of the Bar because of the hybrid nature of the Florida Evidence Code. In essence, the Evidence Code is composed of statutory provisions adopted by the legislature and then considered by the Florida Supreme Court as rules of procedure. Consequently, the committee becomes involved in the legislature process. As such, the committee may support or approve proposed changes to the Evidence Code, offer technical assistance in the drafting of any such legislation, or even submit its own proposals. However, before taking any such action, the committee will seek input from other committees or sections and then seek approval from the Board of Governors. The committee also becomes active in providing to the Supreme Court pros and cons of any proposed change to the Evidence Code.

In the 2005 legislative session the committee once again opposed the creation of a parent-child privilege as set forth in Senate Bill 0080 and House Bill 1157.

Since at the time of this writing the legislature is still in session, the committee will respond as necessary to any other proposed changes.

The committee this past year responded to a request by the Supreme Court for supplemental information supporting an amendment to F.S. 90.104 [section] (2004) to no longer require a party to renew an objection to the admissibility of evidence where a definitive pretrial ruling has already been made.

Also during the past year the committee endorsed the efforts of the Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section to repeal the dead person's (dead man's) statute.

The Advanced Evidence Seminar which is generally presented in the spring has been tentatively scheduled for October in Orlando. This seminar has been organized by Jim Skuthan and we acknowledge and appreciate all of his efforts.

Thanks are due to all of the committee members who have volunteered and worked diligently on the various subcommittees. A special thanks to the members of the Fast Track Committee, Michael Dickey, Thomas Barber, Alfred J. Saikali, Aubrey Rudd, Judge Shelly Kravitz, Kathleen T. Hessinger, and Wayne Hogan, who have been able to meet on a moment's notice. Thanks also to the vice chairs, Judge Dedee S. Costello, Aubrey Rudd, board liaison Murray Silverstein, and to our secretary, Al Saikali.

Our committee could not function without the skill, knowledge, and assistance of our Bar liaison, Ann Chittenden, who can never be thanked enough.

My thanks to all of the committee members who have dedicated their time to this committee and to The Florida Bar.

PHILLIP J. JONES, Chair

Construction Law Certification

In its inaugural year, the Construction Law Certification Committee got off to a solid start due entirely to the industry of its nine members, and The Florida Bar staff liaison, Mustafa Mahdi. This committee was charged with developing construction law certification committee policies, specifications for the application and administration of the examination for Florida Bar members seeking certification in this newly designated area of specialty. One hundred nineteen applications were received and 115 finalized for the first examination to be administered on May 21, 2005, with the expectation of announcing the first class of certified construction lawyers August 1, 2005.

As part of the process, the members of the committee underwent the educational process of learning how to best compose and grade an exam that will consist of essay and multiple choice questions in the multitiered area of construction law. Dr. Sue Legg, who specializes in the administering of exams, assisted in training the committee, most of whom were new to the process of creating a written examination.

Board certification in construction law is unique because it applies to Florida Bar members whether or not they primarily focus on a transactional practice, or instead are primarily involved in litigation. For this reason, the committee spent extra time insuring that the application process and examination was balanced to favor neither type of practice.

I thank the energetic members of the committee for their work this year.

KIMBERLY A. ASHBY, Chair

Consumer Protection Law

During the several years of its existence, the Consumer Protection Law Committee has focused on studying Florida consumer protection laws, helping strengthening them when necessary and considering means whereby the consumer public and the Bar will become better informed about the laws that protect them. During the 2004-05 Bar year, the committee assumed the task of developing a more defined mission statement which will articulate the role of the committee in providing inter alia advocacy training and statements of position concerning pending or proposed legislation. A subcommittee was created by the committee to assist in developing a mission statement. It is believed that by the end of the current Bar year, a mission statement will be approved by the committee for publication.

As in past years, the committee has continued its support of the Florida Call-A-Law Program. This program was started in 1990 and is a collection of 65 recorded audio messages and written scripts on a variety of basic legal topics of interest to the general public, including criminal law, family law, landlord/tenant, and civil rights topics. Each message is two to three minutes in length. The public and members of the Bar may access the voice messages with a pushbutton telephone by dialing [phone], or may access the written scripts via the Bar Web site. The committee is currently updating the content of the public messages and is developing Spanish and Creole versions of the program. The committee anticipates that the process of updating and enhancing the program will be completed by the end of 2005.

The committee has been actively working on providing quality CLE presentations for the members of the Bar. At the upcoming June annual meeting, the committee intends to present a comprehensive seminar concerning current consumer lending issues, entitled Addressing Predatory Lending Abuse: Protecting Florida Families and Businesses through Litigation and Legislative Challenges. The committee anticipates that nationally known litigation attorneys and experts on consumer finance law will speak at the seminar. Additionally, the committee is currently exploring the development of an annual symposium dedicated to Florida consumer law issues. The committee is working with the faculty of several Florida law schools to develop a curriculum and speaker roster. The goal is to make the symposium an annual event which will attract both novices and experienced consumer law attorneys.

The committee is also involved in providing the public with information concerning their rights under the various state and federal consumer protection laws. Toward this end, the committee is in the process of working with the AARP Foundation Litigation Project in its Volunteer Lawyer Review Program. The project provides a panel of volunteer lawyers in the state of Florida that provides guidance to seniors with respect to various consumer law issues. Members of the Bar are encouraged to contact the project if interested at 202-434-2060.

ROBERT W. MURPHY, Chair

Continuing Legal Education

The main purposes of the Continuing Legal Education Committee are to recommend and carry out the policies adopted by the Board of Governors of The Florida Bar in meeting the board's general policy of "providing its members with continuing legal education opportunities, which include courses, course materials, workshops, seminars, publications, video and audio tapes and computer software."

During this past Bar year, beginning with a retreat in Ponte Vedra Beach on October 8 and 9, the committee determined that it was time to conduct a major review of its policies and procedures as adopted by the Board of Governors. At the retreat, the members of the committee familiarized themselves with the history of the committee and thoroughly reviewed the policies and regulations relating to the creation and operation of the committee and continuing legal education in Florida. This was the first time in more than 10 years that the committee conducted such an extensive review. From this thorough review came a number of revisions that have been submitted to The Florida Bar Board of Governors for consideration and approval.

The committee also reviewed and updated its three-year master plan to include important issues such as encouraging sections, committees, and divisions to select speakers who are both knowledgeable in a subject area and reflect the diversity of the legal community.

EVETT L. SIMMONS, Chair

Criminal Law Certification

The Criminal Law Certification Committee has had another exciting and challenging year. There are currently 385 board certified criminal attorneys. Of these, 323 are certified as criminal trial specialists and 62 are certified as criminal appellate specialists. The committee is charged with the responsibility of administering and applying the certification rules and policies for both criminal trial law and criminal appellate law. As in past years, the committee's major activities have been reviewing files of new applicants, drafting questions for the annual examination, grading the examination questions, and reviewing files of applicants for recertification. In addition to these major activities, the committee has also undergone the daunting task of reviewing and revising the standing committee policies, as well as proposing rule changes to the Board of Legal Specialization and Education.

This year the committee continued to balance the need for well-qualified attorneys to become and remain board certified with the need to maintain the high standards expected of board certified criminal trial and appellate attorneys. Thirty-nine applicants applied for criminal trial certification and two applicants applied for criminal appellate certification this year. After a lengthy review process, the committee approved 40 new applicants to sit for the May 2005 examination. The committee also reviewed the files of 68 recertification applicants for 2005. Of these, 62 have been approved for recertification and four are still pending review.

In assessing the files of new and recertification applicants, the committee devotes a substantial amount of time and energy to the peer review process. Peer references are obtained and evaluated for each applicant. If, taken as a whole, the references raise questions about the applicant's professionalism, often the committee will hold the file and solicit additional references from peers, including judges before whom the applicant has practiced. When it is determined that enough information has been collected to evaluate the applicant fairly, the committee votes to accept or reject the applicant.

Applicants are also evaluated to determine whether they meet the board certification requirement of substantial involvement in criminal trial or appellate law. Questions often arise with this requirement. For example, this year several applicants who have been litigating cases under the Jimmy Ryce Act, which authorizes the involuntary commitment of sexual predators, inquired as to whether the cases would be considered for the purpose of meeting the substantial involvement requirement. Given the quasi-criminal nature of the Jimmy Ryce Act and because of the recurring nature of the issue, the committee voted to approve an amendment to the standing committee policies, setting out a specific formula for including Jimmy Ryce Act cases to satisfy the substantial involvement requirement.

As in past years, the committee has also spent considerable time discussing the differences (and the problems associated with those differences) in practicing criminal law in state court versus federal court. A subcommittee was appointed to investigate this issue. Hopefully, by early next year, the committee will be in an informed position to make any recommendations to the Board of Legal Specialization and Education.

This year, all committee members have participated in drafting new questions for the 2005 examination. The trial examination consists of five essay questions and 50 multiple choice questions. The appellate examination consists of the same five essay questions, but different multiple choice questions geared toward the appellate practitioner.

The committee extends its gratitude and appreciation to all those Bar members, especially members of the judiciary, who have taken the time to complete the peer reference forms on behalf of the applicants this year. Your continued participation in the board certification process is critical in ensuring that applicants become board certified. The committee also extends its sincere gratitude to its Bar liaison, Linda Cook, whose commitment, experience, enthusiastic support, and guidance have been invaluable throughout the year.

CRAIG L. CRAWFORD, Chair

Federal Court Practice

Each year, the Federal Court Practice Committee embarks on its mission to serve as the Bar's liaison to the federal courts, the standing committees of the Federal Judicial Conference, chapters of the Federal Bar Association in Florida, and those committees of The Florida Bar interested in federal practice, to publish the Florida Federal Court Practice Manual and to plan and host the annual Federal Judicial Roundtable. With the planning for the annual Federal Roundtable Program to be held on June 23 at the Bar Meetings in Orlando in its final stages, I am pleased on behalf of the committee to report that this year's mission is nearing successful completion. Publishing the manual and planning for the roundtable in particular require tremendous commitment and individual effort on the part of all committee members. I thank each and every member of the committee who has participated in ensuring that this year's roundtable program will provide a unique setting in which practitioners and the judiciary candidly can discuss efforts to improve and promote the fair and efficient administration of justice in federal court.

This year's roundtable will include a keynote presentation on federal sentencing guidelines post-Booker by special guest speaker, Judge G. Thomas Eisele, Eastern District of Arkansas, who also will join Judge Patricia C. Fawsett, Judge Donald L. Graham, and Robert A. Rush in a keynote panel discussion on the vanishing trial to be moderated by Brian F. Spector. As always, the program will offer federal practitioners the opportunity to engage in candid discussion with members of the federal judiciary during its signature roundtable program. We are pleased that thus far 20 members of the judiciary have agreed to participate in this year's program.

To further promote fair and efficient administration of justice in federal court, the committee this year has had the privilege of working as well with the Planning Committee of the 11th Circuit Judicial Conference chaired by Judge Patricia A. Seitz. At the urging of Chief Judge Edmondson, the 2005 11th Circuit Judicial Conference, May 12-14 in Hollywood, included for the first time a plenary panel discussion on Effective Case Management in Federal Court: A View from the Bench and the Bar to be followed by state breakout meetings. The state meetings will take place in the roundtable setting in a similar effort to permit attending practitioners and federal judges to discuss and develop practical solutions to issues raised at the conference. Immediately following the state meetings, the state chairs for the conference will present reports to the chief judge regarding recommendations for improving management of federal court cases.

As our year of service ends, I thank my vice chairs, Ryan Barack, Robert Telfer, and Paul Penichet for their hard work, enthusiastic support, and tireless commitment. I also want to recognize members Barbara Junge, Daniela Friedman, and Tina Talarchyk for their incredible spirit and commitment to service of the Bar. Particular thanks must be extended as well to Judge Jose Martinez for his continuing support. A final thanks as always to our Bar liaison, Gerry Rose, and to Connie Stewart, with whom it has been such a pleasure to serve.

EILEEN L. PARSONS, Chair

Immigration and Nationality Law Certification

The Immigration and Nationality Law Certification Committee is responsible for certifying attorneys who practice in the field of immigration and nationality. While all Americans' lives have changed since 9/11, probably no aspect of law has been more impacted by 9/11 than the practice of immigration law. Along with heightened security at our borders and airports came the dismantling of legacy Immigration and Naturalization Service, into three new agencies within the newly formed Department of Homeland Security. This has resulted for the most part in tougher adjudications and longer delays in reviewing and approving applications. Our area of law is particularly complex because it is constantly changing, not only because of legislation, but also due to historical changes worldwide, including wars, natural disasters, and agreements with foreign countries.

Certification in our field was approved by The Florida Bar in 1994. We currently have 50 attorneys certified in our area of speciality.

In March 2005, this committee gave the 11th examination. Seven attorneys sat for examination. In early April, we completed the grading of the examination.

Our committee has worked hard and diligently in reviewing applications and preparing a certification examination. Since our area of law is constantly changing, even during the last week of drafting the examination we had to revise several questions and answers in response to current changes in the law.

Anyone who becomes certified in this area should be particularly proud because it is such a complex area. We encourage those who practice in our area and meet the qualifications to apply for certification.

I personally would like to thank all on our committee for their diligent efforts and assistance.

LOURDES MARTINEZ-ESQUIVEL, Chair

International Law Certification

Given Florida's strategic location and benign climate, it was inevitable. And now it is in full swing: Florida has become a global player in the world economy, with its annual turnover ranking 15th among the nations and states of the world. This expansion is more than momentary or transitory. The Harvard Business Review foretold it long ago, in 1977 predicting Miami and Florida's comeuppance as a "Global Center of Tomorrow."

Today, Florida has become the new world's nearby, multicultured, low tax, stable, accessible, and welcoming international business, trade, services center and investment safe harbor and with its continuing explosive growth, Florida will remain the western hemisphere's international business and investment magnet of the future.

For lawyers, the vast expansion of trade in goods and especially services, in investment, in commerce and transactions, and in immigration and institutions has not been unaccompanied by legal problems and challenges, and many of Florida's lawyers have been thrust into the realm of global interconnectivity as an ever-growing stream of clients have found and engaged them.

However, only 27 of the Bar's 76,056 members, which represents less than one percent of the International Law Section's 1,025 members, have taken steps to become certified as specialists in international law.

In the belief that there are other Florida lawyers who have become sufficiently specialized in this broad area, "international law," but have yet to apply to do so, the certification committee labors on also focusing on the need, this past year, to recertify those 20 individuals who became certified at the outset, in 1999.

Also, with the current committee having only two holdover members from its inception (Jack Bierley and the undersigned who both must now rotate off the committee pursuant to standing board policies), and four new members this year, the focus has been on shedding old skin and reinvigorating the examination with infusion of some fresh new questions which are timely. Pam Seay spurred this new thrust and got almost everyone into a mode of producing new material.

In-person meetings have made for dynamic exchanges. I know as a veteran of many conference calls that face-to-face meetings are to be recommended for any committee's energization. During these meetings, the committee reviews applications for initial certification as well as recertification. In addition to reviewing the applicant's qualifications, peer review is an important part of the application process. The integrity and value of board certification depends upon candid and factually accurate applicant peer review evaluations. Peer review is used to solicit information to assess competence in the specialty field and professionalism in the practice of law. All individuals who are asked to evaluate an applicant should respond quickly so the committee can make a fair and accurate decision on the application. International law will continue to expand its embrace of us and there is no question that Florida will need more "international lawyers" as ever more complex situations arise from Florida's many remaining golden opportunities and, thus, certification in this area will continue to warrant increasing attention.

The purpose is two-fold: to accord those who have distinguished themselves in the practice of international law a means of certifying that this is so, and to afford members of the public an enhanced means of identifying and finding them.

For his service on this committee, throughout its lifetime to date, including chairing it in 2002-03, Jack Bierley is to be heartily commended. And for her always most conscientious attention and capable management of the committee's activities, Carol Vaught is also to be applauded.

Finally, special thanks to Josh Marcus, who not only ably chaired this committee last year but simultaneously chaired no less than the International Law Section of the American Bar Association. As Josh stated in his report last year, "The International Law Certification Committee is doing its part to ensure public confidence that the lawyers it chooses to assist in global business will have the qualifications necessary to do so."

GEORGE C.J. MOORE, Chair

Journal and News Editorial Board

The quality of feature articles in the Bar Journal is ensured by this board of editors, which reviews all submissions for publication consideration. The board strives to provide to members those articles that educate and inform; however, originality, significance of topic, thoroughness of analysis, clarity, and organization are critical to publication acceptance. Of course, the quality of our publication ultimately depends on the authors who submit articles for publication, and we appreciate and encourage the continued submission of thoughtful articles.

The board honored two authors in June 2004 with its 2003 Florida Bar Journal Excellence in Writing Award: Mark R. Osherow and John T. Kolinski. "Counsel Beware: Considerations Before Implementing Florida's Civil Theft Statute" by Mr. Osherow and "Gore, Cooper Industries, and State Farm v. Campbell--Game, Set, and Match for Exorbitant Punitive Damage Awards" by Mr. Kolinski were selected from all published articles during the previous year as having exceptional merit.

The editorial board solicits members' submissions for publication consideration. In addition to the recognition of your peers, publication can result in CLE credit and posting of the article on the Bar's Web site, Westlaw, and LexisNexis, as well as making excellent resume-fodder.

A committee of the editorial board has studied the scope and function of its policies this year and will make its report regarding revision at the annual meeting. Primarily the group has reviewed the manuscript page limitations for a special issue. The committee is looking at this particular guideline in order to comply with the Budget Committee's request to reduce the number of Bar Journal printed pages. Serving with me on the committee are David Cannella, Robert Downie, Annette Escobar, David Federbush, and Julia Luyster.

At our June meeting, editor Cheryle Dodd presented Steve Lesser the Deborah M. Smoot Memorial Editor's Award for his outstanding service to the board during his term on the board. Mr. Lesser is a former chair of the editorial board as well as coordinator of several of its writing seminars. Additionally, he was a dedicated reviewer and supplied valuable support for the publications.

Although the board's work primarily is directed to the Bar Journal, it also oversees the mission of the twice-monthly Bar News, which serves as the primary source of news about our Bar, legislation, official notice of any changes to court rules or the Rules Regulating The Florida Bar, and other current legal issues. The classified ads in the Bar News provide one of the most comprehensive resources for employment opportunities in the state. This year, the Bar News staff has initiated an RSS feed to provide timely news to its subscribers, in addition to Web site postings.

The 2004 annual membership directory for the first time was printed without its center section of such information as the courts, Bar sections and committees, state and federal government offices, and legal aid offices. Members are being encouraged to use the Web site, www.flabar.org, for the most current data. The format in which some of this information is provided will change when the new design of the Web site is launched, perhaps as early as this month. I urge all Bar members to use the Web site when seeking any information regarding The Florida Bar and any other legal links. As with the revisions discussed above, this is a budgetary issue that we had to implement.

The Bar's official publications are invaluable to our members. Both continue to be in the top 10 "hits" by visitors to the Bar's Web site. I am privileged to have served as chair of the Journal and News Editorial Board and I thank the other members of this dedicated group, and the Bar staff, for their involvement in producing these quality publications.

DAVID R. CASSETTY, Chair

Judicial Administration and Evaluation

The 2004-05 year became an organizational year for the newly constituted Judicial Administration and Evaluation Committee. This committee consists of the former Judicial Evaluation Committee and Judicial Administration, Selection and Tenure Committee. Due to hurricane disruption, the committee met only twice, those meetings taking place at The Florida Bar Midyear Meeting in January 2005 and the Bar's annual meeting in June.

The primary agenda item for consideration at the January meeting was prioritization of concerns and projects that the committee would undertake in the future. The committee reached a consensus that some tweaking of the evaluation process for trial judges could well be in order. In January, the committee determined to focus on two items.

The first item involves looking at methods by which judicial evaluation surveys are made available, including the number of judges who are participating in the survey process, the form of the surveys, and the threshold for distribution of surveys. A subcommittee chaired by Judge Morris Silberman was appointed to pursue this project. The committee has previously received input from Judge Becky Titus and Judge Rick DeFuria, who are enthusiastic about expanding the availability of judicial evaluation. The committee also has received positive comments from committee member Judge John Kest, who is personally having good results with his own judicial surveys in the Ninth Circuit. Judge Kest has made very helpful suggestions to Judge Silberman's subcommittee.

The second issue upon which the committee reached consensus is the possibility of utilizing a method of electronic-based evaluation. Committee members raised questions concerning confidentiality and other issues. Tom Warner has agreed to chair a subcommittee to move forward with recommendations on this project. Mr. Warner's subcommittee is charged to look at the question of whether a change to electronic surveying would improve the quantity of responses and whether confidentiality can be guaranteed.

The committee expects to begin the job of policy formulation at the annual meeting in June and to continue that effort into coming years. Although the judicial administration side of the committee has not been particularly active during the past year, the committee welcomes input from interested Bar members.

JUDGE CHARLES J. KAHN, JR., Chair

Judicial Nominating Procedures

The Judicial Nominating Procedures Committee has been actively involved this year in the following projects: the JNC Application Review, a Needs Assessment Form, JNC Training for Commissioners, and Recording JNC Judicial Interviews.

JNC Application Review: Input was solicited and received from commissioners regarding the possible revision of the current judicial application form. Suggestions were received with regard to providing specific time frames on certain questions, privacy issues (marital status and children's information), community service, and arrest records. All suggestions were incorporated and a redline version will be reviewed by the committee.

Needs Assessment Form: This form was developed to send to all JNC commissioners to obtain their input on what topics they would like to have addressed at future JNC training sessions. We hope to distribute the form to commissioners at all future training sessions.

JNC Training: The training was held in Tampa at the Hillsborough County Courthouse on October 15, 2004. Featured speakers included Rocky Rodriguez, general counsel to the governor, who spoke with regard to the governor's philosophy on making judicial appointments; Supreme Court Justice Peggy Quince, who spoke on judicial independence; County Judge Michael Raiden, who spoke on Canon 7 issues; Florida Bar President-elect Hank Coxe, who spoke on behalf of The Florida Bar; Deputy Attorney General John Carassas, who spoke on sunshine laws and public record issues; Labor attorney Richard McCrea, Jr., who spoke on interviewing techniques; and Phil Claypool, general counsel for the Ethics Commission, who spoke on ethics laws. The program also included two panel discussions, one on the entire judicial selection process and the other featuring a mock judicial interview.

We hope to include a commission chair's training session and more specialized training on proper interviewing techniques in future educational programs.

Recording of JNC Judicial Interviews: This topic came up as a result of some controversy in a circuit JNC involving alleged inappropriate questions being asked during judicial interviews. The Board of Governors requested input from our committee on this topic, and also requested the committee draft a "rule amendment" that provides for the mandatory recording of all judicial applicant interviews. A member of the Board of Governors indicated that a court reporting service had volunteered to perform the recording on a pro bono basis. After considerable discussion and debate, the JNPC drafted a proposed rule amendment, as requested, and forwarded the draft rule to the board with a recap of the committee's discussions as to the pros and cons of such a rule.

The committee consensus was that such a "rule" was not necessary to accomplish the recording of the interviews, as the current rules provide that the interviews are open to the public and do not prohibit their recording. The committee noted that the avowed purpose of the rule proposal, to discourage "inappropriate" questions by commissioners, will not necessarily be achieved by recording the interviews. The committee also expressed concern with regard to potential unintended consequences of mandating the recording of interviews by "pro bono" court reporters. Specifically, the committee was concerned with what procedures a JNC should follow if a pro bono court reporter appeared late, or not at all. The rescheduling of interviews under such circumstances would not appear to be either practical or appropriate, considering the time constraints under which JNCs currently operate.

The absence of a dedicated funding source for any associated expenses was also a significant concern of the committee. While pro bono services may currently be available, there is no guarantee that JNCs will be able to secure such services, on a pro bono basis, in the future. Thus, another unintended consequence of mandated court reporting would be the issue of who would be responsible for costs associated with the recording of interviews. Because the committee was unable to identify any willing funding source, and inasmuch as the Board of Governors requested the proposed rule, the committee included in its draft a proviso that The Florida Bar would be responsible for such costs.

The committee noted that at least one circuit JNC has adopted a local procedure whereby it records applicant interviews, utilizing pro bono court reporter services. That JNC has reported favorable results from its experience.

The committee concluded that while the recording of interviews may indeed serve a useful and beneficial purpose, there was no need for a rule change. The JNPC was also in agreement that that regardless of whether a recording rule or policy is ultimately adopted, the subject of interviewing techniques and inappropriate questioning should continue to be addressed and emphasized in the training and education offered to commissioners.

The committee continues to work with the governor's office in assisting with the program development and annual training of all JNC commissioners. We will continue to make recommendations for improving the judicial nominating process when needed. We extend our gratitude to all of the sitting JNC commissioners for their dedication to public service and commitment to a fair and impartial judiciary.

MANUEL MENENDEZ, JR., Chair

Juvenile Court Rules

The Juvenile Court Rules Committee is divided into two subcommittees, one dealing with juvenile delinquency issues (primarily F.S. Ch. 985) and one dealing with juvenile dependency issues (primarily F.S. Ch. 39). The committee started the current Bar year with a substantial amount of work, as a result of the Supreme Court's request that all rules committees "fast track" any changes necessitated by the 2004 legislature. Pursuant to this request of the court, the committee proposed amending three rules and two forms pursuant to the 2004 Florida Legislature's amendment of various Florida statutes. On March 3, 2005, the court issued its opinion (SC04-1653) amending the rules and forms as proposed by the committee. That is, the court amended Rule 8.041, Witness Attendance and Subpoenas, and Rule 8.225, Process, Diligent Searches and Service of Pleadings and Papers to provide that issuance of subpoenas shall be as provided in the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure. The court also amended Rule 8.415, Judicial Review of Dependency Cases, to create new subdivision (f)(4), to set forth a provision for the court to use to find the Department of Children and Family Services to be in contempt for failure to comply with specified and time-sensitive case plan obligations, particularly as to providing independent living services.

The court also amended Form 8.929, Detention Order, and Form 8.947 to incorporate provisions governing the cost of supervision and care to be assessed against parents of children detained or disposed into the custody of or under the supervision of the Department of Juvenile Justice.

The committee had previously submitted its biennial report of proposed rule changes during the 2003-04 Bar year, which remained pending with the court at the start of the current year. On January 27, 2005, the court issued its opinion (Case SC04-97) adopting almost all the rules committee's numerous amendments as proposed. However, the court declined to adopt proposed changes to Rule 8.165, Providing Counsel to Parties. This proposal was recommended unanimously by The Florida Bar Commission on the Legal Needs of Children, and would require that a juvenile accused of committing a delinquent act be given a meaningful opportunity to confer with an attorney before waiving counsel in a delinquency proceeding, that any waiver of counsel must be in writing, and that the written waiver of counsel be submitted to the court in the presence of a parent, legal guardian, responsible adult relative, or an attorney who had conferred with the child. While the court believes that consultation with an attorney prior to waiving counsel would be an important additional safeguard to protect a juvenile's constitutional right to counsel, the court was mindful of the potential financial impact of this requirement, and declined to adopt the proposal. The court did urge the legislature to consider the commission's recommendations, as well as urging this practice to be instituted on a voluntary basis in those jurisdictions in which it is not currently done. Legislation that would implement the committee's proposal is pending before the 2005 legislature as this report goes to press.

As an internal matter, this year the rules committee worked on, and adopted, an extensive revision to its internal operating procedures. Significant changes include the elimination of voting by proxy; and a two-pronged voting requirement, with the committee voting once in concept to adopt a proposal, and voting final approval of the text of the proposal.

The chair thanks the committee's vice chairs and members for their dedicated and diligent work to further juvenile justice in Florida's courts. The chair especially thanks the committee's program administrator, Ellen Sloyer, for her dedication to this committee, and for keeping the chair on track throughout the year.

DEBORAH A. SCHROTH, Chair

Law-related Education

As Florida Bar President Kelly Overstreet Johnson recently noted, "This is a critical time for Americans to recognize the vital role of the judiciary in maintaining the rule of law and the importance of the separation of powers among the three branches of government." (1) The Law-related Education Committee is helping young Americans learn more about the judicial system and its interaction with the executive and legislative branches of our government. Our committee also assists lawyers and judges with entertaining and informative classroom presentations.

At the 2005 Annual Meeting of The Florida Bar, our committee will sponsor No More Talking Heads: How to Deliver Engaging Law-Related Presentations. This seminar, presented by Florida Supreme Court Justice R. Fred Lewis and Florida Law-related Education Association (FLREA) Executive Director Annette Boyd Pitts, will showcase new lessons and activities appropriate for people of all ages interested in learning more about our system of justice. Attorneys can earn CLE credit while learning new and effective methods of talking to various groups about legal concepts. The committee is also developing other new programs, including one designed around The Florida Bar's Legal Guide for New Adults and another incorporating movies with legal themes. Individual committee members also exchange ideas about law-related education opportunities and activities in their own communities.

As in years past, members of the committee have assisted FLREA with its ongoing programs, including the Mock Trial Competition and We the People mock congressional hearing. Committee members were also busy with Law Week activities, promoting the theme "The American Jury: We the People in Action."

With a majority of Florida school districts not offering an American Government class until the 12th grade, and only 13 districts offering a civics course at any time in middle or high school, (2) we as members of the Bar bear a greater burden in educating citizens about the legal system. The committee is ready to assist lawyers and judges in working with our educators to ensure that students learn about the principles that guide our state and nation.

SONYA HARRELL HOENER, Chair

(1) Statement of Kelly Overstreet Johnson, President of the Florida Bar, "Bar President Denounces Attacks on Judiciary," March 24, 2005.

(2) Florida Law-Related Education Association, Civic Education Survey Report, Summer 2004.

Lawyer Referral Service

The Lawyer Referral Service Committee had a very active and productive year.

The committee staff worked with the Bar's Information Systems Department in refining the Lawyer Referral Service (LRS) Online. The LRS Online was launched in August 2003 and had been very successful, averaging 1382 referrals each month. LRS Online is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The LRS staff is working with the information systems department staff to develop online membership application and reporting features. These new features will enable lawyers to join the service online, update their areas of law, decrease postage costs, and keep referral records up-to-date.

In 2004-05, the service experienced an outstanding year in terms of both referrals and revenues. The staff made over 135,700 referrals and the service received over $703,606 in revenue.

The top five areas of law referred were family law, personal injury, real estate, consumer law, and labor law.

The top five counties in which referrals were made were Dade (32,647), Volusia (9,136), Polk (8,958), Marion (8,715), and Brevard (6,160).

The committee continues to strive to create public awareness of the service through Yellow Pages advertising, press releases, and membership awareness via the Bar News, Journal, and The Florida Bar Web site.

At the annual meeting in June, the committee will make plans to discuss its goals and objectives for the 2005-06 Bar year.

ANTHONY SCALESE, Chair

Legal Needs of Children

During the 2003-04 Bar year, my main priority for The Florida Bar was to ensure that the lawyers in Florida were meeting the legal needs of children. While I was Bar president, the Board of Governors voted to make the Committee on the Legal Needs of Children a standing committee within The Florida Bar family. I was honored to be appointed as chair of the committee for 2004-05, and looked forward to working with so many like-minded attorneys and professionals, who have the best interests of the children of Florida at heart.

The 2004-05 Bar year got off to a rocky start. The committee was scheduled to meet at the Bar's General Meeting in Tampa on September 9, 2004. Unfortunately, Mother Nature had other plans, not only for the Bar, but for the majority of the state of Florida. As the date of the meeting approached, so did Hurricane Frances. Hurricane Frances came ashore on the central east coast of Florida on September 5th as a Category 2 storm, crossed the state, went into the Gulf of Mexico, and then slammed into the panhandle. The Bar cancelled its general meeting, thereby canceling the Legal Needs of Children committee meeting.

The committee met in January at the Bar's Midyear Meeting in Miami. During the meeting, the committee voted to endorse, in name only, the American Bar Association's Juvenile Indigent Defense Assessment for Florida. The committee also voted to work with the Department of Children and Families on a pilot adoption program called "From Foster to Family." The project is still in its infancy, but conceptually will "assign" a foster child to a law firm or other organization, and the members of that firm or organization will reach out to members of the community to find a permanent home for the child. The pilot is taking place in various parts of the state, including the following counties: Orange, Osceola, Brevard, Seminole, Duval, Hernando, Citrus, Lake, Marion, and Sumter.

Committee member and executive director of the Statewide Guardian Ad Litem office Angela Orkin gave a brief report to the committee. She reported that the governor's recommended budget included funding at the requested levels for the GAL office.

The committee also discussed its legislative priorities for the 2005 legislative session. The committee discussed the amendments to the Florida Rules of Juvenile Procedure, which had been filed with the Supreme Court of Florida. Specifically, they discussed Rule 8.165 re providing counsel to parties. The requested amendment would have put into rule that all children in a delinquency hearing have a meaningful opportunity to speak with an attorney, before waiving their right to legal counsel. Committee member Carlos Martinez told the committee that he was working with a representative in Miami on language for a bill to put the requested amendment language into Florida Statutes. The Supreme Court of Florida released its opinion re Florida Rules of Juvenile Procedure in which it deferred ruling on Rule 8.165 until after the 2005 legislative session. The court also urged the legislature to act statutorily on this matter. The committee met via conference call in March and voted to recommend to the Board of Governors at its April meeting, to adopt the following legislative position as a Florida Bar position: Supports legislation to require that a child have a meaningful opportunity to consult with an attorney before waiving his/her right to counsel in a delinquency proceeding. The Board of Governors concurred with the committee recommendation. The same week that the board adopted the legislative position, Senator Wise (R-Jacksonville) offered a strike-all amendment to Senate Bill 1218 which included the language to amend F.S. [section]985.203 to ensure that children have a meaningful opportunity to consult with an attorney before waiving their right to counsel in a delinquency proceeding. This language has yet to show up in a House Bill. However, now that the Bar has adopted the position, its legislative counsel will try to get the legislation through the process before the 2005 session concludes.

Although the committee's meeting schedule was abbreviated, the committee has moved closer to its goal of implementing all of the recommendations put forth by the 2002 Legal Needs of Children Commission's final report.

I want to personally thank Paul Hill and Dana Wood for the outstanding job they do, both staffing this committee as well as keeping the committee abreast of all of the legislative developments that affect the legal needs of Florida's children.

MILES A MCGRANE III, chair

LOMAS

As I come to the end my long running tenure as chair of the LOMAS Committee, I wish to thank the LOMAS staff and committee membership for their dedication and efforts during the past six years.

During 2004-05, the LOMAS program has continued to provide crucial member services. The program remains focused on achieving its mission of providing information to members on subjects related to the efficient and effective delivery of legal services, including, but not limited to: administrative services; client relations; continuing legal education; financial management, forms of organization, human resources, marketing, office facilities; professionalism; risk management; strategic planning; substantive systems, technology, and trust accounting.

To accomplish the mission, the committee established four goals for the program.

Goal 1: Investigate, accumulate, and evaluate information, technology, and materials to assist attorneys in the effective management of their practice, while promoting professionalism in all aspects of practice and awareness of risk reduction procedures.

Goal 2: Present, publish, and disseminate, in a cost-effective manner, information, techniques, and materials to assist lawyers with the effective management of their practice.

Goal 3: Assist, upon request, individual lawyers and small firms in the evaluation and solution of their management problems.

Goal 4: Anticipate and advise The Florida Bar about perceived trends, problems and developments in professionalism and practice management.

The Florida Bar staff members who constitute the Law Office Management Assistance Service have between them more than 60 years of law firm administration and corporate management experience, including individual expertise in such diverse areas as fiduciary management and banking, firm governance, human resources management, and technology implementation and training.

The three practice management advisors (PMA) supported by an administrative assistant, annually field more than 10,000 telephonic and email questions from members. PMAs do a mix of voluntary, disciplinary, and diversionary on-site consultations across the state. In 2004-05, they conducted between 70 and 80 of these visits to private law firms, governmental law departments, and corporate legal departments. LOMAS services are available to any member, in-state or out, who requests help. In 2004, for example, LOMAS conducted a three-month, comprehensive statewide review of the Legal Services of the Department of Children and Family Services. LOMAS PMAs are in demand as speakers, with about 40 speaking engagements annually. In 2004-05, LOMAS PMAs spoke in numerous venues across the state, ranging from the YLD Practicing with Professionalism seminars to local bar associations, law schools, and other Bar practice section seminars. PMAs were featured speakers in out-of-state venues as well, including the North Carolina Bar Association, the Association of Legal Administrators in Chicago, and the ABA's practice management seminars. LOMAS developed and sponsored a technology seminar held at the 2004 annual meeting in Boca Raton, as well.

LOMAS is committed to making materials readily available to the Bar membership. For example, in 2005, the LOMAS team expanded the content of the LOMAS webpage, by adding 118 sample administrative forms which can be downloaded in either Word or WordPerfect format.

In 1980, LOMAS was the first program of its kind in the nation. It is by virtue of the committee's guidance and the ongoing and vigorous actions of LOMAS Director J.R. Phelps and his staff that The Florida Bar's Law Office Management Assistance Service remains the role model that 20 other states have emulated as they developed similar programs. Kudos to all of you involved with the program over the past 25 years.

WALTER CRUMBLEY, Chair

Marital and Family Law Certification

During the years that this chair has served the Marital and Family Law Certification Committee, the committee has been challenged in many areas. This year was no exception. Problems concerning the exam, especially the desire of many applicants to receive sample questions from previous exams, were addressed by the committee and the concept of revising the standards to permit such a procedure and to allow a limited exchange of information with exam applicants and those attorneys taking the certification review course was raised by the chair to the BLSE. Permitting a committee representative to address the hundreds of attorneys who attend the two-day marital and family law certification review course concerning the benefits of certification, the format of the exam, and grading methodology would be a wonderful promotional tool without in any way harming the integrity of the process.

The committee also recognized that family law is an area subject to constant change each year by both the courts and the legislature. Consequently, the committee voted to eliminate the bank of previous exam questions and instead prepare a new exam each year. The committee is to be commended for undertaking this responsibility, which means substantially more work for the committee each year.

In an endeavor to encourage applicants to sit for the exam, the exam was streamlined and shortened. Preparation of the exam commenced during the first meeting of the committee on July 16, 2004, which the committee anticipated would allow ample time to compose questions and answers which would then be reviewed and revised by our exam consultant Scott Rubin.

A very active hurricane season delayed both the creation of the initial exam questions and the obtaining of information from applicants. As a result, the committee's review of new and recertification files was somewhat delayed. New committee members were paired with seasoned members and trained in the review of applications, peer review, and exam preparation. This mentoring shall continue to maintain consistency and fairness throughout the review process.

The most challenging and controversial issue facing the committee is unique to marital and family law. The Florida Supreme Court and our family court judges throughout the state have appropriately mandated that family lawyers work to minimize the disruption that divorce causes to families, especially children who are too often innocent and unprotected victims of divorce. This mandate guides the way dissolution cases are resolved, seeks to limit the fees generated, and specifically sets forth the ethics with which family lawyers must practice. Justice Barbara Pariente has stated that for family law certification purposes, the "best" family lawyer is the problem solver who assists his or her client in achieving long-lasting solutions. This committee is following Justice Pariente's directive.

Many skilled, experienced family lawyers have heeded the call and worked diligently to resolve disputes in alternative ways to the adversarial litigation track. Attorneys are urging clients to address nonmonetary children's issues with mental health professionals including parent coordinators, mediating financial matters and, eliminating written and oral attacks on the opposing party and counsel. By doing so, family lawyers are limiting, and in some instances have eliminated, their participation in evidentiary hearings. Unfortunately, the reward for such efforts under our present requirements may be the denial of certification or recertification in marital and family law due to an insufficient number of trials (10 trials in the preceding five years for new applicants and five trials in five years for recertification). This anomaly has been examined by our committee and it is my intent that a solution be proposed to the BLSE next year to deal with this problem. The children and families we serve are entitled to nothing less.

I thank the members of the committee for their work and expenditure of time away from their practice. Hopefully our grading session, dinner, and cocktail reception at my firm's Key West location made it all worthwhile. The committee is grateful to our new Bar specialist Kathryn Cope for her efforts and to Dawna Bicknell, director of legal specialization and education, and Linda Cook for their continued support, counsel, expertise, and collective sense of humor. Special thanks is extended to my partner Scott Rubin for his unlimited knowledge of substantive law and the procedural niceties. His unending contribution to the committee as its exam consultant and his unwavering support have allowed me to accept reappointment as chair for a third year.

TERRY L. FOGEL, Chair

Media & Communications Law

The Media & Communications Law Committee provides educational programming for members of The Florida Bar and the public on a wide range of topics including free speech, access to government and court records, the reporter's privilege, and the state and federal court systems. With its annual media law awards, the committee also plays an important role in relations between the Bar and Florida media. As in the past, the committee joined forces with likeminded organizations, including the First Amendment Foundation, to expand its educational reach to broader audiences, and it reached out to other organizations in the state to communicate the most recent developments regarding access to court records while the Florida Supreme Court's Committee on Privacy and Court Records prepares its final recommendations to the court. The following summarizes the committee's work during its 2004-05 term:

The Florida Bar 15th Annual Reporters' Workshop. Neil Skene of Tallahassee chaired this year's Reporters' Workshop sponsored by The Florida Bar with contributions from Hunton & Williams LLP, Gordon Hargrove & James, P.A., and Sachs Sax & Klein. The two-day program held in Tallahassee introduced 18 new reporters in Florida to the court systems, both state and federal; and award-winning journalists and top media lawyers from the state led seminars on how to cultivate sources, how to find and investigate stories, and how to obtain access to public records. Mike Glazer, chair of the Communications Committee, has dubbed the Reporters' Workshop "the best Bar program that nobody knows about." Once again, a highlight of the program was a reception and dinner at the Capitol with the Florida Supreme Court justices. The committee very much appreciated Chief Justice Pariente's incisive comments at the dinner.

The Florida Bar Media Law Awards. At the Reporters' Workshop dinner, Chief Justice Pariente and I distributed the 2004 Media Law Awards. Now in its 50th year, this awards program recognizes news media that have made a significant effort to inform the public about the delivery or quality of justice. Judges for the 2005 Media Law Awards are Gregory Herbert of Greenberg Traurig, P.A.; Linda Carol, Charlottesville, Virginia; Lyrissa Lidsky, a professor at the University of Florida Levin College of Law; Rebekah Radisch of UNC-TV, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina; and Duane Stanford of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The judges have begun evaluating this year's entries, and the committee anticipates announcing this year's winners by early summer with an awards presentation to follow in the fall.

Sunshine Seminars. James B. Lake coordinated with the Florida First Amendment Foundation to produce these discussions of the reporter's privilege and newsgathering. Judy Mercier, Gregory Herbert, George Gabel, Tim Conner, Ed Birk, David Snyder, Neil Skene, Gregg Thomas, Jim Lake, Debra Deardourff, Deanna Shullman, Karen Kammer, Dana McElroy, Rachel Fugate, Chuck Tobin, Lynn Carrrillo, and Casey Ebsary led the seminars, which took place in eight Florida counties.

The Florida Bar First Amendment Seminar. Thomas R. Julin of Hunton & Williams, LLP, pulled together another outstanding panel to discuss the First Amendment decisions handed down by the U.S. Supreme Court during the 2004 term. With Tom Julin as moderator, U. S. District Judges John Antoon and Alberto Jordan; former chief judge of Florida's Third District Court of Appeal Alan Schwartz; professors Lyrissa Lidsky of the Levin College of Law and Lili Levi of the University of Miami School of Law; and Daniel D.S. Paul, Richard J. Ovelmen, and I will serve as panelists for the seminar, scheduled for June 24 at The Florida Bar's Annual Meeting in Orlando.

Reporter's Handbook. The Reporter's Handbook, available online via The Florida Bar's Web site, is an up-to-date resource that provides reporters, attorneys, and the general public with information regarding a wide variety of topics, including state and federal sunshine laws, access to courts and court records, defamation, and invasion of privacy. The handbook also serves as a resource for general information on the courts, the Bar, and other statewide entities. This year, committee members Laura Jacobs and William Frederick Ebsary, Jr., supervised the updating of all chapters of the Reporter's Handbook.

Electronic Access to Court Records. Carol LoCicero has done an excellent job chairing the committee's subcommittee on electronic access to court records. The subcommittee was established in response to an invitation from the Florida Supreme Court's Privacy and Court Records Committee (CPCR) to comment on both electronic and over-the-counter access to court records. Carol LoCicero led the preparation of several memoranda, orally presented comments to the CPCR, and monitored the CPCR's deliberations as it begins preparation of the recommendations it will submit to the Supreme Court in July 2005.

The committee thanks Laura Jacobs for serving diligently this year as committee vice chair and its members who have contributed to this year's numerous successes. The committee thanks Francine Walker and Emilie Rietow of The Florida Bar for their diligent and enthusiastic approach to all our programming and their excellent organizational skills and tenacity that ensured the success of our programming.

D. PATRICIA WALLACE, Chair

Member Benefits

This has been a very exciting and accomplished year for the Member Benefits Committee. At the beginning of the Bar year, President Kelly Johnson asked the committee to investigate and to determine if the Bar could work with legal research companies to provide a free basic legal research program to our members. To jumpstart the project, President Johnson appointed Ike Iaconis to head up the project. An "RFP" was sent out to various legal research companies. Proposals were received and reviewed by the committee. A report known as the Project Flash Report was developed by the committee on December 27, 2004. The report was approved by the Program Evaluation Committee of the BOG on January 27, 2005. The report was also approved by the BOG at the board meeting in Key West on January 28, 2005. Both the PEC and the Board of Governors expressed their thanks to all the hardworking members of the committee for their work on the project.

The Bar is now negotiating a contract with the legal research firm, FastCase, to provide the free basic online legal research services to all Florida Bar members. The service will offer Florida case law since 1950, U.S. 11th and Fifth Circuit courts of appeals decisions, U.S. Supreme Court decisions, current Florida Statutes, the Florida Administrative Code, and the Florida Constitution. All members will have an option of buying additional services.

The committee is hopeful that the program will be up and running by the summer. A special thanks goes to Ike Iaconis and Mike Tartaglia of the Bar staff for their excellent work on this project. Also, my special thanks to all the excellent members of the Member Benefits Committee for carrying this project through. We look forward to this vital and outstanding benefit to our Florida Bar members in the future.

FRANK C. WALKER, Chair

Military Affairs

Our nation remains at war with the enemies of freedom and democracy. The Military Affairs Committee strives to provide the best possible legal environment for members of the military who are charged with executing the war on terror.

The formalized scope and function of The Florida Bar Military Affairs Committee is both 1) to gather and disseminate information, share expertise, and advise the members of The Florida Bar on all matters relating to the practice of military law in Florida and 2) to serve as the link between The Florida Bar and active duty, reserve, National Guard, and retired military attorneys within Florida. To accomplish these functions the committee facilitates and encourages legal assistance programs for service personnel, retired members, and their dependents. The committee also promotes military attorney professional development and attempt to foster understanding and cooperation between The Florida Bar and the military legal community.

The committee is fortunate to have a large and dedicated membership who consistently give their time and efforts to ensure legal services are timely provided and useful for military personnel. The committee once again put on a first-class continuing legal education symposium, continued to move forward with providing a legal assistance contact list for non-Florida military attorneys, a listing of pro bono legal service providers, and acted as an advocate and legislative voice regarding legal issues that primarily affect military personnel.

The committee's bell-weather activity for the past year was the Military Law and Legal Assistance Symposium on January 22, 2005, in Miami. This year the spotlight service was the U.S. Navy and Admiral James E. McPherson, Judge Advocate General, U.S. Navy, was the keynote speaker. The Symposium was once again a success thanks in no small part to an outstanding schedule of speakers, timely information, a dedicated team of volunteers, and an interested and dynamic audience of attorneys.

The committee presented the Clayton B. Burton Award of Excellence, established in 1990, to the Honorable John A. Sampson III in conjunction with the Symposium. This award is given to the attorney who demonstrated character and leadership promoting the quality of legal services furnished to military personnel serving in Florida. Mr. Sampson has dedicated his life to improving access to the judicial system by members of the military in Florida.

The next annual symposium is scheduled for January 21, 2006, to be held in conjunction with The Florida Bar Midyear Meeting at the Hyatt Regency. The spotlight service will be the U.S.AirForce.

The committee continues to publish and distribute the Operation Stand-by directory, a reference publication that enables military attorneys to contact Florida practitioners who possess subject matter expertise in various areas of Florida law in order to improve the quality of legal assistance provided to military members. The committee is in the process of updating the directory and requests that any Florida Bar member who desires to participate to contact Maria Johnson at The Florida Bar for inclusion. The committee is also placing the Operation Stand-by directory on the each service's legal Web site.

The committee also continues to provide support to the military by maintaining its list of Florida attorneys who wish to provide pro bono legal assistance to military members who do not have the support of a military legal assistance office. The committee is proud to state that currently 220 members of The Florida Bar have volunteered to provide pro bono services. Any interested member should contact Maria Johnson for inclusion.

Once again, we are pleased to mention the legislative efforts on behalf of military personnel by past chair and state Rep. Kevin Ambler (House District 47). Representative Ambler continues to be a dedicated advocate for all military personnel in Florida.

The committee could not function without the time and efforts of its dedicated members and the assistance of Maria Simmons Johnson and Karen Kelly with The Florida Bar. It has been a pleasure and a privilege to serve with all of you.

KIM F. HEELER, Chair

Prepaid Legal Services

This committee serves members of The Florida Bar and the general public to promote the attainment of the Bar's established goal that every citizen of the state should have access to the legal system. The Bar has recognized that citizens do not seek legal assistance for various reasons, including failure to recognize that they have a legal problem, inability to locate an attorney, and fear of excessive cost. Ch. 9 of the Rules Regulating The Florida Bar encourages the establishment, operation, growth, and development of legal services plans which are available to increase an individual's opportunity to obtain affordable legal services and access to the legal system.

The Board of Governors has delegated to the committee the duty of reviewing proposed legal services plans for compliance with the requirements of Chapter 9 of the Rules Regulating The Florida Bar. The committee also serves to promote the establishment of legal services plans and to educate members of The Florida Bar in working within established plans or creating opportunities as individual practitioners through legal services plans.

The committee reviews all aspects of plans that fall within the purview of Ch. 9 to include those that have been created to serve an organization with an identifiable common interest or purpose. These plans are created and regulated by the Department of Insurance pursuant to F.S. Ch. 642. In 2004 and 2005 the committee completed the review of several legal services plans and provided recommendations to the Board of Governors for final action. The chair and subcommittee initially reviewed each plan and then submitted recommendations to the full committee, for additional consideration. In many instances, the committee recommended changes to the submitted plans to accomplish the committee's goal of compliance with Ch. 9. In 2004-05, the committee eventually recommended full approval of six new legal services plans.

In addition to satisfying its regulatory purpose, the committee continued its mission of promoting the participation of attorneys in legal services plans. The committee believes that the more individual attorneys are made aware of the opportunities available through the participation in legal plans, the more available affordable legal services will be to members of the general public. At the 2004 Annual Meeting of The Florida Bar, the committee cosponsored with the Florida Lawyer's Legal Insurance Corporation a seminar entitled Making Money the Prepaid Way. The seminar provided insights from legal services plan participating attorneys and managing attorneys into areas specific to legal services plans, such as creating and working with Ch. 9 plans, working as a plan attorney for a Ch. 642 plan, and ethical issues unique to prepaid legal services plans. The main focus of the seminar was to assist Bar members in expanding and enhancing their individual practices through participation in legal service's plans. At the 2005 Annual Meeting, the committee will again be sponsoring a seminar with FLIC in which speakers will present practice tips learned through participation in legal services plans in the areas of consumer law, family, criminal law, and ethics.

As I have completed my second term as chair, I thank the committee for its efforts, involvement, and participation in the important tasks that have been delegated to the committee. My personal thanks to Maria Johnson for her services as program administrator and overall assistance, prodding, and motivation for ensuring that committee matters are handled accordingly. In 2004, several valued and long-standing members of our committee concluded their terms as members. Fortunately, for the members of the Bar that wish to create legal services and the members of the public that will participate as plan members, incoming Chair Scott Jay has several years of experience on the committee and has a core group of dedicated newer members.

I have enjoyed my service on the committee and thank each member of the committee with whom I have served over the last eight years. I am confident that it will continue its long-standing tradition of service to The Florida Bar and the citizens of Florida.

DANIEL F. MANTZARIS, Chair

Probate Rules

The Probate Rules Committee's major project for the year was the completion of its regular cycle report to the Supreme Court. In addition, the committee reviewed probate and guardianship case law and legislation, and fielded inquiries from the courts and practitioners in an effort to continually improve the rules of probate and guardianship procedure.

The committee submitted its biennial cycle report to the Supreme Court in January. The report includes proposed changes to rules 5.040 (Notice); 5.041 (Service of Pleadings and Papers); 5.042 (Time); 5.240 (Notice of Administration); 5.241 (Notice to Creditors); 5.270 (Revocation of Probate); 5.345 (Accountings Other Than Personal Representatives' Final Accountings); 5.346 (Fiduciary Accounting); 5.360 (Elective Share); 5.400 (Distribution and Discharge); 5.404 (Notice of Taking Possession of Protected Homestead); 5.475 (Ancillary Administration, Short Form); 5.496 (Form and Manner of Objecting to Claim); 5.530 (Summary Administration); and 5.620 (Inventory). The committee also proposed new rules 5.402 (Notice of Lien on Protected Homestead); 5.403 (Proceedings to Determine Amount of Lien on Protected Homestead); 5.498 (Personal Representatives' Proof of Claim); 5.499 (Form and Manner of Objecting to Personal Representatives' Proof of Claim); and 5.625 (Notice of Completion of Guardian Education Requirements).

The court monitor proposals have been coordinated with the Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section. The proposals are incorporated in a bill currently pending in the legislature. The companion rule proposals will be ready for presentation to the Supreme Court for approval upon enactment of the legislation.

The committee continued its review of the guardianship rules of procedure. The final report of the Governor's Guardianship Task Force was filed in January and a bill has been filed to effect the statutory changes recommended by the task force report. The committee has been closely following the proposed legislation and will be prepared to respond with any necessary rule changes.

I am indebted to our Bar liaison, Craig Shaw, who has patiently guided and advised me, and contributed his wealth of institutional knowledge to our committee. I also wish to acknowledge my sincere appreciation for the hardworking members of our committee, and most particularly our vice chair, Christ Boyett, and the chairs of the subcommittees, Larry Davis, Bill Pearson, Norma Stanley, Peter Sachs, and Linda Griffin. Thank you for making my job as chair so easy.

TAMI FOLEY CONETTA, Chair

Professional Ethics

The Professional Ethics Committee is responsible for providing guidance to Bar members concerning professional ethics questions. The PEC issues formal advisory ethics opinions that are published in a book entitled Professional Ethics of The Florida Bar. The formal opinions may also be accessed through the Bar's Web site at www.flabar.org under Member Services, Ethics Opinions. The PEC also provides informational packets and periodic Ethics Updates on-line. The PEC reviews informal written opinions issued by staff counsel and reconsiders them sua sponte as deemed appropriate or if the inquiring attorney seeks review of the informal staff opinion. In addition, the PEC sponsors an annual professional ethics seminar. The PEC was busy during the past year, meeting four times and considering several formal opinions. The PEC is staffed by the Bar's ethics department. The attorneys on staff research and draft informal staff opinions and maintain the toll-free Ethics Hotline for Bar members.

Formal Advisory Opinion Procedures. The Florida Bar Procedures for Ruling on Questions of Ethics govern the process by which staff issue informal oral and written opinions and by which the PEC issues formal opinions. The PEC may issue formal opinions upon review of staff opinions and existing formal opinions. Additionally, the Board of Governors may request that the PEC issue a formal opinion concerning the application of the ethics rules to a particular set of facts. When issuing proposed formal opinions, the PEC publishes official notice in The Florida Bar News, allowing Bar members to comment. The PEC values the input provided by such comments and encourages Bar members to comment on proposed ethics opinions. The procedures are available on The Florida Bar's Web site at www.flabar.org under Member Services, Ethics Opinions.

Final Advisory Opinions

Ancillary Businesses. The PEC issued Florida Ethics Opinion 02-8, an opinion dealing with referrals to nonlawyers and ancillary businesses of lawyers. A lawyer was approached by a financial advisor who offered to pay the lawyer a portion of his advisory fee in exchange for referring clients to the financial advisor. The committee reviewed its prior decisions and stated that a lawyer could not engage in such a proposal unless 1) the lawyer makes an independent review of the transaction and determines that the referral is in the client's best interest; 2) the client is fully informed of the arrangement, including the portion of the fee offered to the lawyer; 3) the client consents to the arrangement in writing; and 4) the lawyer either passes on the fee to the client or credits it against the attorneys' fees charged to the client.

The PEC then turned to the issue of whether a lawyer could ethically refer a client to an ancillary financial services business in which the lawyer had an interest. The committee first assumed that the ancillary business was not set up merely to circumvent the requirements listed above. The PEC then discussed Rule 4-5.7, which determines when the ethics rules will be applicable to non-legal services provided by a lawyer. The committee noted that even though the ethics rules may not be applicable to the nonlegal services provided by the ancillary business, the ethics rules would be applicable to the referral of legal clients to the ancillary business. The committee noted that the attorney must comply with Rule 4-1.7(b) requiring lawyers to place clients' interests ahead of other interests, Rule 4-1.8(a), governing business transactions with clients, Rule 4-7.4(a) prohibiting solicitation, including the use of ancillary businesses as "feeders" to an attorney's law firm, and Rule 4-5.7.

Restrictions on Right to Practice in Settlement. In Florida Ethics Opinion 04-2, the committee discusses whether a lawyer may agree to a settlement that includes a provision prohibiting the lawyer from including the client's claims, accounts, or investments in any other claim involving the other side and certain enumerated individuals and affiliates. The proposed ethics opinion examines Rule 4-5.6(b). The Proposed Advisory Opinion concludes that the provision at issue is prohibited under Rule 4-5.6(b) because it negatively affects the lawyer's ability to represent other clients.

Safe Haven Accounts. The committee reexamined the issues presented in Florida Ethics Opinion 00-2 and decided to revise the opinion. Florida Ethics Opinion 00-2 prohibits lawyers from being involved in settlements where the settlement proceeds are placed by an insurance company directly into an account in the client's name rather than being issued to the lawyer's trust account. The committee reasoned, when issuing the opinion, that such an arrangement would prevent a lawyer from fulfilling the lawyer's obligations to third parties and to participate in IOTA under Rules 5-1.1 and 5-1.2. Upon reexamination, however, the committee now concludes in Florida Ethics Opinion 00-2 (Reconsideration) that a lawyer should not be prevented from following the client's directive to enter into this type of arrangement as to the portion of the settlement belonging to the client. The committee further advises that any portion of the settlement representing attorneys' fees, costs, and funds subject to Rule 5-1.1(e) should not be deposited into the client's account.

Proposed Advisory Opinion

Client Perjury. Proposed Advisory Opinion 04-1 addresses the appropriate course of conduct for a lawyer when the lawyer's client in a criminal case tells the lawyer that the client will commit perjury at trial, despite the lawyer's repeated warnings that the lawyer must disclose to the court if the client does so. The proposed opinion states that in such a situation, the lawyer must reveal the client's intent to commit perjury to the court under Rules 4-1.2(d), 4-1.6(b)(1) and 4-3.3(a)(4). If, on the other hand, a lawyer has no advance warning of the client's intent to commit perjury, and the client does actually commit perjury, the lawyer must try to persuade the client to rectify the problem. The proposed opinion states that, if the client refuses to rectify the false testimony, the duty to do so falls to the lawyer. It is then for the court to determine how to proceed, including whether to allow the lawyer to withdraw due to the resulting conflict.

The PEC will consider Proposed Advisory Opinion 04-1 at is meeting in June in light of comments received. Until proposed advisory opinions are final, they are subject to change.

Masters Seminar on Ethics. The Professional Ethics Committee's popular yearly CLE program addresses areas of ethics of great significance to Bar Members. The PEC again will sponsor a Masters Seminar on Ethics at the 2005 Annual Meeting, entitled Ethics In A New Era. The speakers will discuss ethics issues that Florida lawyers face daily in their practice. Topics to be discussed at the seminar are scheduled to include ethical issues arising from Amendment 3 regarding attorneys' fee limitations in medical malpractice cases, ethics in mediation and alternative dispute resolution, ethical dilemmas facing insurance defense attorneys, and ethics issues in criminal law. The speakers are expected to include Hector J. Lombana, Bill Wagner, Sharon Press, James K. Clark, David B. Rothman, and H. Scott Fingerhut. The seminar will provide two hours of ethics CLE credit.

Informal Ethics Opinions Service. The ethics opinion process continues to rate as the most desirable service on membership surveys. The PEC is committed to providing ethics guidance to Bar members. The PEC would like to thank the staff of the Ethics Department for their dedication, assistance, and support in providing such guidance throughout the year. The PEC would like to recognize and congratulate staff for having another busy year on the Ethics Hotline as staff handled 21,034 hotline calls during fiscal year 2003 in addition to providing 675 written staff opinions.

Finally, the chair would also like to thank the committee members for their hard work over the last year.

D. CULVER SMITH, Chair

Professionalism

The 13th year of the Standing Committee on Professionalism has been uniquely productive, working in concert throughout the year with the Supreme Court's Commission on Professionalism, chaired by Florida Supreme Court Justice Raoul Cantero, and the Center for Professionalism led by Division Director Mary Ellen Bateman, Director Carl Zahner, Assistant Director Terri Anderson, and staff.

As promised, The Stephen R. Covey Professionalism Program for Lawyers, Judges and Staff, Part II: Synergy in the Prevention and Resolution of Disputes, occurred on January 7, 2005. Months in the making, the program--unlike any other professionalism program in the U.S.--lived up to its hype as a substantial source of inspiration, and new way of thinking about professionalism, for 600 lawyers, judges, and staff.

The program provided participants with solid, practical information from this world-renowned author and leader, and introduced an entirely new hierarchy of practicing with professionalism for use by the professionalism movement:

Level 1--Ethics; Level 2--Professionalism; Level 3--Synergy.

Of course, we all know to be "ethical" to stay licensed to practice law in Florida. "Professionalism" is practicing at that level over and above that which is required by the ethical rules; e.g., "My Word is My Bond." "Synergy"--achieving a better solution than "compromise" in the prevention and resolution of disputes or any area of practice--becomes possible by those who truly practice with professionalism.

Dr. Covey closed his remarks by challenging Florida to be a "mentoring state" to other states seeking to grow and make "important" their professionalism movements. The committee accepts this challenge.

The committee's annual professionalism seminar, Masters Seminar in Professionalism, is scheduled to occur at The Florida Bar annual meeting in Orlando on June 23, 2005 at 8:30 a.m. Entitled Professionalism for Peace of Mind and Profit, this seminar historically has a strong, loyal following due to the creativity with which modern professionalism issues are discussed.

The committee has three annual award projects that promote and encourage professionalism by recognizing those in the movement who lead by example:

William Hoeveler Judicial Professionalism Award--recognizes a distinguished jurist who exemplifies the attributes of professionalism. The 2005 award recipient is Judge Durand Adams, 12th Judicial Circuit.

Faculty Professionalism Award-recognizes a faculty member who, through scholarship and service to the profession, exemplifies the attributes of professionalism. The 2005 award recipient is Professor Roberta Kemp Flowers, Stetson University College of Law.

Professionalism Award--recognizes an association that, through a continuing project, exemplifies the attributes of professionalism. The 2005 award recipient is the Stetson University College of Law's Centers for Excellence in Advocacy and Elder Law.

The committee devotes substantial time and energy to an array of other projects designed to promote and encourage professionalism:

Historical Video Series--recognizes those stalwarts of the professionalism movement by videotaping for posterity an intimate, up-close interview with the honoree. In 2005, the committee worked on editing for distribution numerous interviews from the last two years.

Student Essay Contest--recognizes a law student for excellence in writing an essay on professionalism. The student is presented with a $1,000 check, and the award recipient's law school is presented with a traveling trophy, the Lion of Justice, by renowned sculptor Hugh Nicholson.

E-Mentoring--provides mentoring to law students by lawyers through email communications. Led by immediate past committee chair Kat Silverglate, the project allows any Florida law student to register for an e-mentor by clicking on the E-mentor hyperlink on The Florida Bar Web site.

New initiatives were also created this year. One example is the Voluntary Bar Association Judicial Polls Project. These polls traditionally seek comment on a judicial candidate's and judge's qualifications. Now, the committee will assist voluntary bar associations throughout Florida in designing their judicial polls to seek a poll participant's opinion on the candidate's or judge's professionalism.

Another example is the Profiles in Professionalism Project, in which the committee will spotlight in the center's newsletter, The Professional, those judges and lawyers that are living proof that "professionalism works." Judge Richard Suarez of the Third District Court of Appeal has been chosen for the inaugural profile.

Thank you for allowing me the privilege to serve such a distinguished and important committee of The Florida Bar. ROBERT J. FIORE, Chair

Real Estate Certification

The focus of the Real Estate Certification Committee during the past year has been to make the exam more fair and effective to further our goal of certifying the best real estate attorneys. The committee recognizes and wants to reach out to the many excellent real estate practitioners who hesitate to take the exam because of a fear of failure.

Accordingly, the committee has made several changes to the 2005 exam. First, we changed the format for the afternoon portion of the exam. In the past, examinees were asked to choose three out of a number of long essay questions. This year, there are only two long essays. The first is a mandatory essay on homestead, which crosses all areas of Florida real estate practice. The second will be chosen by the examinee from three alternatives, allowing the examinee to write on the topic with which he or she feels most comfortable. The reduction in the number of choices, as well as the shortening of the fact patterns, will allow the examinee more time to focus on analyzing the issues and fashioning the response to the questions he or she will actually answer. In lieu of the third essay, the examinee will be required to answer four short-answer questions. This section allows practitioners to demonstrate, in an expository fashion, their knowledge in four areas of general application. The four areas covered this year are ethics, title issues, environmental issues, and state and local taxation.

Second, we continue to strive to write multiple-choice questions that address practical issues encountered by Florida real estate practitioners in many different areas. We have "bolded" and underlined words that determine the answer in an attempt to reduce errors caused by misreading questions.

Currently, there are 413 Florida Bar certified real estate attorneys. In 2004, 61 attorneys were eligible for recertification. At the time this report was prepared, 55 have been recertified and one individual's application remains pending. Twent-six individuals have applied to sit for the 2005 examination; 23 have been approved and three remain pending. The examination will be administered on May 20, 2005, in Tampa. Twenty-four individuals applied to take the 2004 examination. Of that number, 21 were approved, 16 sat for the examination, and seven were certified.

The committee invites and encourages all real estate practitioners to pursue certification. We also solicit input from practitioners who are currently certified, as well as those who are considering certification, as to ways in which we can better achieve our goal of certifying all qualified lawyers.

As the outgoing chair of this committee, I want to recognize the extraordinary dedication of the members of our committee who have debated both the esoteric and practical issues relating to our mission, and who have devoted long hours to crafting an exam designed to recognize the members of our profession who strive for excellence in the practice of Florida real estate law. I also want to thank the many real estate practitioners who took the time to respond to our peer review requests. Their candor is both valued and appreciated. Lastly, I want to thank Carol Vaught, our wonderful staff liaison, for her tremendous support of our efforts. Without her, we truly could not have achieved what we did.

MARY A. ROBISON, Chair

Relations With Certified Public Accountants

The Committee on Relations with Certified Public Accountants continues to foster positive interaction and exchanges of information of mutual interest to CPAs and attorneys. Moreover, the committee has continued to build upon successful activities and programs commenced in prior years and initiated new efforts that are consistent with its mission of improving relations between attorneys and CPAs.

Continuing on the success of the first event in Naples and last year's event in Miami, the committee scheduled its Second Annual South Florida Goodwill Gathering of Attorneys and CPAs for May 12, 2005, with a complimentary reception provided by Commerce Bank in Coral Gables. Participating organizations included the Dade County Bar Association, the Florida Association of Attorney-CPAs and the following Florida Institute of CPAs Chapters: Miami-Downtown, Miami-Dade County, South Dade, and Broward. On October 19, 2004, the committee held its Third Annual Goodwill Gathering of Attorneys and CPAs in Naples hosted by Northern Trust bank and coordinated by the committee's past chair Basil L. Bain. I led the planning and coordination of the 2004 and 2005 Miami events These gatherings provide an excellent opportunity for social interaction between local attorneys and CPAs.

Building upon the success of the committee's first continuing education seminar for attorneys and accountants concerning counseling business clients regarding privacy issues such as HIPAA, the committee has developed another seminar regarding the Sarbanes-Oxley Act scheduled for May 12, 2005, in Miami. This seminar targets both attorneys and CPAs as attendees and includes speakers from both professions. Vice chair Robert C. Brighton, Jr., is serving as a speaker and as program chair of this seminar.

The committee also obtained permission from the Florida Board of Accountancy to be considered a provider of Continuing Professional Education for accountants (CPE). Steven Alan Fox, the committee member in charge of committee's CPE efforts, is currently working with Donna Byrd, the committee's Bar staff liaison, to communicate this new CPE provider status to any Bar seminar program chair desiring to attract accountant attendees by qualifying their seminar for CPE credit. Most recently, the committee assisted the Tax Law Section in qualifying the Tax Law Certification Review Course for CPE credit.

In summary, during the 2004-05 fiscal year the committee succeeded in furthering its mission of creating forums to develop and exchange ideas concerning issues affecting both professions and of functioning as a source of information to members of The Florida Bar in matters related to certified public accountants.

EDUARDO R. ARISTA, Chair

Rules of Judicial Administration

The Rules of Judicial Administration Committee has had a variety of issues presented this past year. Several projects were completed while others are in progress. The most controversial proposal, which was tabled following disapproval by the Board of Governors, involved a clarification of the relationship between trial court judges and the clerk of court. While the rule only involved matters impacting on trial court administration, there was a concern about the potential impact on funding issues created by the Art. 5, Revision 7 constitutional amendment.

Several other proposed amendments were submitted to the Supreme Court for its consideration as part of the committee's biennial report: Rule 2.050 recommended elimination of the requirement that court administrative rules be filed with The Florida Bar because the rules are usually available and more accurate on the courts' Web sites and the Bar found that the public was not using the Bar as a resource for this purpose; Rule 2.051 recommended a procedure for lower courts to file a sealed copy of disputed judicial court records along with a written order detailing the basis for the ruling in cases where the trial court has denied access to a judicial branch record; Rule 2.060 recommended updated language to reflect current restrictions on attorneys employed by the court in terms of practice and responsibilities upon separation from service; Rule 2.085 amended the name of the rule to include "case management" and added a new requirement which will facilitate the unified family court concept by requiring the filing of a notice of related cases for cases involving minors; Rules 2.130, amended in two regards, first to add the legislative branch representatives as individuals and entities entitled to notice of proposed amendments and proceedings regarding such proposals, and second, to change the reporting period for rules committees to be on a staggered schedule; and, finally, Rule 2.170, the committee once again requests the court authorize trial court judges to use discretion in limiting the publication or broadcasting of jurors' faces during trial. The committee also had spirited discussion regarding the codification of various proposals made by the Jury Innovations Committee with the ultimate result that no rules were proposed to the court with the possibility of a future submission in the area of juror privacy, after the Commission on Privacy and Court Records has had an opportunity to review the committee's proposed amendments.

The committee is currently considering a proposal to reorganize the Rules of Judicial Administration with the ultimate goal of streamlining the rules and making them more accessible to the Bar. The committee has benefited from the contributions of many dedicated members. Particular acknowledgment is due to the immediate past chair, Sandy Solomon, who has spearheaded the effort to assist the Trial Court Budget Committee in fact-finding relevant to the legislative response to Art. 5, Revision 7, and has also chaired the ad hoc rules reorganization project committee. Other members who have made substantial contributions this year include Judge Shelley Kravitz, Judge Winifred Sharp, Judge Renee Goldenberg, David Rowland, and, of course, our mainstay, Bar liaison Craig Shaw.

The committee invites anyone with an interest in judicial administration to attend meetings or submit proposals for the committee's consideration.

CLAUDIA RICKERT ISOM, Chair

Small Claims Rules

This year has been a busy year and an active year for the Small Claims Rules Committee. The committee has sent eight proposed changes or new rules for consideration to the Florida Supreme Court. These changes were propounded with the desire to clarify procedures for the pro se litigant as well as for attorneys.

The committee recognized the need for improving the process so that litigants understand that although the case may be "small," the legal responsibilities of the both parties should be seriously considered. Mediation is a viable part of the small claims procedure, and as such the committee has reaffirmed its commitment to the mediation process. A proposed change would provide for sanctions if a party sends a representative to mediation without full authority to settle.

Attorneys' fees and costs were also considered, and this is reflected in the two-year-cycle proposal filed with the Supreme Court. Every effort was made to ensure that the rules did not conflict with previous rules, and in some cases improvements were made with the cooperation of other committees. The Civil Procedure Rules Committee was also concerned with the clarification of when a motion for attorneys' fees is timely, and Bruce J. Berman was kind enough to write an extensive comment to proposed Rule 7.175, Motion for Costs and Attorneys' Fees. The coordination of effort furthers the intent and goals of both committees. Mr. Berman's comment basically suggested that the language be changed from within 30 days after filing of the judgment to no later than 30 days after filing of the judgment, to clarify that the motion may be filed earlier than 30 days after filing of the judgment. This comment, which was supported by historical perspective, expresses the intent and desire of the Small Claims Rules Committee.

Although some jurisdictions had previously used informal affidavits of corporate representatives, the committee recognized that some uniformity was needed, and therefore the committee has proposed a corporate authorization to allow employee to represent corporation at any stage of the lawsuit.

Despite hurricanes and other personal tragedies, the committee worked admirably, and the support received from Madelon Horwich and The Florida Bar made my job as committee chair a pleasure. The committee is looking forward to working to improve, modify, and clarify the procedures in small claims. I have every confidence in the committee process.

PAULINE M. DRAYTON, Chair

Student Education and Admissions to the Bar

The purpose of the Student Education and Admissions to the Bar Committee is to serve as the liaison between The Florida Bar and Florida's public and private law schools. It also helps to ensure that students are being adequately prepared to engage in the practice of law. The committee additionally monitors and reviews proposed legislation and policies affecting legal education.

During 2004-05, the committee reviewed the legal education section of the 2004 Diversity in the Legal Profession Report and focused its attention on two primary areas: 1) identifying the impact of changes in bar exam passage rates for diverse students, and 2) evaluating graduate quality and readiness. The first priority stemmed from the concern that the increase in the pass rate from a minimum score of 131 to 136 may have a disparate impact on minority test-takers. While the Florida Board of Bar Examiners currently releases detailed performance data on individual test-takers to the law schools, it is not authorized to release this information to the committee. The committee, therefore, has been unable to study the data and determine what effect, if any, the increase in the minimum passing score has had on minority test-takers.

In the absence of this data, the committee felt that it is important to educate the law schools about the data they are provided by the bar examiners and encourage them to study this data to identify trends in their schools. At the request of the committee, the Florida Board of Bar Examiners prepared a report for the law schools which summarized: 1) the information provided on test-takers; 2) suggestions on how to compile this information into useful reports; and 3) suggestions on how to study the results and identify trends among test-takers. The report was presented to the committee at its Jan. 20, 2005, meeting. The committee is hopeful that the law schools will use the information provided by the bar examiners to make improvements and/or changes in existing programs.

Under the leadership of Vice Chair Robert M. Eschenfelder, the committee also has focused on identifying ways to evaluate graduate quality and readiness. In keeping with the committee's mission to study and make recommendations on law school education and its effectiveness in preparing graduates to succeed on the bar exam, the committee determined that it could not effectively address possible exam issues facing test-takers and possible improvements by law schools without better data from the test-takers. To that end, and after consultation with representatives from the Florida Board of Bar Examiners and the Board of Governors, the committee proposes to set up an online post-exam survey to collect data about the test-takers' background, exam preparation strategies, and other relevant factors.

The committee proposes to work with the Board of Bar Examiners to gain a picture of what makes a successful test-taker (if indeed a pattern can be found), and what, if anything, law schools or the Bar should do to improve success on the exam. The survey would be administered online each exam cycle, and the data would be examined by the committee, resulting in an annual Student Readiness Report submitted to the schools' deans and the Board of Governors. The committee hopes to finalize the online survey this year and see implementation of the survey in 2006.

The committee has continued its efforts to maintain a network for access with each law school through the committee representatives. Our goal is to have all Florida law schools represented on the committee. The committee continues to welcome input from law school deans, clinical program instructors, and law students.

I offer a special thanks to all committee members and vice chairs, Mark P. Arnold and Robert M. Eschenfelder, as well as Eleanor Mitchell Hunter and Michele A. Gavagni of the Florida Board of Bar Examiners, for their hard work and input this year.

STEPHANIE L. WILLIAMS, Chair

Unlicensed Practice of Law

First, what we do: The Florida Supreme Court delegated to The Florida Bar, as its official arm, the duty to investigate and prosecute allegations of unauthorized practice of law (UPL). The Rules Regulating The Florida Bar establish the statewide Standing Committee on Unlicensed Practice of Law to supervise local circuit UPL committees. The circuit committees investigate reports of UPL and transmit their findings and litigation recommendations to the standing committee. The standing committee reports litigation recommendations it approves to the Board of Governors. After the Board of Governors approves, the Bar may initiate litigation seeking a civil injunction for UPL. The standing committee may also issue proposed advisory opinions to the Supreme Court on whether specific conduct constitutes UPL.

This has been another busy year for the standing committee and The Florida Bar UPL staff in its efforts to protect the public from UPL. While the number of cases has not increased, the type and complexity of those cases has changed. As the Supreme Court has noted, UPL changes with the ever-changing business and social atmosphere. A change in the economy and laws means new areas for UPL harm become available.

For example, this past year saw an increase in the number of cases involving immigration. Previously, nonlawyers offering or providing legal services in the area of immigration was generally limited to South Florida. However, during the past year this area of abuse extended up the state into Central Florida and the west coast.

Economic changes and financial hardship also sparked an increase in abuse by so-called mortgage foreclosure "assistance companies." These companies, first prevalent in the Ft. Lauderdale area but now common throughout the state, prey on the poor. Their "m.o." is to identify homeowners who are subject to foreclosure and send letters offending to help. The "services" provided by these companies vary from preparing pleadings, filing bogus bankruptcies, or just taking the money and doing nothing. Because of the fraud and harm to the consumer, the UPL department is working with the Office of the Attorney General to curb this problem. That office is looking at the issue from an unfair and deceptive advertising and trade practices standpoint.

Legal technicians, that is, nonlawyers providing forms preparation services to the public, continue to be an issue. Rules and case law set forth what a nonlawyer can and cannot do in this area. The rules also state that a nonlawyer may not use the title "paralegal" when providing services directly to the public. Since the "paralegal" rule came into effect, The Florida Bar has seen a decrease in the use of the title, but UPL activities by legal technicians continue.

One of the most positive changes in 2004 was the amendment of F.S. [section] 424.23, effective October 1, 2004, to raise UPL from a first degree misdemeanor to a third degree felony. The state attorneys' offices prosecute the crime of the unlicensed practice of law. The Florida Bar prosecutes the cases from a civil standpoint and has the authority to seek injunctive relief and indirect criminal contempt. The Florida Bar often works with the state attorneys on the more egregious cases. It is our hope that making UPL a felony will result in more criminal prosecutions. In this regard, the standing committee is taking steps to encourage the state attorneys to criminally prosecute the most serious cases.

Calendar year 2004 ended with a big change in the UPL department. In December 2004, Amanda Wall, Branch Counsel in the Tallahassee office, left and Monica Armster Rainge became new Branch Counsel. Although she has big shoes to fill, Ms. Rainge has met the challenge and is quickly becoming a vital member of the department. We welcome her.

As we conclude this year of the standing committee, I thank all of the public members and lawyers on the committee for their fine service. The standing committee gives a special thanks to the circuit committees: We know you are the unrecognized heart and soul of UPL enforcement for the court. All committee members, who contribute their valuable time and energy in protecting the public, are especially appreciated.

I also want to thank and recognize our staff counsel: Lori Holcomb, UPL director; Jeffery Picker, assistant UPL director; UPL branch counsel, Janet Morgan (Ft. Lauderdale), Loretta O'Keeffe (Tampa), Ghunise Coaxum (Orlando), Jacquelyn Needelman (Miami), and Monica Armster Rainge (Tallahassee) and their excellent support staffs. This dedicated and hard-working staff does an incredible job year after year. It is an honor and pleasure to work with you all.

WAYNE LEE THOMAS, Chair

Voluntary Bar Liaison

Despite four hurricanes and a cancelled meeting in September, the Voluntary Bar Liaison Committee had a successful year in 2004-05. The committee, together with the Florida Council of Bar Executives and the Florida Council of Bar Association Presidents, helped to coordinate the 2004 Voluntary Bar Leaders Conference in Tallahassee on July 23-24, 2004. The annual Voluntary Bar Leaders Conference is one of the most important programs of the committee. It is designed to educate bar leaders about the issues impacting associations and to help them develop leadership skills relevant to both bar work and their law practices.

With the theme, "Raising the Bar ... A Capital Idea," the host associations welcomed bar leaders and bar executives from across the state. The co-hosts included the Tallahassee Bar Association, the Escambia-Santa Rosa Bar Association, Tallahassee Women Lawyers, Tallahassee Barristers Association, and the Florida Government Bar Association.

The committee is presently helping to coordinate the 2005 Voluntary Bar Leaders Conference, together with the Lee County Bar Association. The 2005 conference is scheduled for July 22-23 at the Registry Resort & Spa in Naples.

This year the committee welcomed several new members and continues to grow. Its primary purpose is to serve as a liaison between The Florida Bar and voluntary bars throughout the state. While some voluntary bars in Florida have staff support and maintain offices, many smaller bars rely solely on the assistance of volunteer attorneys in their respective communities. Records maintained at The Florida Bar include current contact information for officers and select program information for 200 voluntary bar associations.

To assist voluntary bar associations with implementing worthwhile projects, the Bar offers one grant opportunity. The program offers monetary assistance to voluntary bar associations who support projects that enhance and improve working relationships between the legal profession and local media.

Additionally, The Florida Bar Foundation created the Voluntary Bar Association Community Service Grant Program. The goal of the program is to increase community service by Florida's legal profession through voluntary bar association initiatives and to serve as a source of funding for voluntary bar association community service projects. Eleven grants, worth almost $48,000, were awarded in June.

The committee also coordinates publication of the Spotlight Page in The Florida Bar Journal, in which activities of voluntary bar associations are highlighted. Finally, the committee serves as a resource for voluntary bar Law Week chairs. The VBLC promotes Law Day activities and publicizes local contact information through an annual press release.

NORA RIVA BERGMAN, Chair

Wills, Trusts and Estates Certification

The Wills, Trusts and Estates Certification Committee has had a very busy year. With the addition of three new members (out of a total of nine), the committee has met five times since September. In addition, in June, the committee will meet to grade the exams and determine the pass/fail mark.

In May 2004, 21 applicants sat for the certification examination. There were 10 applicants who passed the examination, for a pass rate of 47.6 percent. That is a marked improvement from the prior year when approximately 10 percent of the applicants passed the examination. There are now a total of 333 lawyers certified in the area of wills, trusts and estates.

The committee reviewed applications for initial certification from 17 people. A total of 15 applicants were determined to be eligible to sit for the certification examination, in May 2005. The 2005 examination will be the 20th examination.

In writing the exam, the committee has prepared seven new essay questions. The essay portion of the exam is given four hours. The remaining two hours of the exam consists of 67 multiple-choice questions. The committee continues to review the examination format, as well as the information provided to the applicants, in its ongoing effort to make sure that the examination is fair, yet continues to be a rigorous test of the applicants' expertise in all relevant areas of the practice.

In addition to applications for initial certification, the committee reviewed 33 applications for recertification.

The committee continues to stress the importance of certification. As so much of the practice is an office practice and, except for probate and trust litigation, is un opposed, it is difficult for the public to obtain independent verification of any attorney's qualifications in the practice area. The certification program allows the public to know that the attorney, through substantial involvement, peer review, continuing legal education, and a comprehensive examination is well qualified in a specialty. The committee encourages all who are qualified to apply and take the examination in order to become certified.

FRANK T. ADAMS, Chair

Workers' Compensation Rules

The Florida Supreme Court has determined that it lacks jurisdiction to promulgate rules of workers' compensation procedure. See Amendments To The Florida Rules Of Workers' Compensation Procedure, 29 Fla. L. Weekly S 734 (Fla. Dec. 2, 2004). Therefore, effective February 10, 2005, The Florida Bar Workers' Compensation Rules of Procedure Committee was dissolved by the Board of Governors. Effective February 24, 2005, the Board of Governors approved the formation of a new, smaller committee with a revised scope, the Workers' Compensation Rules Advisory Committee. The committee is charged with the duty of regular review and evaluation of the Rules of Procedure for Workers' Compensation Adjudications promulgated by the Division of Administrative Hearings and the Office of Judges of Compensation Claims and to assist DOAH and OJCC in the drafting rules of workers' compensation procedure "to advance orderly and inexpensive procedures in the administration of justice." See Fla. R. Jud. Admin. 2.130(b)(6). The committee is composed of experienced workers' compensation practitioners.

Meetings are scheduled three times per year during annual meetings of The Florida Bar and at the Workers' Compensation Educational Conference in Orlando August 21-24, 2005. The committee looks forward to working with DOAH and the OJCC.

ALLISON HUNNICUTT HAWSER, Chair