“Scorched earth” lawyering has found another foe: The Florida Supreme Court. The Court issued an opinion on June 6, 2013 in which it adopts a new code for addressing professionalism complaints throughout the state. Nasty
Rather than adopt entirely new rules, the Court concluded that the standards for professionalism review will be those that have been long-established and are contained in:1) the Oath of Admission to The Florida Bar; (2) The Florida Bar Creed of Professionalism; (3) The Florida Bar Ideals and Goals of Professionalism; (4) The Rules Regulating The Florida Bar; and (5) the decisions of the Florida Supreme Court. The opinion includes an appendix, which establishes the code with definitions and a process by which a Professionalism Panel in each circuit will process complaints.
