Because the potential defendant is a Florida resident, suit could be filed in Florida. The relationship of the case to Florida is too attenuated to warrant requiring the attorney to comply with the rule. The conclusions reached in the above general examples will not differ regardless of whether the Florida Bar member resides in Florida. When determining which jurisdiction has the most significant relationship to the client and the case, where the attorney resides is less important than where the client resides and where the cause of action arose. As Rule 4-8.5 provides, an attorney licensed in Florida is subject to the Florida Bar's disciplinary jurisdiction regardless of where he practices.
More complex questions arise when lawyers from different states are involved in a case.
The examples below have been presented by a Florida attorney. After doing a substantial amount of work on the case, he decides that the case must be placed in suit in Florida and forwards the case to a Florida attorney to represent the client. Thus, the Florida attorney must provide the client with a copy of the Statement of Client's Rights before he may ethically share in the fee in question. Further, the Florida attorney should be aware that he may not ethically share in the fee unless the total fee charged to the client is reasonable. In order to comply with local rules, he must associate a Florida attorney.