Title: In Re: Amendments To Rules Regulating The Florida Bar Re: Chapter 11 Task Force
Citation: N/A
Docket Number: SC03-122
State: Florida
Issuer: Florida Supreme Court
Date: July 12, 2007

Supreme Court of Florida 
 
 
____________ 
 
No. SC03-122 
____________ 
 
IN RE:  AMENDMENTS TO RULES REGULATING THE 
FLORIDA BAR RE:  CHAPTER 11 TASK FORCE. 
 
[July 5, 2007] 
CORRECTED OPINION 
 
PER CURIAM. 
 
We have for consideration The Florida Bar’s Special Board Committee to 
Study the Law School Practice Program’s proposed amendments to the Rules 
Regulating the Florida Bar 11-1.3 (Requirements and Limitations), 11-1.5 
(Approval of Legal Aid Organization), 11-1.9(b) (Graduates of Non-Florida Law 
Schools), and 11-1.9(c) (Termination of Certification).  We have jurisdiction.  See 
art. V, § 15, Fla. Const. 
BACKGROUND 
In September 2003, the Court asked The Florida Bar to review Chapter 11 of 
the Rules Regulating the Florida Bar for the purpose of suggesting possible 
amendments to the rules governing the Law School Practice Program to address 
certain perceived shortcomings in the program as it currently exists and to report 
back to the Court.  The Florida Bar’s Special Board Committee to Study the Law 
School Practice Program (Committee) undertook the task.1  In June 2005, the 
Committee submitted three proposed amendments to Chapter 11 for consideration 
by this Court.  In its letter accompanying the submission, the Committee noted that 
any proposed amendments “would still be subject to additional lawyer and public 
comment prior to their final adoption.”  The Committee further noted that certain 
government offices, which rely heavily on interns to fulfill their staffing needs due 
to workload demands, are opposed to any change of Rule 11-1.9(c) (allowing post-
graduate certified legal interns up to twelve months to pass the Florida bar exam 
before losing their certification). 
After submission to the Court, the proposed amendments were published in 
The Florida Bar News, and comments on the proposed amendments were invited.  
After considering the comments and conducting oral argument, we adopt some of 
the Committee’s amendments as proposed and adopt others with modifications, as 
                                          
 
 
1.  The Committee was the second entity to review Chapter 11 and suggest 
changes.  In January 2001, the Court created, by administrative order, a task force 
to review the rules and make recommendations of changes that would strengthen 
and improve the program.  See In re: Task Force to Review Rules Governing the 
Law School Practice Program (Chapter 11 of the Rules Regulating the Florida 
Bar), Fla. Admin. Order No. AOSC01-1 (Jan. 5, 2001) (on file with Clerk, Fla. 
Sup. Ct.).  The task force proposed significant changes.  The Court rejected these 
recommendations because the proposed changes would not have corrected the 
perceived problems and would have also created additional concerns, including the 
transfer of judicial branch functions to other branches. 
 
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set out below.  In one instance, the changes we adopted in one subdivision of a rule 
led us to sua sponte amend another subdivision to the same rule so that graduates 
of Florida and out-of-state law schools would be treated equally.  
AMENDMENTS 
Rule 11-1.3(a),  Requirements and Limitations, and Rule 11-1.9(b),  
Graduates of Non-Florida Law Schools 
 
The Committee proposes amending rules 11-1.3(a) and 11-1.9(b) to require 
law school students and graduates who wish to participate in a law school practice 
program or a post-graduate certified legal intern program to file an application for 
admission to The Florida Bar (Bar) with the Florida Board of Bar Examiners 
(Board) and to obtain a letter of initial clearance as to character and fitness from 
the Board as a prerequisite to participation.  The phrase proposed by the 
Committee uses the word “application,” which is the form currently completed by 
applicants for admission to The Florida Bar, the submission of which, along with 
the applicable fees, causes the Board to begin an initial investigation into the 
applicant’s character and fitness.   
Under the current versions of rules 11-1.3(a) and 11-1.9(b), the analysis of 
an applicant’s character and fitness has been the responsibility of the applicant’s 
law school dean and the agency or office where the applicant applies to serve.  In 
the past, this has led to a wide disparity in the quality and quantity of the 
background investigations conducted and very serious problems.  Not surprisingly, 
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this resulted in some persons being approved for participation who, because of 
disqualifying or other negative incidents in the past, should not have been accepted 
if the background information had been otherwise disclosed.  Accordingly, we 
asked the Committee to propose an amendment which would provide a plan for a 
uniform and high-quality background investigation to be conducted on every 
person prior to certification by this Court of authorization to become a certified 
intern for acceptance into a law school practice program or as a post-graduate 
certified legal intern. 
We first address the proposed amendment to rule 11-1.3 (Requirements and 
Limitations) to add a new subdivision (a).  The proposed amendment would 
require all law students who seek to be authorized as certified interns to complete 
and submit to the Board an application for admission to the Bar and to obtain an 
initial clearance letter from the Board as a prerequisite to participation in the 
program.   See generally Fla. Bar Admiss. R. 2-21, 2-21.2 & 2-23. 
We agree that the Board should be the entity to conduct the fitness and 
character screening of law students for participation in the certified intern program.  
The Board possesses the most experience in conducting background investigations 
designed to determine issues of character and fitness for the practice of law.  It is 
the entity responsible for screening applicants for admission to the Bar to ensure 
the continued quality and character of those admitted to the practice of law in this 
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state.  It has established an impressive track record of success in this area over 
many years and has the staff and expertise to perform this function. 
While we realize that students who seek to become certified interns are not 
attorneys and have not taken or passed the bar examination, we nevertheless 
believe these students, who actually provide legal representation to others under 
the supervision of members of The Florida Bar, must have the requisite character 
and fitness for eventual admission, either to the Bar of this state or other state bar 
of their choice.  We repose our trust for the accomplishment of this purpose in the 
Board.  Those certified actually provide legal representation to others, albeit under 
the supervision of a member of the Bar. 
However, we modify the wording of the new subdivision (a) proposed by the 
Committee and approve the following language instead: 
 
In order to make an appearance pursuant to this chapter, the law 
student must: 
 
(a) have registered with the Florida Board of Bar Examiners as 
a certified legal intern registrant; have paid the $75 fee for such 
registration if the registration is completed within the first 250 days of 
the registrant’s law school education or $150 if the registration is filed 
after the 250-day deadline; and have received a letter of clearance as 
to character and fitness from the Florida Board of Bar Examiners; any 
fee paid under this subdivision shall be deducted from the applicable 
application fee should the certified legal intern registrant subsequently 
decide to apply for admission to The Florida Bar; 
 
Our language provides that the form to be used be designated as a “certified legal 
intern registration,” but it must clearly require disclosure of the same information 
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required by the Board for applicants for admission.  It further establishes a lower 
fee than that for admission applications.  Finally, it allows the student to offset the 
fee paid under the rule from any subsequent application fee for admission to The 
Florida Bar.  
We direct the Board to prepare a certified legal intern registration form for 
use for this purpose or to amend the Application for Admission to The Florida Bar 
to reflect this certified legal intern registration purpose in addition to its present 
purpose.  See Fla. Bar Admiss. R. 2-21.2.  We also direct the Board to prepare a 
standard letter of clearance which may be used for this purpose or as the letter of 
initial clearance which usually follows from an application for admission to the 
Bar. 
 
The other requirements presently in the rule remain unchanged, although re-
lettered, including the requirement that a certified legal intern registrant be 
certified by the dean of his or her law school to be of good character, competent 
legal ability, and adequately trained to perform as a certified legal intern.  The 
letter of clearance from the Florida Board of Bar Examiners will be in addition to 
the existing requirements. 
We next address the proposed amendment to rule 11-1.9(b).  We agree with 
the Committee that the Board is the proper entity to certify that graduates of out-
of-state law schools who seek designation and authorization in the certified legal 
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intern program have the requisite character and fitness for it and possess the same 
clearance letter.  We further agree that to qualify as a post-graduate certified legal 
intern, the participant must have actually applied for admission to the Bar.  
Accordingly, we approve the amendment proposed by the Committee, which 
provides:  
A graduate of an American Bar Association approved non-Florida law 
school may qualify for continuation if the graduate has made 
application for admission to The Florida Bar and received a letter of 
initial clearance as to character and fitness from the Florida Board of 
Bar Examiners, and has successfully completed a clinical program in 
law school that met the definition of a law school practice program 
under rule 11-1.2(a) and that awarded a minimum of 3 semester hours 
or the equivalent or required at least 200 hours of actual participation 
in the program. 
 
The amendments we approve in rules 11-1.3(a) and 1-1.9(b), however, 
would allow graduates of Florida law schools to serve as post-graduate certified 
legal interns without having made formal application for admission to the Bar, 
while graduates of out-of-state law schools will have to apply.  To ensure that both 
groups are treated equally, we must also amend rule 11-1.9(a) as follows: 
 
(a)  Certification.  A law student at an American Bar 
Association approved Florida law school who has filed an application 
for admission to The Florida Bar, has received an initial clearance 
letter as to character and fitness from the Florida Board of Bar 
Examiners, has completed a law school practice program awarding a 
minimum of 3 semester credit hours or the equivalent or requiring at 
least 200 hours of actual participation in the program, and has had 
certification withdrawn by the law school dean by reason of 
successful completion of the program or has graduated from law 
school following successful completion of the program may make 
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appearances for any of the same supervisory authorities under the 
same circumstances and restrictions that were applicable to students in 
law school programs pursuant to this chapter if the supervising 
attorney: 
 
(1)  files a certification in the same manner and subject to the 
same limitations as that required to be filed by the law school dean 
and files a separate certificate of the dean stating that the law student 
has successfully completed the law school practice program.  This 
certification may be withdrawn in the same manner as provided for 
the law school dean's withdrawal of certification.  The maximum term 
of certification for graduates shall be 12 months from graduation; and 
 
(2)  further certifies that the attorney will assume the duties and 
responsibilities of the supervising attorney as provided by other 
provisions of this chapter. 
 
This amendment makes it clear that graduates of both Florida and non-Florida law 
schools must have applied for admission to The Florida Bar and have received 
initial clearance letters from the Board to be eligible to participate as post-graduate 
certified legal interns. 
 
Many comments concerning the amendments proposed to rules 11-1.3(a) 
and 11-1.9(b) centered on the time period required for the Board to conduct the 
character and fitness investigations of the students and the cost and time involved 
in completing and submitting the application forms.  The Board has filed a 
comment assuring the Court that it will complete most of the required 
investigations within three to six months of the date of receipt of the application or 
registration form for certified legal intern authorization.  We are cognizant that the 
discovery of negative, possibly disqualifying information in a student’s 
background could cause unavoidable delays.  These matters, if they arise, must be 
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fully investigated.  Consequently, students with negative information in their 
backgrounds should file a registration application as early as possible in their law 
school careers if they have a desire to participate in a law school practice program 
to allow adequate time for resolution of these issues.  We believe our other 
adjustments to the rules, providing for a different form and reduced fees, address 
the other concerns expressed in the comments. 
 
Of course, we recognize that our amendments must be prospective only to 
afford law students who may want to participate in a certified program adequate 
time to register with the Board and to receive a clearance letter prior to 
participation, which usually occurs in the third year of legal training.  We certainly 
anticipate that the Florida law schools, as well as the agencies and organizations 
that use interns to fulfill their staffing needs, will do their best to inform all 
incoming law students of these new requirements for planning purposes.  In 
consideration of all of this, these amendments are applicable to any law students 
entering a law school practice program beginning on August 1, 2008, or later.  
Rule 11-1.5,  Approval of Legal Aid Organization  
 
We next consider the proposed amendment to rule 11-1.5 (Approval of 
Legal Aid Organization).  The Committee was also asked to consider possible 
amendments to the rule because it was feared that some organizations seeking 
Legal Aid status to use certified interns have served paying clients as well as some 
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indigent, but would use interns to gain an advantage over competitors who served 
only paying clients.  Accordingly, the Committee proposed amending the rule to 
require that legal aid organizations seeking to use certified law school interns serve 
only indigent clients.  While we agree with the Committee that legal aid 
organizations that seek to be qualified to use certified legal interns should serve the 
indigent, we cannot agree that such organizations must serve indigent clients 
exclusively; rather, a majority of the legal aid organization’s clients must be 
indigent.  We caution, however, that certified legal interns must be used 
exclusively for indigent representation as opposed to other uses.  Accordingly, we 
amend the first sentence of rule 11-1.5 to read:  “Legal aid organizations that 
provide a majority of their legal services to the indigent and use law student interns 
pursuant to this chapter must be approved by the supreme court.”  
Rule 11-1.9(c), Termination of Certification 
 
Finally, we consider the Committee’s proposed amendment to rule 11-1.9(c) 
(Termination of Certification).  Under the present rule, post-graduate certified legal 
interns maintain their certification for up to twelve months.  Presently, either of 
two occurrences operates to terminate certification prior to the expiration of the 
twelve-month period:  (1) if the certified legal intern failed to “take the next 
available Florida bar examination” or (2) if the intern is denied admission to the 
Bar.  (Emphasis added.)   
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The Court is concerned that these requirements are insufficient to ensure that 
certified interns, particularly those representing criminal defendants, possess the 
requisite level of competence and skill needed to adequately represent clients, even 
under the supervision of a licensed attorney.  Indeed, requiring an applicant for 
admission to pass the bar exam itself is our way of ensuring that practitioners 
possess the requisite skills and competence.  Accordingly, we asked the Committee 
to consider amending the rule to address this concern.  The Committee proposed 
amending the rule to require post-graduate certified legal interns to take and pass 
all parts of the next available Florida bar examination.   
After consideration of the comments filed and the oral arguments presented, 
we will allow certified legal interns to take the exam a second time if they fail to 
pass the first time; they shall be immediately decertified if they fail a second time.  
Accordingly, we adopt the following amendment to rule 11-1.9(c): 
(c)  Termination of Certification.  Failure of a post-graduate 
certified legal intern to do any of the following shall result in the 
automatic termination of certification: 
(1)  Ffailure to take the next available Florida bar examination; 
(2)  failure to take the second available Florida bar examination, 
 if unsuccessful on the first administration; 
(3)  failure to pass every portion of the Florida bar examination 
by at least the second administration, if unsuccessful on the first 
administration; or  
(4)  denial of admission to The Florida Bar shall terminate 
certification hereunder. 
CONCLUSION 
 
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We hereby adopt the amendments to the Rules Regulating the Florida Bar as 
set forth in the appendix to this opinion.  New language is indicated by 
underscoring; deletions are indicated by struck-through type.  The amendments 
will become effective on August 1, 2007, at 12:01 a.m.  However, rules 11-1.3(a), 
11-1.9(a), and 11-1.9(b), as amended, will apply prospectively only to law school 
students entering a law school practice program on August 1, 2008, or later.  
It is so ordered.  
LEWIS, C.J., and WELLS, ANSTEAD, PARIENTE, QUINCE, CANTERO, and 
BELL, JJ., concur. 
 
THE FILING OF A MOTION FOR REHEARING SHALL NOT ALTER THE 
EFFECTIVE DATE OF THESE AMENDMENTS. 
 
Original Proceeding – Rules Regulating the Florida Bar 
 
William P. White, III, Chair, Public Defender, Fourth Judicial Circuit, 
Jacksonville, Florida, John F. Harkness, Jr., Executive Director, Paul F. Hill, 
General Counsel, The Florida Bar, Tallahassee, Florida, and Robert A. Rush, The 
Florida Bar, Gainesville, Florida, 
 
 
for Petitioner 
 
Thomas Arthur Pobjecky, General Counsel, Florida Board of Bar Examiners, 
Tallahassee, Florida; The Honorable Howard H. Babb, Jr., President, Florida 
Public Defender’s Association, Inc., Public Defender, Fifth Judicial Circuit, 
Tavares, Florida, R. Blaise Trettis, Executive Assistant Public Defender, 
Eighteenth Judicial Circuit, Viera, Florida, and Nancy Daniels, Public Defender, 
Second Judicial Circuit, Tallahassee, Florida; Michael J. Snure, President, Florida 
Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, Winter Park, Florida, and Brian L. 
Tannebaum, President, and H. Scott Fingerhut,  Florida Association of Criminal 
Defense Lawyers, Miami Chapter, Miami, Florida; Arthur I. Jacobs, General 
Counsel, Florida Prosecuting Attorneys Association, Inc., Fernandina Beach, 
Florida and Don L. Horn, Chief Assistant State Attorney, Eleventh Judicial Circuit, 
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Miami, Florida,  Rory S. Stein, General Counsel, on behalf of Bennett H. 
Brummer, Public Defender, Eleventh Judicial Circuit, Miami, Florida; Antonio G. 
Jimenez, Miami, Florida; Michael G. Figgins, Executive Director, Jacksonville 
Area Legal Aid, Inc., Jacksonville, Florida; Wayne Adams, Charlotte S. Anderson, 
Forrest Andrews, Sandra Miller-Batiste, Suzanne A. Bell, Shana Belyeu, Monique 
Botero, Leon Howard Botkin, Penny Hershoff Brill, Gabrielle Raemy Charest, 
Susan Abrams Dannelly, Susan Leah Dechovitz, J. Scott Dunn, Gabriel Ermine, 
Alicia Garcia, David I. Gilbert, Gina Girardot,  Margaret Henghold, Chiaka 
Ihekwaba, Susan Breslaw Kashuk, Gail Levine, Randi Levin, Philip W. Maniatty, 
Hilton Napoleon, II, Sanitha Narayan, Janine L. Peress, Barbra Gershkoff Pineiro, 
Danise Ponton, Joseph D. Robinson, Deisy Rodriguez, Julissa Rodriguez, Howard 
R. Rosen, Kristen Rosenthal, David Seltzer, Benjamin David Simon, Elyse Klein 
Targ, Breezye Telfair, Erinn Thompson, Marie Jo Toussaint, Dione Yvette 
Trawick, Andrea Ricker Wolfson, Christine E. Zahralban, Carolyn Margaret 
Zegeer, Miami, Florida; John W. Thornton, Jr., President, Dade County Bar 
Association, Miami, Florida; Peggy F. Schrieber, Jeffrey T. Grater, and Claudia 
Wright, Virgil Hawkins Civil Clinics, University of Florida Levin College of Law, 
Gainesville, Florida;  C. Peter Goplerud, Dean and Professor of Law, Florida 
Coastal School of Law, Jacksonville, Florida; and Phyllis Williams Kotey, Clinical 
Associate Professor and Criminal Clinic Director, Florida International University 
College of Law, Miami, Florida, 
 
 
Responding with comments 
 
 
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APPENDIX 
 
 
CHAPTER 11.  RULES GOVERNING THE LAW SCHOOL PRACTICE PROGRAM 
 
11-1.  GENERALLY 
 
RULE 11-1.1. 
PURPOSE 
 
 
[NO CHANGE]  
 
RULE 11-1.2. 
ACTIVITIES 
 
 
[NO CHANGE]  
  
RULE 11-1.3. 
REQUIREMENTS AND LIMITATIONS 
 
 
In order to make an appearance pursuant to this chapter, the law student 
must: 
 
 
(a)  have registered with the Florida Board of Bar Examiners as a certified 
legal intern registrant; have paid the $75 fee for such registration if the registration 
is completed within the first 250 days of the registrant’s law school education or 
$150 if the registration is filed after the 250-day deadline; and have received a 
letter of clearance as to character and fitness from the Florida Board of Bar 
Examiners; any fee paid under this subdivision shall be deducted from the 
applicable application fee should the certified legal intern registrant subsequently 
decide to apply for admission to The Florida Bar;  
 
 
(b)  be duly enrolled in the United States in, and appearing as part of a law 
school practice program of, a law school approved by the American Bar 
Association; 
 
 
(bc)  have completed legal studies amounting to at least 4 semesters or 6 
quarters for which the student has received not less than 48 semester hours or 72 
quarter hours of academic credit or the equivalent if the school is on some other 
basis; 
 
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(cd)  be certified by the dean of the student's law school as being of good 
character and competent legal ability and as being adequately trained to perform as 
a legal intern in a law school practice program; 
 
 
(de)  be introduced to the court in which the student is appearing by an 
attorney admitted to practice in that court; 
 
 
(ef)  neither ask for nor receive any compensation or remuneration of any 
kind for the student's services from the person on whose behalf the student renders 
services, but this shall not prevent a state attorney, public defender, legal aid 
organization, or state officer or governmental entity from paying compensation to 
the eligible law student (nor shall it prevent any of the foregoing from making such 
charge for its services as it may otherwise require); and 
 
 
(fg)  certify in writing that the student has read and is familiar with the Rules 
of Professional Conduct as adopted by this court and will abide by the provisions 
thereof. 
 
RULE 11-1.4. 
CERTIFICATION OF STUDENT 
 
[NO CHANGE]  
 
RULE 11-1.5. 
APPROVAL OF LEGAL AID ORGANIZATION 
 
Legal aid organizations that provide a majority of their legal services to the 
indigent and use law student interns pursuant to this chapter must be approved by 
the supreme court.  A legal aid organization seeking approval shall file a petition 
with the clerk of the court certifying that it is a nonprofit organization and reciting 
with specificity: 
 
(a)  the structure of the organization and whether it accepts funds from its 
clients; 
 
(b)  the major sources of funds used by the organization; 
 
(c)  the criteria used to determine potential clients' eligibility for legal 
services performed by the organization; 
 
(d)  the types of legal and nonlegal services performed by the organization; 
and 
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(e)  the names of all members of The Florida Bar who are employed by the 
organization or who regularly perform legal work for the organization. 
 
Legal aid organizations approved on the effective date of this chapter need 
not reapply for approval, but all such organizations are under a continuing duty to 
notify the court promptly of any significant modification to their structure or 
sources of funds. 
 
RULE 11-1.6. 
OTHER ACTIVITIES 
 
[NO CHANGE]   
  
RULE 11-1.7. 
SUPERVISION 
 
[NO CHANGE]  
 
RULE 11-1.8. 
MISCELLANEOUS 
 
[NO CHANGE]   
 
RULE 11-1.9. 
CONTINUATION OF PRACTICE PROGRAM AFTER 
COMPLETION OF LAW SCHOOL PROGRAM OR GRADUATION 
 
 
(a)  Certification.  A law student at an American Bar Association 
approved Florida law school who has filed an application for admission to 
The Florida Bar, has received an initial clearance letter as to character and 
fitness from the Florida Board of Bar Examiners, has completed a law 
school practice program awarding a minimum of 3 semester credit hours or 
the equivalent or requiring at least 200 hours of actual participation in the 
program, and has had certification withdrawn by the law school dean by 
reason of successful completion of the program or has graduated from law 
school following successful completion of the program may make 
appearances for any of the same supervisory authorities under the same 
circumstances and restrictions that were applicable to students in law school 
programs pursuant to this chapter if the supervising attorney: 
 
(1)  files a certification in the same manner and subject to the same 
limitations as that required to be filed by the law school dean and files a 
separate certificate of the dean stating that the law student has successfully 
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completed the law school practice program.  This certification may be 
withdrawn in the same manner as provided for the law school dean's 
withdrawal of certification.  The maximum term of certification for 
graduates shall be 12 months from graduation; and 
(2)  further certifies that the attorney will assume the duties and 
responsibilities of the supervising attorney as provided by other provisions 
of this chapter. 
(b)  Graduates of Non-Florida   A graduate of an 
American Bar Association approved non-Florida law school may qualify for 
continuation if the graduate has made application for admission to The 
Florida Bar and received a letter of initial clearance as to character and 
fitness from the Florida Board of Bar Examiners, and has successfully 
completed a clinical program in law school that met the definition of a law 
school practice program under rule 11-1.2(a) and that awarded a minimum 
of 3 semester hours or the equivalent or required at least 200 hours of actual 
participation in the program.   
(c)  Termination of Certification.  Failure of a post-graduate 
certified legal intern to do any of the following shall result in the automatic 
termination of certification: 
(1)  Ffailure to take the next available Florida bar examination; 
(2)  failure to take the second available Florida bar examination,  
if unsuccessful on the first administration; 
(3)  failure to pass every portion of the Florida bar examination 
by at least the second administration, if unsuccessful on the first 
administration; or  
(4)  denial of admission to The Florida Bar shall terminate 
certification hereunder. 
RULE 11-1.10. 
CERTIFICATION OF MEMBERS OF OUT-OF-STATE 
BARS 
 
[NO CHANGE]