Advocates of bar admission reciprocity may have lost the battle in the Sunshine State.
In July, we reported that Florida might consider lawyers from out-of-state interested in becoming a lawyer in Florida, the right to practice without taking the state bar exam. Florida is one of a handful of states that does not have bar admission reciprocity with any other jurisdiction. However after a tremendous negative response, it appears that the state will reconsider this initiative.
After the Florida Bar’s public forum, held earlier this month, Andy Cohen, member of the Florida Bar’s Board of Governors, discussed the negative response, especially after no legal association in the state backed the proposal.
The many, many Board of Governor members that have talked with me because of my open opposition to this have confirmed that, in their own circuits, their constituents have been as vocal and have reflected as much opposition as we are hearing generally … and for that reason alone I don’t believe that I’ve heard any strong support for reciprocity.
Cohen also announced in a recent interview that the Board of Governors is set to vote next month on the proposal in the upcoming month, predicting that the bill will be rejected.