Florida Supreme Court Appoints Workgroup To Consider Bar Exam Requirements

TALLAHASSEE – To be admitted to the Florida Bar and gain the privilege of practicing law in this state, applicants must pass the Florida Bar Examination. In turn, with limited exceptions, the Florida Supreme Court’s rules require graduation from an ABA accredited law school as a prerequisite to taking the Bar exam. The ABA has been the sole accrediting body recognized in the Court’s rules since 1992, though the rules have relied on ABA accreditation since 1955.

The Court has appointed a Workgroup to study the current ABA accreditation requirement in the Bar admission rules and to propose possible alternatives. Former Justice Ricky Polston will chair the Workgroup, which will submit its report to the Court by September 30. The Court has asked the Workgroup to be “guided in its study and deliberations by the goals of promoting excellence in Florida’s legal profession; not hindering law schools from providing high-quality, cost-effective, and innovative legal education, in a nondiscriminatory setting; and protecting the public and meeting Floridians’ need for legal services.”

The Court believes a study of this kind is warranted due to increasing public interest in governments’ reliance on ABA accreditation in regulations dealing with lawyer licensing and access to financial aid. Reasonable questions have arisen about the ABA’s accreditation standards on racial and ethnic diversity in law schools and about the ABA’s active political engagement. Scholars have also questioned how ABA accreditation requirements affect costs and innovation in legal education.

“Our Court is interested in studying whether it still makes sense for our rules to require ABA involvement in the Bar admission process,” Chief Justice Carlos Muñiz said. “We are open minded, we realize there are a lot of moving parts to this issue, and ultimately we’ll try to do what’s best for the people of our State.”

There are 12 ABA-accredited law schools with Florida locations. Their graduates represent most first-time takers of the Florida Bar exam. Individuals who take the exam under alternative educational qualifications allowed in the rules – those who have practiced law for 5 years or more in the District of Columbia, federal court, or other jurisdictions without an ABA-accredited diploma requirement – are few. Thousands of first-time applicants take the Florida Bar Exam in the twice-a-year administration of it. Last year, 2,890 people took the exam for the first time and 10 did so under provisions allowing graduates of non-ABA accredited law schools to seek admission to the Bar.

The Court has appointed the following members to the Workgroup:

Mr. Adam M. Foslid
Attorney at Law, Miami

Ms. Erin O’Hara O’Connor
Dean, Florida State University College of Law
Donald J. Weidner Chair 

Mr. Ricky L. Polston
Attorney at Law, Tallahassee

Mr. John M. Stewart
Attorney at Law, Melbourne

Mr. John F. Stinneford
Professor of Law, University of Florida Levin College of Law
Edward Rood Eminent Scholar Chair 

The Honorable Allen C. Winsor 
U.S. District Judge 
Northern District of Florida

The Workgroup will be aided by staff in the Office of the State Courts Administrator. The Workgroup is an advisory body. Any change to the Court’s existing Bar admission rules would have to be adopted through the Court’s rule amendment process, including a formal opportunity for public comment.