Florida Bar Rule Amendments - Chapter 3

Supreme Co urt of Flori da _______ _____ No. SC2025 - 1180 _______ _____ IN RE: AMENDMENTS TO RULES REGULATING THE FLORIDA BAR – C HA PTE R 3. Decem ber 1 8, 2025 CORRE CTED OPINI ON PER CURIAM. The Florida Bar petitions th e Cou rt to ame nd C hapter 3 of the Rules Regulating The Florida Bar. 1 Specifically, t he Bar proposes amending r ules 3- 3.2 (Board of Gove rnors o f The Flo rida Bar), 3 - 5.1 (Generally), 3 - 7.2 (Proce dures on Cri minal or Profes sional Misc onduct; Disci pline on Deter mina tion or J udgme nt of Gui lt of Criminal Mi sconduct; Disci pline on Remov al From Judicial Of fice), and 3 - 7.4 (Gr ievance C ommittee Proced ures). The pr opose d amen dment s were a pprove d by the Board of Governors of The Florida Bar, and consistent with rule 1 - 12.1(g), 1. We have jurisdi ction. See art. V, § 15, Fla. Co nst.; see also R. Regulating Fla. Bar 1 - 12.1.

the Ba r publi shed forma l notice of its inten t to fil e the petiti on in The Florida Bar News. The notice direct ed intereste d parties to file comments dir ectly with the Court. No comments we re received. Having fully cons idered the proposal s, w e adop t the amendment s to Chapter 3 pr opos ed by th e Bar wit h modifi cati ons. The more s ignificant ru le changes are disc ussed bel ow. First, w e add the word “inte rim” to rule 3 - 3.2(b)(2) (Emergency Suspe nsion or P roba tion). This change aligns t he rule with the ter minology used in rul e 3 - 5.2 (Emergency Suspension and Interim Proba tion). Next, w e reorganize rule 3 - 5.1. Each subd ivision within the rule is either relettered or ren umbered and m any of the subdivisi ons are retitled. W e also amend renum bered subdivisi ons (a)(5) (Disbarment) and (a)(6) (Disciplinary Revocation) to make plai n that a lawyer who is subject to an order of e ither permanent disba r ment o r discipl inary revo cation w ithou t leave to apply for readmissi on is b arred from apply ing for read miss ion to the B ar. W e amend r ule 3 - 7.2(l) (Wai ver of Time Limit s) to allow a lawyer to wai ve any of the time limit s in rule 3 - 7.2 orally on th e record at a heari ng before a refer ee. And we amen d rul e 3 - 7.4(g)(3)

(Vote) to req uire that all gr ievance committ ee action, not j ust fin dings of pr obabl e cause and rec ommend ations of guil t, be by a majo rity vo te. T his change wi ll allow grievan ce committees t o take binding act ion even if ther e are abstentions. Acco rdingly, Cha pter 3 of the Rul es Regul ating The Flo rida Ba r is amende d as set forth in th e appendix to this opini on. Deletions are indicate d by struck - through type, and ne w language is indicated by underscoring. The a mendments b ecome effect ive Febru ary 16, 2026, at 12:01 a.m. It is so ordered. MUÑIZ, C.J., and CANAD Y, LABARGA, COURIEL, GROSSHANS, FRANCIS, and SASSO, JJ., co ncur. THE F ILING OF A MOTI ON FOR R EHEAR ING SH ALL NO T ALTER THE EFFECTIVE DAT E OF THESE AMENDMENTS. Original Proce eding – Florid a Rules Regulating Th e Florida Bar Rosalyn Sia Baker - Barnes, Presid ent, Michael Fox Orr, President - elect, Josh ua E. Doyle, Exec utive Director, Elizabeth Clark T arbert, Division D irector, Lawyer Regulation, and Ke lly N. Smith, Senior Attorney, The Florida Bar, Tall ahassee, Fl orida, for Pe titione r

APPENDIX RULE 3 - 3. 2. BOARD OF GO VERNORS OF THE FLORIDA BAR (a) No C hange Authorit y to File a Forma l Complaint. No form al complaint may be filed by The Fl orida Bar in disci plinary proceeding s against a memb er of the bar unless 1 of the followin g conditions ha s been met: (1) No C hange Emergency Suspension or In te r i m Probation. A for mal complaint may be filed if t he member is the subje ct of an order of emergency suspensio n or emergen cy interim proba tion that is based on the same mi sconduct that is the subject matt er of the formal complaint; (3) – (6) No C hange [No Change] RULE 3 - 5. 1. GENERALLY (a) Disciplinary Measures in Judgme nts. A judgment finding a member of The Florida Bar guilty of misconduct will include 1 or mo re of the followin g disciplinary m easures. (a) Ad monis hments (1) Admonis hment. A Suprem e Court o f Flo rida order fi nding m inor mis conduct a nd ord ering an admonish ment may direct the respondent to appear before t he Suprem e Court o f Florid a, the bo ard of go vernors, a griev ance committe e, or the referee for ad ministrati on of th e admo nishment. A grieva nce co mmittee rep ort an d finding o f mino r misco nduct or the board of gove rnors, on re view o f the rep ort, ma y direct th e responden t to appear before t he board of govern ors or the g rievance committe e for a dministra tion o f the ad monishmen t. A

memorand um of administr ation of an admonish ment wil l be made a part o f the rec ord of the proc eeding afte r the ad monishm ent is administ ered. (b) Mi nor Misc onduct. Minor mi scon duct i s the onl y type of misconduct for which an admonis hment is an ap propriate disciplina ry sanction. (1) Crit eria. (A) Criteria. In the absence of unusual cir cumstances, misconduc t will not be regar ded as minor if any of the follo wing conditions exist: (Ai) the miscon duct involves mis appropriation of a c lient’s funds or proper ty; (B ii) t he misconduct result ed in or is likely to result in act ual prejudice (lo ss of money, legal rights, or valua ble proper ty righ ts) to a client or other p erson; (C iii) the misconduct resulted in or is likely to result in actual or pot ential injury to t he public or the legal syst em; (D iv) the respondent has been publi cly discipline d in the past 3 years; (Ev) the miscon duct involved is of the same nature as mis conduct for which t he respondent has been discipline d in the past 5 years; (F vi) the miscon duct includes dish onesty, misre presenta tion, dec eit, or fraud on the part of by the respo ndent; or (G vii) the miscon duct constitute s the commissi on of a felony under a pplicable law. (2) Discretion of Grievance Committee. (B) Discreti on of Grievance Co mmittee. A griev ance committ ee may recommen d an admonish ment for mino r misconduct or diversion t o a practice and profes sionalism en hancement program

when unusu al circumstance s are present, despite the presen ce of 1 or more of the cri teria describe d in subdivi sion (1) of this rule. Any grievance c ommittee report recommending an admonishm ent for minor misc onduct or diver sion to a practice an d professionalis m enhancemen t program despit e the presence of t he criteria in subdi visi on (1) this r u le must contai n a detailed explan ation of the circumst ances giving rise to th e committee’s recommendat ion. (3) Recommendation of Minor M isconduct. (C) Recomm endation of M inor M isconduc t. If a grievance committe e find s the r espondent g uilty of m inor misconduc t or if the responden t admits guilt of m inor miscond uct and the commi ttee concurs, t he grievance commit tee will fi le its report recom mending an admonish ment, t he manner of administrat io n, the ta xing o f costs, an d an assessment or admi nistrative fee in t he amount of $1,250 agai nst the respondent. The report r ecommending an admon ishme nt wil l be forw arded t o s taff counsel an d the designat ed reviewe r for review. If staff counsel does not return the repo rt to the grievance c ommittee to remedy a defect in t he report, or if the rep ort is not referred t o the disciplina ry review commit tee by the designat ed reviewer a s provided els ewhere in these r ules, the report will then be served on the respon dent by bar couns el. The report and finding of mi nor miscond uct becomes final unl ess rejecte d by the respon dent within 30 d ays af ter service of the re port. If rejected by the responden t, bar counsel will prepare a formal complai nt as in a f inding of proba ble caus e. If the responden t does not reject the repor t of minor misco nduct is not rejecte d by the respondent, b ar counsel will give written notice o f the finding of mino r misconduct will be give n, in writing, to the complainan t. (4) Rejection of Minor Miscon duct Reports. (D) Rejection of Minor Miscond uct Reports. Th e board of governors' r ejection of a grie vance committ ee report of mino r misconduct, without dismis sal of the case, or remand to the grievance c ommittee, is deem ed a finding of p robable cause. The responden t's rejection is de emed a findin g of probable cause. At trial before a ref eree following a respondent's rej ection of a repo rt of minor misc onduct, the referee may re comm end any disciplin e authorize d under these rul es.

(5) Admission of Minor Miscon duct. (E) Admission of Mi nor Misco nduct. A respondent may tender a writ ten admission of minor misc onduct to bar c ounsel or to the grievan ce committ ee within 30 day s after service of a notice of a fi nding o f pro bable cause by a griev ance commit tee or the boar d of governors. A n admissi on of minor miscond uct may be conditi oned on acce ptance by the grieva nce commi ttee or th e board of gover nors, bu t the resp ondent may not condit ion the admissi on of mi nor mi scond uct on the m ethod o f adm inistra tion of the a dmoni shment or o n nonpayment of costs incu rred in the procee dings. An admission may be tende red after a finding of pr obable cause (b ut before the filing of a compl aint) only i f an admission has not be en previously tender ed. If the a dmiss ion is tendered a fter a finding o f prob able cause, th e grievance commi ttee or board of g overnors may con sider the admissio n without further evidentiary he aring and may either reject th e admission, aff irming its prior acti on, or accept t he admissi on, in which case, t he report of minor mis con duct will be issued by th e grievance comm ittee. If a respon dent’s admissi on is accepte d by the grievance com mittee or board of governors, th e responden t may not later reject a report of the com mittee recom mendi ng an admoni shmen t for min or mis condu ct. If th e admissi on of minor miscond uct is rejected, the admission m ay not be conside red or used against the respondent in subsequent proc eeding s. (F) A dministra tion of Adm onish ment. A Supreme Court o f Flor ida order find ing minor m isconduct a nd ord ering an admonish ment may direct the respondent to appear before t he Supreme Co urt of Florida, the b oard of govern ors, a grievance committe e, or the refe ree for a dministr ation of th e admo nishment. A grievance c ommittee report and finding of min or misconduct or the board of gover nors, on r eview o f the r eport, ma y direct th e responden t to appear befo re the board of govern ors or the grievan ce committe e for administr ation o f the ad monishmen t. A memorand um of administrat ion of an admonish ment wil l be made a part of the rec ord of the proceedin g after the adm onishment is administ ered.

(c) Probation. (2) Probation. The respondent may be plac ed on pro bati on for a sta ted pe riod of time between 6 months and 5 ye ars o r for an i ndefini te peri od dete rmine d by condi tion s stated in th e order. The judgmen t will state th e conditions of the proba tion, whi ch may inc lude, bu t are not limite d to, the fo llowi ng: (1A) completi on of a practice and professionalism enhancemen t program as pro vided elsewhe re in these rules; (B) quar terly or p eriodic reports o f casel oad status; (2C) supe rvisi on of all or part of the re sponde nt’s work by a mem ber of The Florida B ar; (3D) required re porting to a designat ed agency; (4E) satisfactor y completio n of co ntinuing legal educat ion p rogra ms in ad dition t o those requir ed by rule 6 - 10. 3 a course of stu dy or a paper on legal ethics approved by the Supreme Court o f Flor ida; (5F) supervisi on over fees and t rust accounts or period ic audi ts of tru st accou nts as the court di rects; or (G) participat ion in substance use dis order programs; (H) periodic phy sical or mental ex aminations; (I) passing the bar exa mination or the appropriate profe ssion al resp onsibi lity exa min ation; or (6J) restriction s on the ability to ad vertise legal services, either in type of adv ertisement or a general prohi bition for a stated peri od of time, in cases in which rules reg ulating advertising h ave been violat ed or the legal rep resentation in w hich the miscond uct occurred was o btained by adv ertising.

The respon dent will reim burse the bar for the c osts of supervisi on. The respond ent may be punished f or contempt on petition by The Florida Bar, as p rovided elsewhe re in these Rules Regulating Th e Florida Ba r ru les, on failu re of a r esponde nt to compl y with the condi tion s of the p robati on or a f indi ng of prob able cause as to con duct of the resp ondent commit ted during the p eriod of prob atio n. An ord er of the c ourt Supreme C ourt of Flori da imposing san ctions for cont empt under t his rule may also ter minate the p robation previ ously im pose d. (d) Public Reprimand. (3) Pu blic Reprimand. A publi c reprimand will b e administered in the manner prescribed in the judg ment b ut all re priman ds will be repo rted in the Sout hern Reporter. The bar will provid e due notice to th e respondent of an y proc eeding set to adm inist er the r eprim and. Th e respon de nt must appe ar perso nally befor e the Sup reme Cour t of Flor ida, the board of governors, any judge design ated to administ er the repriman d, or the referee, if req uired, and this ap pearance wi ll be made a part of t he reco rd of th e proce eding. (e) Suspe nsion. (4) Suspension. The respondent ma y be su spended fr om the p ractice of law fo r a per iod of time to be dete rmine d by the condit ions im posed by the j udgme nt or or der or until fu rther order o f the cour t. During this su spension, the responden t continues to be a member of The F l orida Bar but without th e privilege of pract icing. A susp ension of 90 days o r less does not req uire proof of rehabilit ation or passage of the Florida bar examination, and the resp ondent will become eli gible for all pr iv ileges of members of Th e Florida Ba r o n the exp iratio n of the when the period of suspen sion expire s. A sus pensi on of m ore than 90 days r equires proof of reh abilitation an d may require passage of all or part of the Florid a bar examinati on, and the responden t will not becom e eligible f or all privileges of mem bers of The Florida Bar until th e court Supre me Cour t of F lorida enters an order reinst ating the respon dent to membersh ip in The Florida Ba r. No sus pension wil l be order ed for a specifi c peri od of t ime more than 3 years.

An ord er or opin ion i mposing a suspe nsion of 90 da ys or le ss will includ e a provision that p rohibits the resp ondent from accepting n ew business fr om the date of the or der or opinion until the end of the t erm of the suspensi on and will provi de that the su sp ension is effe ctive 30 days fro m the date of the order o r opinion so that the res pondent may close out the practice o f law and protect the interest s of existing clients, unless the co urt orders otherwi se. An ord er or opin ion i mposing a suspension of more than 90 days will incl ude a provision that prohibits the re spondent from accepting n ew business fr om the date of the or der or opinion until the date of th e court’s order of rein statement and wi ll provide that the suspensi on is effect ive 30 days fro m the da te of the order or opinion so t hat the respondent may close out the p ractice of law and protect t he interests of exist ing client s, unless the court o rders otherwise. (f) Disbarmen t. (5) Disb arment. A judg ment of disbarment t erminates t he respondent ’s status as a memb er of the bar. Perman ent disbarm ent precludes readmission. A former member wh o has not been perman ently disbarre d may only be admitte d again on full complianc e with the rules an d regulat ion s gove rning a dmiss ion to t he bar. Except as othe rwise provi ded in these rules, n o application f or readmissi on may be tendered wit hin 5 yea rs after t he dat e of disb arme nt or a lon ger pe riod or dered by the co urt in the d isbarm ent or der or at any time afte r that d ate until all court - order ed res titutio n and outs tandi ng discipl inary costs have b een paid. No applic ation for readmissi on may be filed after a Supreme Court of Florid a order of perman ent disbarmen t. Disbarment is the presumed san ction for lawyer s found guilty of theft fr om a lawyer’s tru st account or spe cial trust f unds received or disbursed by a lawyer as gua rdian, personal re presentative, recei ver, or tr ustee. A respon dent fou nd guilty of theft will h ave the oppor tunity to o ffer competen t, substa ntial e vidence to r ebut the p resumpti on that d isbarm ent is a ppropr iate. Unle ss waiv ed or mo dified by the cou rt on m otion of the respondent, an order or opinion imposing disbarment will include a

provision th at prohibits th e respondent fro m accepting n ew busine ss from th e date of the or der or op inio n and will p rovide that the disbarm ent is effect ive 30 days from the dat e of the order or opinion so t hat the respondent may close out the p ractice of l aw and protect t he interests of exist ing client s. (g) Disci plinary Rev ocation. (6) Discip lin ary Revocation. A disciplinary rev ocation is tant amount t o a disba rment. A res pondent may pet iti on for dis ciplin ary re vocati on in lieu of defen ding against al legations of disci plinary violations. If accepte d by the Supreme Court of Florida, a disci plinary revocat ion term inate s the responden t’s status as a mem ber of the bar. A former ba r member whose disci plinary rev ocation has been accepte d may only be admitted aga in on full complia nce with the rules and reg ulation s governing admission to the bar. Like disbarment, disciplina ry revocation terminates the res pondent’s license an d privilege to practic e law and requi res readmissi on to practice und er the Rules of the Supreme Court Relating t o Admis sions t o the Bar. No a pp licati on for readmissi on may be tender ed until the late r of 5 years afte r the date o f the o rder o f the Supre me Co urt of F lorida g rantin g the pet ition for di sciplin ary revocation, or another pe riod of time in excess of 5 years contained in that o rder. No ap plication for readmi ssion may be t endered after a Supreme Co urt of Florida o rder granting dis ciplinary revo cation wit hout leav e to appl y for r eadmis sion. (hb) N oti ce to C lien ts. Unless t he court orders ot herwise, when the res pondent is served w ith an order of dis barment, disbarment on c onsent, disci plinary rev ocation, suspensi on, emergency suspensio n, interim emergen cy proba tion, or p lacement on the inacti ve list for incapacit y not related to mis conduct, th e responden t must immediat ely furnish a copy of the order to all: (1) – (4) [No C hange] Within 30 d ays aft er service of the orde r, the respondent must furnish ba r counsel with a sw orn affidavit list ing the names an d addresses of al l persons and ent ities that have be en furnished copie s of the o rder.

(ic) Forfeitur e of Fees. An order of the S upre me Court of Florida or a re port of minor miscon duct adjudicati ng a respondent guilty of enter ing into, charging, or co llecting a fee pro hibited by the Rules Regulat ing The Flori da Bar may order the r espondent to forfe it all or any par t of the fee. In the case of a clearly excessive fee, the excessiv e amount of the f ee may be ordere d returned to the client, an d a fee otherwise prohi bited by the Rules R egulating Th e Florida Bar may be ordered forfeit ed to The Flo ri da Bar Clien ts’ Security Fun d and disburse d in accordance wi th its rules an d regulation s. (jd) Restitu tion. In a dditi on to any of the fore going disciplina ry sanctions an d any disciplina ry sanctions authorized elsewhere in these rules, t he respondent m ay be ordered or ag ree to pay re stitut ion to a complai nant or other person if the di scipli nary order finds th at the responden t has received a cle arly excessive, illegal, or pr ohibited fee, or th at the respondent has converte d trust funds or proper ty. The amount o f resti tution will be specific ally s et forth in the d isciplina ry order or agre ement. Res titutio n for an excessive f ee will not exceed t he amount by which that fee is clearly excessive. Restituti on for a prohibited or illeg al fee will not exceed the amou nt of the fee. Res titutio n for a convers ion will no t ex ceed the amount of the conversion est ablished in di sciplinary proc eeding s. Rest itut ion ma y incl ude interest as allowed by law. The discipli nary order or agre ement must stat e to whom restituti on must be ma de and the date by whi ch it must be complet ed. Failure to comply wit h the order or ag reement will cause the respondent t o become a delin quent member an d will not precl ude further proc eeding s unde r these r ules. Th e respon dent must provide the bar with t elephone numbers an d current addre sses of all individual s or entities t o whom the responden t is ordered to pay res titution.

RULE 3 - 7. 2. PROCEDURES ON CRI MINAL OR PROFESSIONAL MISCONDUCT; DISCIPLINE ON DETERMINATION OR J UDGME NT OF GUILT OF CR IMINA L MISC ONDUCT; DIS CIPLI NE ON REMOV AL FR OM JUDI CIAL OF FICE (a) – (k) No C hange Waiver of Time Limits. The respondent may w aive the time requi rements in thi s rule by written reque st made to and. The request must be in writing or clearl y stated on the reco rd at a hearing an d is subject to the ap proval of approv ed by the referee or the Suprem e Court of Florida. (m) – (n) [No Change] RULE 3 - 7. 4. GRIEVANCE COMMITTEE PROCEDURES (a) – (f) No C hange Qu orum, Panels, and Vote. (1) – (2) No C hange V o te. All finding s of pro bable c ause and recom menda tion s of gui lt of mi nor misc onduct grievan ce committee actions m ust be made by affirmati ve a m ajor ity of thos e voting vote of a majority of t he committee mem bers present, which majority must numb er at least 2 memb ers. There is no req uired minimum number of lawy er members voting in order to satis fy the requirem ents of this rule. The n umber of committ ee members votin g for or against the comm ittee repor t must b e recorde d. Mi nority reports may be file d. A lawyer grievan ce commit tee member may no t vote on the disposition o f any matter in which that member se rved as the invest igating member of the committee. (h) – (o) [No C hange]