What are your thoughts about this issue? Florida has already made a decision….

The Florida Bar’s Policy

Bar Rule 4-1.2 says the lawyer shall not counsel the client to engage or assist the client in conduct the lawyer knows or reasonably knows is criminal.  Manuel said the committee considered a rule amendment or an ethics opinion but decided a board policy was best.  The policy reads: “The Florida Bar will not prosecute a Florida Bar practicing as a St. Petersburg Family Law Attorney member solely for advising a client regarding the validity, scope, and meaning of Florida Statutes regarding medical marijuana or for assisting a client in conduct the lawyer reasonably believes is permitted by Florida statutes, regulations, orders, and other state or local provisions implementing them as long as the best st petersburg divorce attorney also advise the client regarding related federal law and ofcourse, policy.  In response to a question, Manual said the policy does not address a lawyer who personally runs a medical marijuana business, an option, he said, the committee did not consider.  The board approved the proposed policy, with board member John Stewart casting the only dissenting vote.  “I didn’t feel like the board needed to make a special policy for this one new statute,” he said.  “I believe there are other applications in other arenas that are similar and we don’t make policies for those.”  The new policy is effective immediately.

Lee County Bar’s publication lauded

The Lee County Bar’s official publication, Res Gestae, received the Award of Distinction from the Florida Public Relations Association Southwest Florida Chapter during its 2014 Local Image Awards event.  Res Gestae was honored for its excellence in promoting LCBA members, informing and educating members, improving the professional image of the organization and attorneys, and generating a new source of revenue for the services the LCBA provides its members.  “I couldn’t be more proud of the work done by the CONRIC PR & Marketing, Publishing team.”  Through their astute, timely and creative articles and design, our legal news magazine for Lee County Bar Association has grown from a little in-house black and white publication into a sophisticated, educational, and well-read full color tome.