Opinion ID: 1101393
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: bar membership

Text: Rule 3-5.1(e), Rules Regulating The Florida Bar, specifically provides that [d]uring ... suspension the respondent shall continue to be a member of The Florida Bar but without the privilege of practicing. (Emphasis added.) Citing rule 3-5.1(e), this Court in Florida Bar v. Solomon, 589 So.2d 286 (Fla.1991), disbarred an attorney for acts of misconduct committed during the attorney's suspension, holding that [a]lthough under suspension, [the subject attorney] is still a member of The Florida Bar. As such, he is subject to the standards of ethical and professional conduct prescribed by this Court.' Id. at 287 (citation omitted). Thus, despite the fact that an attorney is suspended, he or she remains a member of The Florida Bar and, as such, is subject to the continuing disciplinary jurisdiction of this Court to the same extent as any other member of The Florida Bar. See generally, art. V, § 15, Fla. Const. (The supreme court shall have exclusive jurisdiction to regulate ... the discipline of the persons admitted [to the practice of law].). The same is not true of attorneys who have been disbarred or who have resigned in the face of disciplinary charges, as such attorneys are no longer members of The Florida Bar. See R. Regulating Fla. Bar 3-5.1(f) (A judgment of disbarment terminates the respondent's status as a member of the bar.); R. Regulating Fla. Bar 3-5.1(j) (If accepted by the Supreme Court of Florida, a disciplinary resignation terminates the respondent's status as a member of the bar.).