Case Title: In Re: Amendments to Rule Regulating The Florida Bar 20-3.1 (Requirements For Registration)

Citation: 

Docket Number: SC19-520

State: florida

Court: Florida Supreme Court

Date: 2019-09-19T00:00:00Z

Document:
Supreme Court of Florida 
 
 
____________ 
 
No. SC19-520 
____________ 
 
 
IN RE:  AMENDMENTS TO RULE REGULATING THE FLORIDA BAR 
20-3.1 (REQUIREMENTS FOR REGISTRATION). 
 
September 19, 2019 
 
PER CURIAM. 
 
The Florida Bar petitions the Court to amend Rule Regulating the Florida 
Bar (Bar Rule) 20-3.1 (Requirements for Registration).  We have jurisdiction.  See 
art. V, § 15, Fla. Const. 
 
The Bar proposes amending Bar Rule 20-3.1 to allow all lawyers licensed to 
practice law in a state other than Florida to become registered paralegals, 
irrespective of whether they are members of a state bar association.  Specifically, 
the Bar’s proposal replaces the phrase “with a state bar association other than 
Florida’s” in subdivision (a)(6) of the rule with the phrase “in a United States 
jurisdiction other than Florida.”  The Bar’s proposal also replaces the word 
“associate’s” in subdivisions (a)(3) and (a)(4) of Bar Rule 20-3.1 with “associate,” 
 
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and replaces the word “membership” in subdivision (a)(6) of the rule with 
“licensure.”   
 
Having considered the amendments proposed by the Bar, the Court hereby 
adopts these straightforward amendments to Bar Rule 20-3.1 as proposed by the 
Bar.  The amendments correct the Court’s unintentional narrowing of the rule’s 
scope in In re Amendments to Rules Regulating the Florida Bar—Biennial 
Petition, 267 So. 3d 891 (Fla. 2019).  Our modification of the Bar’s proposal to 
amend Bar Rule 20-3.1(a)(6) in that case to require membership in a state bar 
association as a prerequisite to a lawyer licensed in a jurisdiction other than Florida 
becoming a registered paralegal unintentionally precluded lawyers from the 
nineteen states where state bar membership is not mandatory from obtaining the 
same benefit.  The amendments we adopt today correct this oversight and extend 
the scope of Bar Rule 20-3.1(a)(6) to include lawyers licensed to practice law in 
the nineteen states that do not require state bar membership, thus allowing all 
lawyers licensed to practice law in a jurisdiction other than Florida to become a 
registered paralegal. 
Accordingly, Rule Regulating the Florida Bar 20-3.1 is amended as set forth 
in the appendix to this opinion.  Deletions are indicated by struck-through type, 
and new language is indicated by underscoring.  The amendments shall become 
effective immediately upon release of this opinion. 
 
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It is so ordered. 
CANADY, C.J., and POLSTON, LABARGA, LAWSON, LAGOA, LUCK, and 
MUÑIZ, JJ., concur. 
 
THE FILING OF A MOTION FOR REHEARING SHALL NOT ALTER THE 
EFFECTIVE DATE OF THESE AMENDMENTS. 
 
Original Proceeding – Florida Rules Regulating the Florida Bar 
 
Joshua E. Doyle, Executive Director, John M. Stewart, President, Dori Foster-
Morales, President-elect, Lori S. Holcomb, Director, Division of Ethics and 
Consumer Protection, Shannon R. Fleming, Assistant Florida Registered Paralegal 
Counsel, and Elizabeth Clark Tarbert, Ethics Counsel, The Florida Bar, 
Tallahassee, Florida, 
 
 
for Petitioner 
 
 
 
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APPENDIX 
RULES REGULATING THE FLORIDA BAR 
CHAPTER 20 FLORIDA REGISTERED PARALEGAL PROGRAM 
20-3 ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS 
RULE 20-3.1 REQUIREMENTS FOR REGISTRATION 
In order to be a Florida Registered Paralegal under this chapter, an individual 
must meet 1 of the following requirements. 
(a)  Educational and Work Experience Requirements. A person may 
become a Florida Registered Paralegal by meeting 1 of the following education 
and paralegal work experience requirements: 
(1)  a bachelor’s degree in paralegal studies from an approved paralegal 
program, plus a minimum of 1 year of paralegal work experience; 
(2)  a bachelor’s degree or higher degree other than a juris doctorate from 
an institution accredited by a nationally recognized accrediting agency 
approved by the United States Department of Education or the Florida 
Department of Education, plus a minimum of 3 years of paralegal work 
experience; 
(3)  an associate’sassociate degree in paralegal studies from an approved 
paralegal program, plus a minimum of 2 years of paralegal work experience; 
(4)  an associate’sassociate degree from an institution accredited by a 
nationally recognized accrediting agency approved by the United States 
Department of Education or the Florida Department of Education, plus a 
minimum of 4 years of paralegal work experience; 
(5)  a juris doctorate degree from an American Bar Association accredited 
institution, plus a minimum of 1 year of paralegal work experience; or 
(6)  a juris doctorate degree from an American Bar Association accredited 
institution and membershiplicensure in good standing with a state bar 
association other than Florida’sin a United States jurisdiction other than 
Florida, with no minimum paralegal work experience. 
(b)  Certification. A person may become a Florida Registered Paralegal by 
obtaining 1 of the following certifications: 
 
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(1)  successful completion of the Paralegal Advanced Competency Exam 
(PACE certification as offered by the National Federation of Paralegal 
Associations “NFPA”) and good standing with NFPA; or  
(2)  successful completion of the Certified Legal Assistant/Certified 
Paralegal examination (CLA/CP certification as offered by the National 
Association of Legal Assistants “NALA”) and good standing with NALA. 
(c)  Grandfathering Reapplication. A paralegal who was registered under the 
grandfathering provision on or prior to March 1, 2011, who resigns or whose 
registration is revoked may reapply based on work experience alone. The paralegal 
must provide work experience as defined elsewhere in these rules for 5 of the 8 
years immediately preceding the date of reapplication.