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Florida Bar programs designed to help lawyers avoid mistakes that could land them in the grievance system appear to be working, as the number of lawyers disciplined has declined in recent years. Despite that decline, the Bar with the one exception of the Board of Dentistry continues to discipline a higher percentage of its members than professions regulated under the Department of Business and Professional Regulation and the Department of Health, according to 1999-2000 fiscal year figures. And the Bar does it in a system that is much more open to public involvement than both DBPR and Department of Health. A comparison of Bar grievance statistics and those from other professions shows that, as a whole, the Bar was almost twice as likely to discipline one of its members. “What is abundantly clear is that The Florida Bar and the Florida Supreme Court take regulatory responsibility very seriously,” said Bar President Herman Russomanno. “The Florida Bar’s regulatory system is highly rated among other states, and we have again confirmed that it is highly effective in Florida.” The disciplinary rate for lawyers is 0.64 percent, while the disciplinary rate is 0.06 percent for certified public accountants, 0.56 for contractors, 0.33 percent for engineers, 0.31 for Realtors, 0.32 percent for doctors, 0.45 for nurses, and 1.15 for dentists (see chart). While the number of lawyers has steadily increased from 56,379 in 1996-97 to 61,014 in 1999-2000, the number of final orders in disciplinary cases in that time frame has decreased from 428 to 391. In 1996-97, there were 36 disbarments, 127 suspensions, 66 public reprimands, 36 disciplinary resignations, 88 admonishments, and 71 probations of 428 total final orders (with four injunctions). In 1999-00, with 4,635 more total members of the Bar, 35 lawyers were disbarred, 132 were suspended, 43 were publicly reprimanded, 30 resigned, 57 were admonished, and 93 were placed on probation, out of 391 final total orders (with one injunction). “I hear the rumor that lawyers are doing better, which is great for the citizens of Florida. Instead of just disciplining lawyers, what we’re trying to do is equip them to be better lawyers with our diversionary programs,” said Tony Boggs, director of the Bar’s Legal Division. Those diversionary programs include grievance mediation, fee arbitration for resolving clients’ fee disputes, ethics school, and a new program launched this month called the Attorney and Consumer Assistance Program. The ACAP program will feature full-time lawyers and staff personnel available to speak directly to consumers about problems with their lawyers and, hopefully, resolve those problems faster and avoid going through the full-blown grievance process. “It’s modeled after what we think is the best of the best, and should diminish the number of grievances,” Boggs said. “When people call The Florida Bar and say they have a problem with a lawyer, before ACAP, all we could do is give them information on disciplinary procedures and give them pamphlets so they could make a decision on their own whether there was enough of a problem for them to file a grievance,” Boggs explained. “Now, with ACAP, we will have staff people available to speak to them to determine whether they have a gripe or a disciplinary complaint. We will find out what is the nature of the problem and determine whether it can be resolved without filing a grievance,” he said. For example, the problem may simply be: “My lawyer won’t return my phone calls.” ACAP will help forge a speedy resolution between the parties. And that, Boggs said, will be not only good for the frustrated client, but for the attorney who will have an opportunity to settle problems without the full force of The Florida Bar getting involved. In addition, the Bar provides regulatory and professional activities that include a continuing education program with ethics requirements, lawyer speciality and certification programs, consumer education programs, and a security fund to reimburse clients who have lost money through a lawyer’s wrongful taking. “Even House Speaker Tom Feeney recognizes the excellent work the Bar does, saying `The Florida Bar has done a remarkably good job of disciplining its errant members.’ [The Florida Bar News, March 1],” Russomanno said. “Gov. Jeb Bush should also be pleased that the Bar is the ideal of a `privitized’ government function, with no economic cost to taxpayers,” Russomanno said. Besides prosecuting lawyers who violate rules, the Bar actively protects the citizens of Florida against the unlicensed practice of law. Currently, public members make up 45 percent of the unlicensed practice of law and fee arbitration committees. The Bar’s diversionary programs are more extensive than those for other professions. Professionals regulated by DBPR, for example, may receive a letter of guidance, but the department is issuing fewer of those than in the past, said spokeswoman Lonnie Parizek. In a prepared statement in the DBPR annual report, Secretary Cynthia Henderson said: “Our philosophy for licensing is that we, the state, must work proactively to ensure that the professions and businesses we license provide a reliably high quality of service. It is our goal to enhance the perceived value of a Florida license, among our licensees and those they serve. We believe that this can be accomplished through continuing education of our licensees and their customers, our citizens and visitors.” The only profession in Florida with a greater disciplinary rate than lawyers at 0.64 percent (391 actions for 61,014 lawyers) are dentists. Of 10,317 dentists licensed to practice in Florida, there were 119 actions, giving dentists a 1.15 disciplinary rate for 1999-00 fiscal year. Diversionary programs for dentists entail simply a letter of guidance from the Board of Dentistry, which “tells dentists they have stepped over the line and here’s how to avoid doing it again,” said Tallahassee dentist Richard Chichetti, president of the Florida Dental Association who served on the regulatory Board of Dentistry from 1986 to 1994. Such letters of guidance, he said, are for infractions of a lesser nature. If a dentist’s problem involves drug or alcohol abuse, the board diverts them to the Physician Recovery Network, Chichetti said, “because sometimes an addicted dentist may be doing everything ethically right and needs help.” From his perspective of serving on the board of dentistry for eight years, Chichetti said, “We took discipline very seriously. Dentists don’t want those practicing who are unethical or above the law. When you have one bad guy, it reflects on all of us.” The code of ethics of the Florida Dental Association, he said, “in many instances, holds practitioners to an even higher standard than what the law reads.” For example, there is no law that says a dentist can’t sell toothbrushes or dental devices to patients and not disclose that the dentist shares in the profit, or that the same products are available cheaper somewhere else. But the ethical code of the FDA does spell out that dentists must disclose that information to their patients. Unlike other professions, The Florida Bar’s disciplinary arm is an open and participatory process at all levels, with a high level of public involvement in the oversight of attorneys. Public members compose at least one-third of local grievance committees, and investigations are subject to scrutiny at every stage. In regulatory matters handled by other agencies, after a consumer files a complaint, he or she is largely left out of the process, may not attend probable cause hearings and, if no probable cause is found, may not access any records related to the complaint. contrast, the Bar shows copies of a lawyer’s response to the complaining consumer, who may attend grievance committee hearings when the lawyer is present. After a case is closed, the records except for confidential client matters become public even if no probable cause is found. No other regulatory body in Florida will confirm that a specific complaint has been filed against a professional until probable cause has been found. The Florida Bar will confirm receipt of complaints and that a complaint is under investigation. “The Bar continues to improve and expand its function to ensure that the legal profession in Florida exhibits the highest principles of duty and service to the public, their clients,” Russomanno said. March 15, 2001 Regular News Disciplinary details