Doing legal business in Florida

Regulation of the legal profession

The Supreme Court of Florida regulates the legal profession with assistance from the Florida Board of Law Examiners, which handles the admissions process.

The Florida Bar Association is a mandatory Bar with over 107,000 members. Its responsibilities include:

• prosecuting unethical lawyers
• preventing the unlicensed practice of law
• ensuring the highest standards of legal professionalism
• serving members

The Florida Bar also provides continuing education programmes and ethics and law office management advice for lawyers in Florida.

Temporary practice

According to the Supreme Court of Florida’s rules, a foreign lawyer can offer legal services on a temporary basis that are:

• undertaken in association with a lawyer who is admitted to practise in Florida and who actively participates in the matter
• related to a proceeding before a tribunal held outside the US, if the lawyer is authorised or expects to be authorised to appear
• related to an arbitration, mediation, or dispute resolution proceeding in Florida, if the client is from the lawyer's home jurisdiction or the matter is connected to the lawyer's home jurisdiction
• governed primarily by international law or the law of the non-US jurisdiction of the foreign lawyer

Read the full rules on temporary practice.

Foreign legal consultant (FLC) status

To register as a FLC in Florida, you must:

• be a member in good standing of a recognised legal profession in a foreign country, the members of which are admitted to practise as lawyers or counsellors at law or the equivalent and
• be subject to effective regulation by a professional body or public authority
• have engaged in the practice of law of a foreign country for three of the five years immediately preceding the application and remained in good standing throughout that period
• have not been disciplined for professional misconduct within seven years immediately preceding the application
• not be subject to any disciplinary proceedings or investigations at the date of application
• maintain an office in the state of Florida for the provision of services as a FLC

FLCs must use the title ‘Foreign Legal Consultant, Not Admitted to Practise Law in Florida’ alongside their home title.

As a FLC, you must provide clients with a letter disclosing the extent of their professional liability insurance coverage. You must make it clear to clients the services you are not permitted to provide under Florida law.

You must also explain that clients do not have recourse to the Clients’ Security Fund.

FLCs can employ, be employed by or partner with local lawyers. This is a US commitment under the World Trade Organisation.

Florida allows foreign lawyers to practise as in-house counsel. Lawyers can provide legal advice in Florida while exclusively employed by a business organisation without taking the bar exam. This applies to lawyers authorised in other US jurisdictions and foreign lawyers.

To provide in-house council, you must register with the Florida Bar as in-house counsel.

Note the Florida Bar website is blocked for users outside the US.

For more information, read chapter 17 of the Rules Regulating the Florida Bar.

Requalification

Florida has not adopted the Universal Bar Examination (UBE).

Florida has no reciprocity agreements with any other states. This means all US attorneys qualified in another state must write the Florida Bar Exam to qualify as an attorney in Florida.

In order to qualify to take the bar exam, Florida generally requires a juris doctor (JD) degree from ABA-approved US law school.

However, provisions have been made for “alternative methods of educational qualification” if the applicant does not have a JD degree from an ABA accredited university. This includes foreign educated lawyers.

Requirements were reduced by the Florida Supreme Court in 2022. Appendix 4-13.4 now permits access to the Florida Bar exam for:

• applicants who hold a Master of Laws (LLM) from an ABA-accredited university and have practised law for at least two years in the District of Columbia, another US state, in US federal courts, or in US possessions, territories or protectorates. A compilation of work carried out must be provided.
• applicants who do not hold an LLM degree but who have practised law for at least five years (reduced in 2022 from 10 years) in the District of Columbia, another US state, in US federal courts, or in US possessions, territories or protectorates. A compilation of work carried out must be provided.

A solicitor without a US law degree who wishes to take the Florida Bar must either:

• obtain a JD degree from an ABA-approved law school, or
• complete a master of laws (LLM) from an ABA-approved law school, then qualify in another US state and practise there for at least two years, or
• qualify via a bar exam in another state such as New York and practise there for at least five years

For more information, see Rule 4-13.4 of the Florida Supreme Court.

There are several other admissions requirements to be admitted the Florida Bar.

Establishing a law firm

A FLC is permitted to open an office in Florida. There are no separate requirements for foreign law firms.

FLCs can employ, be employed by or partner with local lawyers. This is a US commitment under the World Trade Organisation.

The Florida Bar places considerable restrictions on the format, content, job titles and job descriptions on the websites of foreign law firms operating branches in Florida. Websites are monitored for compliance.

For more information, read the Florida handbook on lawyer advertising and solicitation.

Several UK firms have established branch offices in Florida.