Hello everyone and welcome to this Ethics Alert which will discuss the recent (January 5, 2024) filing of a Petition with the Florida Supreme Court by The Florida Bar with proposed rule revisions removing the word “zealous” and its derivatives from the Florida Bar Rules. The the link to the Florida Bar Petition and Appendices is here: https://acis.flcourts.gov/portal/court/68f021c4-6a44-4735-9a76-5360b2e8af13/case/21525E88-1AB6-41F3-9304-F9A0CE9B64B6
As I previously blogged, in December 2023, the Florida Bar’s Board of Governors (BOG) approved a Real Property, Probate, and Trust Law Section proposal to remove the words “zealous” and its derivatives from the Florida Bar Rules. The proposed amendments would remove the words from the Preamble to Chapter 4 and the comment to Rule 4-1.3 and would also add a comment that provides an explanation and historical perspective.
The proposed amendments remove a sentence in the Preamble which states: “As an advocate, a lawyer zealously asserts the client’s position under the rules of the adversary system” and substitute “As an advocate, a lawyer asserts the client’s position with commitment and dedication to the interests of the client under the rules of the adversary system.” Another sentence in the Preamble: “Zealous advocacy is not inconsistent with justice,” would be changed to “Commitment and dedication in advocacy are not inconsistent with justice.”
A sentence in the comment to Rule 4-1.3 (Diligence), “A lawyer must also act with commitment and dedication to the interests of the client and with zeal and advocacy on the client’s behalf,” would be changed to “A lawyer must also act with commitment and dedication to the interests of the client.”
A proposed new comment would be placed in the Preamble under the subheading “Conduct” and state “All prior references to this chapter to a lawyer’s duty to act zealously, as a zealous advocate, or with zeal upon the client’s behalf have been removed. Zealous advocacy has been invoked in the legal profession as an excuse for unprofessional behavior.” The comment would also refer to a 2000 Supreme Court decision, The Florida Bar v. Buckle, which states, “we must never permit a cloak of purported zealous advocacy to conceal unethical behavior.”
The Florida Supreme Court will review the proposed amendments and issue an Order. If the revisions are implemented, Florida would join at least 13 other states, including Georgia, New York, and California, that have removed such words from their rules and comments.
Bottom line: As I have said and written many times, the words zeal and zealous are related to the term zealot and the ordinary meaning of the term zealot is a person who is fanatical and uncompromising. There is no place in the Bar rules or in a lawyer’s practice for fanatical and uncompromising conduct.
Be careful out there.
Disclaimer: this communication is not an advertisement, does not contain any legal advice, does not create an attorney/client relationship, and the comments herein should not be relied upon as legal advice by anyone who reads it.
Joseph A. Corsmeier, Esquire
Law Office of Joseph A. Corsmeier, P.A.
2999 Alt. 19, Suite A
Palm Harbor, Florida 34683
Office (727) 799-1688
Fax (727) 799-1670
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