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Firestorm over plan to let out-of-state lawyers practice in Florida without passing exam
Tampa Bay Tribune ^ | July 20, 2015 | By Susan Taylor Martin

Posted on 07/21/2015 1:28:33 AM PDT by Brad from Tennessee

And you thought Florida already had too many lawyers?

A proposal to let lawyers from other states practice in the Sunshine State without taking the Florida Bar exam has ignited a firestorm in Florida's already crowded legal community.

"It's a ridiculous proposal," John Fitzgibbons, a Tampa attorney and former federal prosecutor, said Monday. "Every lawyer in a cold-weather climate who has a condo in Florida will join the Florida Bar and make that condo his or her Florida office."

In a survey published last year, nearly half of the Florida Bar members who responded cited "too many lawyers" as the most serious problem facing the legal profession today. Florida already has 101,000 licensed attorneys, with hundreds more joining the ranks each year.

The first inkling many lawyers had that the Bar was considering so-called "reciprocity" with other states came last week in a Florida Bar Journal story about the organization's new president, Miami attorney Ramón Abadin, and the speech he gave at his June 26 swearing-in ceremony.

In what the story described as an "eye-opening call to action," Abadin said Florida lawyers "can't operate today under rules from a different era" and suggested changing, among other things, rules that now restrict reciprocity. . .

(Excerpt) Read more at tampabay.com ...


TOPICS: Extended News
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1 posted on 07/21/2015 1:28:33 AM PDT by Brad from Tennessee
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To: Brad from Tennessee

Boy the 1%’ers do squeal when their version of the H1B visa/illegal construction worker is landing on their noggins, don’t they?


2 posted on 07/21/2015 1:32:13 AM PDT by FredZarguna (Now, which is bigger, Pluto or Goofy?)
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To: Brad from Tennessee

Oh, come on - I thought that everyone knew that what the United States REALLY needs is more lawyers.


3 posted on 07/21/2015 1:51:34 AM PDT by Jack Hammer
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To: Brad from Tennessee

sounds like them N.Y. lawyers want to get in on the Florida legal money bonanza.


4 posted on 07/21/2015 2:15:33 AM PDT by Joe Boucher ( Obammy is a lie, a mooselimb and pond scum.)
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To: Brad from Tennessee

Good first step. Next, let paralegals practice and then laymen. Most law is boilerplate and repeatable over and over again. An experienced layman is as good as a lawyer, particularly in the least complicated areas of law practice - RE transactions, evictions, small claims, etc. If you need a specialist, then hire and pay one. We shouldn’t be forced to use butchers to cut meat and the same thing goes for attorneys. (I like my attorneys BTW)


5 posted on 07/21/2015 2:37:38 AM PDT by 1010RD (First, Do No Harm)
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To: Brad from Tennessee

It’s a conspiracy theory I can sink my teeth into.

First, we get them (the lawyers) all in one place...........

(Sarcasm.)


6 posted on 07/21/2015 3:03:35 AM PDT by Vermont Lt
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To: FredZarguna

I don’t mind beating up on the 1%’ers but, at least today, the vast majority of people with law degrees are finding out that their degrees carry as much weight as those from the “University of Phoenix” and they are lucky to get a job that even pays anything - as most entry-level jobs are as unpaid interns.

Makes me cry. LOL.


7 posted on 07/21/2015 3:53:16 AM PDT by BobL (REPUBLICANS - Fight for the WHITE VOTE...and you will win (see my 'about' page))
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To: Brad from Tennessee

Allowing out of state lawyers to practice in Fl should raise the collective intelligence of the Fl Bar by at least 1.5 standard deviations.


8 posted on 07/21/2015 4:28:54 AM PDT by noprogs (Cruze 2016 "Vow to Endeavor to Persevere")
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To: Brad from Tennessee
Professions you really need actual training to do:

- Surgeon

- Airline Pilot

- Electrician

-------------------------------------------------

Professions that require "McTraining":

- Actor

- Journalist

- Lawyer

9 posted on 07/21/2015 5:40:44 AM PDT by SkyPilot ("I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." John 14:6)
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To: Brad from Tennessee

I think in mexifornia, illegal (i.e. criminals) can be lawyers.


10 posted on 07/21/2015 7:13:42 AM PDT by bravo whiskey (we shouldn't fear the government. the government should fear us.)
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To: Brad from Tennessee

Since both Kali and New York allow illegal aliens to practice law, why should Americans be held to any standards?


11 posted on 07/21/2015 10:11:52 AM PDT by CodeToad (If it weren't for physics and law enforcement I'd be unstoppable!)
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