Amendment to Rules Regulating the Florida Bar
Amendment to Rules Regulating the Florida Bar
Opinion of the Court
Over fifty members of The Florida Bar, who are also members of the Florida Chapter of the American Academy of Matrimonial Attorneys, petition this Court to adopt a proposed rule of professional conduct. We have jurisdiction. Art. V, § 15, Fla. Const.; R.Reg.Fla.Bar. 1 — 12.1(f).
Proposed rule 4-1.18 would govern the conduct of attorneys in “family law matters.”
After thoroughly considering the petition, along with the response of The Florida Bar, comments of interested attorneys and members of the public, we decline to adopt the proposed rule. We recognize that the petition is a sincere attempt to improve attorney-client relations and curtail potential abuses in this sensitive area of practice. However, as pointed out by the Bar and a number of those who filed comments, the petitioners have not demonstrated that there is a need to treat those members of the Bar who practice family law differently than other members of the Bar. Moreover, we recently addressed a major concern raised in the petition.
After extensive study of attorney-client sexual relations, the Bar proposed an amendment to rule 4-8.4 designed to protect clients from sexual exploitation that was adopted by this Court. New rule 4-8.4(i) prohibits a lawyer from engaging “in sexual conduct with a client that exploits the lawyer-client relationship.” Florida Bar re Amendments to Rules Regulating the Fla.Bar, 658 So.2d 930 (Fla. 1995). We believe this prohibition adequately protects all clients from sexual exploitation, including those who seek legal assistance in family law matters.
Accordingly, the petition to adopt proposed rule 4-1.18 is denied. However, should a need to amend the Rules Regulating The Florida Bar to specifically address the professional conduct of family law lawyers be demonstrated in the future, the Court will entertain proposed amendments on the subject at that time.
It is so ordered.
. The term “family law matters" as used in the proposed rule includes negotiations and litigation involving dissolution, of marriage, separation, annulment, custody, visitation, maintenance, alimony and other support related to dissolution, child support, adoptions, paternity, premarital agreements, marital agreements, marital property issues, initial actions and modification proceedings, actions to enforce the judgment or obtain an order in connection with any such claims or actions.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- AMENDMENT TO RULES REGULATING THE FLORIDA BAR—RULE 4-1.18, CLIENT-LAWYER RELATIONSHIPS IN FAMILY LAW MATTERS
- Status
- Published